The Audience Shortcut: How the Right People Paying Attention Changes Everything

The Audience Shortcut says:

You don’t need to know how to achieve your dreams.

You need to know who to create value for along the way.

Here are the four simple steps to implement the Audience Shortcut:

1. Choose your big dream. What goal feels just out of reach?


2. Identify your audience. Who could reduce your risk or accelerate your journey? (Hint: the

I want you to take away two things from this:

1. Being someone who is actively pursuing their dreams and sharing the journey puts you in rarefied air. You will stand out, as that’s just 1% of people.


2. The gap between the last two categories—those who do things and those who do things and share —is actually very small. The simple step of documenting what

This is The 1% Rule of content creation:

• 90% of people just consume content (watching travel shows but never traveling)

• 9% actually do something (getting the internship, taking the hike, starting the business)

• Only 1% share what they’ve learned along the way

That final step—documenting your journey—is what separates the merely accomplished from t

When I thought about someone with an audience, the first thing that came to mind was someone famous. They’ve built a big following by being remarkable online, not someone like me or like Glo. The gap felt huge between those I followed and what I was capable of doing.

In a way that’s true; those who create and document their journey are in rarefied a

Key insight: Teaching what you know—even as you learn it—is the fastest path to being perceived as an authority.

You don’t need status or expertise to start writing. In fact, beginners often create the most helpful content:

• While learning Ruby on Rails programming, I couldn’t get it installed despite following expert tutorials. The solution came from a fellow beginner’s blog who explained a “basic” configuration step the experts had skipped.

People don’t teach because they’re experts.

We perceive them as experts because they teach **.**

How to Create Instant Authority with Your Audience

Marco Polo, a Venetian explorer born in 1254, is famous for being the first to explore the Silk Road to China. At least, that’s how he is remembered.

There is only one small problem: he wasn’t an explorer at all. Like all good Venetians of the time, he was a merchant.

Long before Marco Polo, plenty

Opportunity Accelerators (Your Rocket Fuel):

• The connector who hosts private dinners where deals happen

• The decision-maker who controls the budget for your dream client

• The leader two levels above you is looking for someone with your skills

• The gatekeeper who decides who gets on stage at your industry’s main event