PART II

What makes someone a thought leader?

I believe a thought leader has four distinct qualities.

When you struggle with personal branding the way I’ve described in my previous blog post, you probably can’t escape the feeling that the whole enterprise is a frivolous or superficial one. Something that feeds your ego and little else.

Because of this, I advocate that instead of focusing on building your personal brand, you aim for growing your thought leadership.

The primary thing that serves as a blocker to your success as an entrepreneur isn’t a lack of experience, strategy, or connections.

Yes, those are important considerations and the presence of each can make a massive difference in your growth, but they (or their lack) are rarely the thing getting in your way.

Still, I’d be willing to bet that the biggest obstacle to your success as an entrepreneur is probably some unresolved issue from your past. Not the issue itself, but the behavior or worldview that you learned in response.

Your personal trauma is going to impact you and your business in a unique way, but as I’ve delved into this topic, I am spotting some patterns that I’ll describe below.

Now I want to be clear...I am not a therapist, a psychologist, or a psychiatrist. I am not medically trained to diagnose or treat these issues. I am simply sharing what I’ve learned from my experience and what I am seeing in the entrepreneurs whom I speak to and work with.

The primary thing that serves as a blocker to your success as an entrepreneur isn’t a lack of experience, strategy, or connections. Yes, those are important considerations and the presence of each can make a massive difference in your growth, but they (or their lack) are rarely the thing getting in your way.