The subtitle of the Manifesto names the two forces that decide what a personal brand can accomplish. Reach without trust is empty, and trust without reach stays small.
Fame, in the Manifesto's definition, is the result of accumulated attention, and it is relative: a person can be famous to everyone or famous only inside one industry. Influence is represented by trust and the ability to get someone to take action or change the way they think. It is earned through action and service and validated when other people speak well of you.
The book's warning example is an influencer with an audience of millions who launched a product and could barely sell it. She had fame and lacked influence. The opposite fails too: influence with no fame has nowhere to travel.
Influence is represented by trust and the ability to get someone to take action or change the way that they think.
Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, 1.6
The moves ISIA, the engine behind the Brand Audit, draws from this part of the doctrine. Each one is something you can do this month, and the reason it matters.
This page is a summary. The subchapter itself goes further, with the reasoning, the stories behind it, and the exercise that closes it.
Fame is the result of accumulated attention. Influence is trust and the ability to move someone to act or change their mind. The Manifesto treats them as two separate forces that work best together.
Yes, inside a small circle. Without some degree of fame, that influence has little reach, which is why the Law of Fame and Influence asks for both.
Advice Isaac Mashman has given on his own shows and in interviews on this subject, from the same library MCG consultants work from. Each one keeps the words he said it in, and links to the transcript where there is one.
Stop reporting follower counts as success. Track replies, conversations, and the number of people who would buy from you, and grow those.
“she couldn't get 36 t-shirts”
Unrivaled Results with Mashman Ventures, “UNRIVALED: Personal Branding Training”, April 13, 2022
Before you recommend any product, investment, or service to your audience, make sure you believe in it fully and it sits within your expertise.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“you always have to be careful with what you're recommending”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “My Take On Crypto and NFTs”, January 31, 2022
As your recognition grows, check regularly that you are not using it to put yourself above others.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“with great power, it comes great responsibility”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “People, Personality and Personal Branding”, September 26, 2020
A large audience is fame. Whether it buys, believes, or follows you to a new platform is influence, and that is the part a creator has to build on purpose.
Chapter 2 of the Manifesto sets out four laws that build in order. Without familiarity there is no connection; without fame and influence, a personal brand has little reach or weight.
Follower counts only get you so far. What matters more is how much the people who follow you trust you.
Six tiers that measure how far a personal brand reaches. Everyone starts at the bottom, and each tier above asks for more effort, time, and resources than the one before it.
Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.
