The Client Letter
September 9, 2013
The Desert of Arizona
Rain 64 Degrees
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Authority is a hot topic right now.
Being THE authority on something sounds pretty sexy. And there are plenty of people who are ready and willing to show you the shortcut to that goal.
In the old days, you had to write a book to be an authority. You had to get through the gatekeepers at the publishing houses. They anointed you the authority and you became one.
Then people started gaming the system and anyone with some buckeroos could hire a guy to vault up the Amazon or NYT Bestseller lists. It was so overdone that now when I hear someone is an Amazon “bestseller,” I picture one of those email promos where they gave away 40 bazillion bonuses and their first born to get someone to buy a $9 book.
Instant authority… right?
Well instant temporary authority at least.
You can become an authority with smoke and mirrors pretty quickly. You just have to watch out though. Because if the smoke machine stops or one of the mirrors breaks, then you have a problem on your hands.
This reminds me of the typical person who wants to write a book. To be more clear, they want to have WRITTEN a book. They’re not so interested in actually writing one.
Everyone wants to be the authority, but no one wants to become one.
You want to know the quickest and surest way to become an authority?
Start acting like one today. Then wake up tomorrow and do it again.
What about the experts who say you can just anoint yourself the authority?
Well sure you can. That’s a step 1 maneuver. But then what? What comes after that?
What comes after that is a choice:
You can either start acting like the authority, or you can shrink back from where you came.
If it makes you feel better to “anoint yourself,” go ahead and do it.
I did that in the past. But I didn’t follow through and ACT like it, so it really just made me look stupid 🙂
Authorities don’t have to call attention to themselves. That’s because everyone else is doing that for them.
If you want to be an authority, my advice is to skip the search for the silver bullet and just sit down and do the work.
Today can be the first day.