Here’s a cautionary tale for would-be solo influencers.
Lord Byron, a notorious incestuous adulterer, who fled his homeland and died of malaria in a foreign war, once said: “๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ต.”
Should you seek it?
How many Gen-X managers on LinkedIn chase fame?
Few have more than a couple thousand followers. Most have less than 10,000.
Do you think they couldn’t get more?
Of course, they could!
But many have observed the toll fame takes and wisely balk.
Being an “influencer” or a “go-to expert” sounds appealing. But at what cost? Your privacy? Your peace of mind? Your safety?
Writer Robert Jordan noted, “Young men and fools sometimes bear pain they don’t have to as a badge of their pride or foolishness.”
Chasing fame often brings unnecessary pain.
As a seasoned professional, you ought to understand the price that fame exacts.
Fame is NOT a personal brand.
The young may crave fame and call it a personal brand. But experience teaches caution.
Fame, derived from the Latin ‘fama’โ”what people are talking about”โisn’t always worth the trouble.
If you want to be the talk of the town, make sure ๐๐ผ๐ can control the narrative.
A personal brand aims to achieve that very objective.
Otherwise, think twice about chasing its counterfeit โ fame.
Focus on building a solid personal brand inside a precise segment of a specific population you aim to serve and who needs you.
Show them through your brand your values, expertise, and the benefits they gain from knowing and dealing with you.
Impress or burn a specific mark upon their minds that they will associate with good tidings. That’s a personal brand, not fame.
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