A Better Way To Become An Authority

A business coach once told me something I’ll never forget:

“Pia, think of your business opportunities as a building. You can definitely climb the stairs to better and better opportunities, but wouldn’t you rather just parachute to the roof?”

Yes, I would. Yes, I would.

That idea set the stage for an entirely new strategy for my business and my life. From then on, rather than take incremental steps forward (secretly hoping that I would land an opportunity that would blow up my business), I would wait for no one. 

I would take matters into my own hands and anoint myself an authority in my space.

Or, more accurately, I would create so much noteworthy content and share so many thought-provoking ideas that my authority on the subject would be undeniable. I wouldn’t need someone else’s platform to validate me. The ideas I shared would validate me all on their own. 

Since then, I’ve been encouraging others to take the LEAP *(see my recent TEDx talk about it) and bet big on themselves, knowing there is a better way to become an authority.

And the best part is, you can guarantee it will work because it requires only your own efforts.

The Results

After some concentrated time and effort learning the ropes, then sharing my thoughts with the world through a self-published book and my blog, on stages large and (very) small, wouldn’t you know it? 

The external validation of my authority came naturally.

Before, when I was diligently climbing the stairs to success like the teacher’s pet, I had plenty of supposed opportunities that gave me false hope. The time I got introduced to a famous basketball player who needed a brand. The time we almost won the pitch to brand a huge Times Square restaurant. The time a friend of a friend knew a publisher they could introduce me to.

None turned out to be the big break I had hoped for. In fact, they were nothing more than a waste of time.

However, taking the leap and betting on myself, and therefore seizing control, changed everything. 

Within months, I was invited to appear on MSNBC’s Your Business with JJ Ramberg. I was invited out of the blue to film a pilot for A&E with 50 Cent. I was even invited to write the very Forbes column you are reading right now!

But by that point, I no longer saw those opportunities as my big break because I no longer needed a big break. I had built my own authority in the world. I was undeniably knowledgeable in my space because I was sharing that knowledge left and right.

Once I put it out there, I no longer needed a friend of a friend to make an intro. The very people I wanted to meet were coming to me.

And if you want to step forward and take control, at any moment you can decide to anoint yourself an authority, too.

The Authority Formula

Here’s the secret I’ve learned, which anyone can do. All it takes is commitment to this formula: (Production + Visibility) x Time = Authority

• Produce authority-worthy content.
• Get people to see it.
• Do it consistently.

That’s it! It’s very simple, but it’s not easy. 

If it’s so simple, why doesn’t everyone do it?

Most people think it’s a chicken-and-egg scenario. You need the external validation from a noteworthy website or TV appearance to be seen as an authority, but you need to be an authority to get the opportunities in the first place.

Um, no. 

That’s not only untrue. It’s also an excuse for people who can’t hack it.

This is more of a farming scenario: If you plant some seeds and water them like crazy, you will have a field of flowers in no time.

Most people never even try.

They think it’s too hard and that they are somehow incapable of making it happen.

Then there’s the (much smaller group of) people who WILL take the leap and start. But when their efforts do not produce enough results, fast enough, they will quit.

Which leaves a teeny, tiny group of people left.

And guess who those people are?

• They are the owners of the Facebook groups you join. 
• They are the online authorities whose articles you read when you Google a question. 
• They are the people on stage speaking at events.

And you can absolutely be one of them.

The Payoff Of Building Authority

Like I said, the people who stay committed and do the work are the ONLY ones who actually become the authorities in their spaces. 

The ones who stay committed because they believe that the payoff will not just be some bigger clients, not just going to be some cool opportunities…

The payoff is a future filled with huge opportunities you can’t even fathom right now because you do not let yourself consider that they are possible for you.

Believe me, filming a TV pilot as the resident branding expert on a reality show with 50 Cent was not on my wish list. Neither, frankly, was writing for Forbes. Not because I didn’t want those things, but because I didn’t know they were possible for me.

Until, of course, they were a foregone conclusion because of the work I had done anointing myself an authority.

But if you want it badly enough, I know it’s 100% possible for any entrepreneur. 

Are you one of those people? 

I’ve found the hardest part for most people is staying focused, committed, and enthusiastic over the long term. So, if you want some support from someone who’s been there, done that, and written the book on it, to learn more about taking the LEAP to becoming an authority with me.

Let today be the day you decide not to climb the stairs but instead leap to the top!