How To Fame: Stand Out/Get Ahead/That Simple [Part 1]

By guest author Richard Laermer

We are all known. Our perception by those who know us, or who encounter us even for the tiniest time, affects our lives in tangible ways. But it doesn’t matter how fantastic you are if others’ perception of you is…off. For this reason, my new project for 2010, “How to Fame”— or, how to use the tools of this speedy millennium to advance your objectives—is not a “nice to have.” It’s a must; whether your goal is to shape or promote your personal brand, get a job or a promotion, be smarter, or find a mate, today fame matters.

The point here is not to be famous. Being famous is a job best left to those who care about little else! This is about being an authority and using your fame to achieve greatness. About getting what you want and deserve. Go ahead, right now.

Truth: Perception Is Reality

We are all instantly judged based on how people perceive us when they encounter our persona for the very first time. We don’t even open our mouths before an opinion is formed.

Unfortunately, many completely miss this stage of reality and muddle through life without realizing that negative or—worse—indifferent views on how we conduct ourselves hold us back from faming. It isn’t that we don’t care; we don’t know nor realize how important our external representations are every minute of every day.

Someone is always watching.

To fame, you have to use this to your advantage. Since someone is seeing you in person or online, viewing what you are about, you have tons of opportunities to impress and garner fame that helps move you forward!

Even after being clued into the snap judgment reality of a first impression, most of us are too stubborn to do anything to change that image. We think we shouldn’t have to because . . .we are who we are.

News flash: “Who we are” is pretty amorphous. To fame, we need to make the rest of the world see us as the public personality we already know ourselves to be. We can’t allow others to create the story for us.

Our Goal: Change One or More Tenets of How the World Sees Us

First the really good news: It’s not your fault.

Culpability for lack of fame does not completely fall onto the shoulders of a fame devoid person. Other people enable us during our misguided attempts to fame. We hang out with our friends who are just like us. We don’t, as Paul Harvey used to say, get the rest of the story. Our friends “get” us, probably even to the point that they may have figured out that our public personality is different from the guy we are. They don’t call us on it because that’s what friends are for—plus there’s a good chance that they share many of the same traits.

Faming isn’t about making friends. It is about influencing the rest: non-friends whom we need to get to where we wish to go.

What Do You Want?

Fame is fantastic on its own (Maslow says so), but it is also a tool that will help you get literally anything. You want to make more money? Want that promotion? More responsibility? Choose to fame.

Set yourself apart. Show everyone that you are the go-to person at all times. Here are the keys:

• Are you reliable? Do you do things when you say you will do them? (And I mean every time.) “On time” means “a little early.”

• Are your communications smart and well thought-out? You need to show polish, poise and intelligence.

• Do you know your stuff? In a world where smoke and mirrors are quickly losing their esteem, authenticity is highly valued. A little research goes a long way.

• Are people amazed that you aren’t the boss?

• Do you take tasks on for no reason other than you know they will help someone (the new fame definition of proactive)?

You can get to where you need to go without making wholesale changes. Rather, you need to make tiny adjustments to how you are seen. That’s it. You have to be sure that everyone you come in contact with meets the Model You.

[See part two tomorrow. Laermer is CEO of RLM PR, author of books 2011: Trendspotting and Punk Marketing; and you can follow his useful (intentionally funny) Twitter feed @laermer. Sign up for the “How To Fame” list at howtofame.com/details]

This segment is a part in the series : How To Fame