It’s been a long time since I have done a book review. However, this one is well worth the wait. And let me show you how I have implemented the lessons.

A lot of Gary’s message is repeated throughout the book and it’s done for good reason. There are certain foundational things that should be done, no matter what you are looking to do:

Building a brand is for everyone.

Look, I wasn’t a fan of this idea, until someone from an international location had heard of me when I signed up for a Meetup group. And no, it wasn’t on my Meetup profile that I blogged. I do mention it on LinkedIn, but that’s about it. They then decided to talk to me about some of the events and tours they did based on my review. And they felt utterly comfortable approaching me for a chat like we were long time friends. In a way, once you get over the fact that you own your digital persona, you make peace that you will have presence either Digital or Physical that may precede you.

In that light, I decided to focus more on who I am, as a brand and what it is I stand for and if I’m honest, it’s worked. And it all came down to doing more and being myself.

You get better the more you do

It’s true – the more you do, the more you put out there, the better you get. Rejection is a part of life, and by becoming at peace with it, you will get better at trying more things. Gary mentions that you need to take away the need to be perfect so you can create and allow the market to decide what it is you are good at. Because it’s all well and good if you want to do something (like write a blog or film documentaries), but unless you are putting more of that content out there, you won’t know what you need to do, to get better.

The other fascinating thing (and an aspect I am still grappling with), is that you both need to care and not care about what others think. When you don’t care what others think, you speak your truth. Not some polished item that has been sent down as your gift to mankind, but your truth. Your thoughts – and what value you can bring.

And that’s the next important thing: Add More Value than you get.

By always providing amazing value, or what Gary mentions on his podcast – “51/49 – give more value than you receive” – people just automatically gravitate to you.

Personally, I was so focused on reaching more followers on my Instagram or Facebook or Blog that I would sulk that things weren’t going as fast as I would like. I wanted more. I want. I. I. I.

After reading Gary’s book, I flipped the concept on its head and focused on bringing more value to my readers. And you know what? It works. I have received more engagement on my Instagram that I could ever hope for. I’ve introduced friends, old and new to some amazing local restaurants. And now, I’m more focused on highlighting the best experiences that Melbourne has to offer, OUTSIDE of the city. And you know what? There are so many places you can go to, that it is ridiculous!

When you get your customers involved in the development of your product then you get buy-in. Think like Andy Weir with his book, The Martian.

I’m no Andy Weir, but his story is pretty phenomenal. He crowdsourced what it would be like to be stranded on Mars and have only certain tools based on today’s technology (2011) to survive. He had actual botanists and engineer point out things to him and how to solve it. So that when it came time for Matt Damon to take up the role (Matt Daaaaammmmoooonn – yes Team America reference FTW), it was almost a guaranteed win. And the realism is so true, because, well… it is!

I took the time to respond to every comment or message that people left on my blog or social media since I finished the book. And even if it was just an emoji, I thanked people – and you know what, some people started a conversation with me about things. I felt like the world was naturally getting smaller all around me.

Know your why:
– Commitment to service
– A desire to provide value
– A love of teaching.
You need to care about everything you do.

Much like the idea of “P.I.E”, you need to learn the art of storytelling, going deep rather than wide. Everyone needs to become a brand. And most of all – be you.

Be patient and work harder than anyone else in your niche.

As mentioned earlier, your market will tell you if they think you are good.

Patience at the Macro level, but speed at the Micro level.

Everything takes time. You cannot wake up one day and be ready to run a marathon or compete in a powerlifting competition. You need time to prepare for all those things. And this type of work takes time. You need to be at peace with that and continue to put out the best work that you can and eventually when the opportunity is right, you will be ready to strike and seize the moment.

You have to work at this. Constantly be putting things out there – be obsessed!

Personally, I am coming back to blogging after a long break. My goal is to put out great content for my readers and pivot a few items along the way. When I was obsessed, doors opened for me. Any stagnation I have felt is because I put a lot of items that brought me to life on the backburner. Doing this, however, has re-ignited a passion that I once lost… and who knows… let’s see where this takes me. From the numbers you will see below, the strategy in this book WORKS

Always be focused on attention – look at where things are going.

Look, I have not cracked this, and I am willing to give it a shot again. But attention is the real commodity of today’s day and age. Like I heard in a recent talk, “you may have the best product in the world, but if no one, and even worse, none of the RIGHT people don’t know about it, then you are doomed to fail”.

Content is still king:
– Document don’t create. It takes away the need to be perfect.
– By doing more, you get better at articulating your thoughts
– You need to know the intent of the message on each platform.

What’s stopping you?
– Fear of Failure
– Fear of Wasting Time
– Fear of Seeming Vain.

The rest of the book is designed to talk about the actual execution of strategies on various platforms. Something that is best read and completed on your own merit.

When I completed this test for 30 days, I managed to grow my Instagram account and blog followers. Nothing too substantial (+40 Instagram – sustained |+10 Blog Followers| +5 FB followers), but it gave me enough hope that I should really be going for this.