Top 10 Ways to Become More Famous: Introduction

Fame. It’s an interesting concept. On one hand, it conjures vacuous images of Paris Hilton striking a pose on the red carpet while the paparazzi fight like pitbulls on a poodle to get the money shot for next week’s edition of People magazine.

On the other hand, as a small business owner, you must realize exposure like that would certainly help you generate more leads, grow your business and ring the cash register on a much more consistent basis.

Furthermore, I’ll let you in on a little secret. We ALL want more fame. Some less than others, sure. But even the most spiritually evolved folks among us have at least some desire to be more relevant, more important and more valued by more people. And what’s wrong with that? Well, nothing. You’re human. Own it. Accept the fact that fame is okay, and you’re okay for wanting a bit more of it.

Further still, you need more fame. As I implied above, it’s a crucial component of business success. If you have trouble with the word “fame,” simply replace it with the word “exposure.” I would have used that word myself, but “How to Become More Exposed in 2010″ didn’t work as a title. And besides, “fame” is much more provocative.

With that in mind, here’s the first of my Top 10 Ways to Become More Famous in 2010.

1. Develop Courage. Fearlessness is Unrealistic.

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais Nin

By definition, fame means being seen by more people, and that scares the bejesus out of most of us. But it’s a fear you’ll need to overcome, because the most famous and successful business people in any field or niche get that way because they create resonance with their their market. As used here, resonance means “to relate harmoniously,” and there are three primary ways to do that; each requiring a good dose of courage.

First, there’s solution-based resonance. Simply put, your market has a problem, and you offer a solution. No doubt there are, or will be others offering similar solutions to the same problem, and it takes guts to step forward and proclaim your solution is just as good, if not better. Plus, you know there’s a good chance your solution won’t work for everyone who uses it, and if you have any integrity at all, that’s a worrisome prospect.

Next, there’s meme-based resonance. In this case, you resonate with your market based on the ideas, values and opinions you have in common with them. As an example, regardless of how you feel about Rush Limbaugh, he’s famous because his conservative ideas and opinions resonate with his conservative market.

Meme-based resonance is only possible if you actually share your thoughts and ideas publicly through writing or speaking, and that’s tough for many of us. It takes courage to put your ideas and opinions out there in the world to be assessed and/or criticized.

Finally, there’s icon-based resonance. Here, you resonate with your market because you represent the type of person they aspire to be or you live a lifestyle they’d like to emulate. Oprah Winfrey springs to mind here for what she represents to millions of women around the world; the strong, generous, successful business woman who makes it big despite enormous adversity.

Becoming an icon requires the most courage, because you’re not just putting your solutions and/or ideas out there. You’re putting your entire self and perhaps your whole life out there for all to see and judge, and there aren’t many people who wouldn’t find that somewhat intimidating.

How to Develop Courage

1. Recognize and Acknowledge Your Fear – Mark Twain observed that courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it, and you can’t master something until you acknowledge its existence. Once you bring your fear out of the darkness into the light of conscious awareness, it loses some of its power.

2. Accept that Fear is a Normal Part of Human Existence – Everyone has fear. Some more than others, sure, but any successful, famous business person has had to deal with their own fears. Some scientists argue that fear is built into our DNA.

3. Look for the Lie Beneath the Fear – If there’s something you keep putting off out of fear, ask yourself what’s at the heart of it. Get clear on what it is you fear will happen if you take the action. Once you find out what that is, ask yourself if it’s true. Usually, it’s not.

4. Create the Habit of Facing Your Fears – Eleanor Roosevelt advised to “do one thing each day that scares you,” and that sounds about right to me. See, courage is a learned skill, just like learning to ride a bike. And like any skill, you get better at it through repetition. You become more courageous by consistently facing your fears. You become a bigger person by consistently pushing your edges, and that invariably will lead to more fame and a bigger life.

So start flexing that courage muscle. Get out there. Dare to say something stupid. Dare to piss people off. Dare to look a fool. This is not to say you should take dangerous risks, but lets be real for a second. No one ever died by publishing something on their blog. Nobody ever died by giving a speech in front of a crowded room (except Howard Dean).