From: alexhormozi
The current economic landscape has fundamentally shifted, moving from a focus on traditional power sources to the power of attention. This shift underscores the critical role of personal branding in achieving business success.
The Rise of Attention as the New Oil
Historically, wealth was built on tangible resources like oil, with the wealthiest individuals and largest companies of the last century rooted in energy production [00:00:14]. Today, four out of the top five biggest companies globally are built not on “old oil” but on “new oil,” which is attention [00:00:26]. Attention is the scarce resource being constantly “pumped and drilled” from the masses [00:00:38], representing the collective 24 hours a day that human eyes and ears are open [00:01:00].
Companies now acquire “real estate” in the digital landscape by enveloping the world and buying up collective attention, a process that doesn’t require the haggling of old oil tycoons [00:01:12]. Just as oil was the scarce resource in the past, attention is the scarce resource today, making it “the new oil” [00:01:29].
Personal Brands: A Pathway to Unprecedented Wealth
Modern examples highlight the immense financial power derived from strong personal brands:
- Conor McGregor’s Proper Twelve whiskey led to a $600 million deal [00:00:00].
- The Rock’s Teremana Tequila is now valued at approximately $4 billion [00:00:04].
- Kylie Jenner became a Forbes billionaire at age 20, with her business generating $200 million annually with a team of only seven people [00:00:08], [00:04:19].
- Mr. Beast is predicted to become a “centi-billionaire” [00:00:10], demonstrating his influence by drawing 10,000 people to a local restaurant opening [00:06:48].
- Huda Beauty sold a percentage of her company for $600 million, now valued over a billion [00:02:42].
These successes illustrate how individuals can translate their accumulated attention into significant wealth.
The Power of Leverage in Business Success
Leverage is defined as the difference between what is put in and what is received as output [00:03:26]. The most successful individuals are those who maximize their leverage, especially through compounding [00:03:30]. Naval Ravikant’s “Almanac” outlines four types of leverage:
- Labor: Leveraging other people’s time [00:03:41].
- Capital: Investing money provided by others [00:03:47].
- Code: Creating software that can be used by millions with a one-time investment [00:03:54].
- Media: Producing content that can be consumed by an infinite number of people, such as a video [00:04:03].
Media is a compounding leverage vehicle, allowing for a single investment of time to yield unlimited returns through widespread exposure [00:04:03]. This realization led to the understanding that content creation is not the output, but the input; the actual output is the audience, which compounds and retains value [00:06:31].
Overcoming Obstacles to Building a Personal Brand
Initially, there can be a reluctance to embrace visibility, preferring to be “rich and unknown” [00:01:54]. However, seeing the success of figures like Kylie Jenner at a young age can challenge these beliefs [00:02:00]. The fear of exposure and “weirdos” that come with fame is a common concern [00:05:16]. However, embracing the impact one wants to have can overcome this fear. As one friend put it, a few “weird letters” are a small price to pay for the desired impact [00:05:41]. To achieve significant goals, like making business education widely available, actions must align with intentions [00:06:00].
Monetizing Attention: Key Principles
Successfully transforming attention into revenue relies on several core principles:
- Long-Term Brand Building: Celebrities like The Rock spent decades building their personal brand before monetizing it [00:07:43]. Patience is crucial; the longer one builds and gives to an audience without asking, the bigger the potential “ask” can be at the end [00:08:00].
- On-Brand Monetization: The products or services chosen for monetization must align with the personal brand. The Rock’s association with Under Armour, ZOA, and Teremana makes sense because fitness and drive are core to his image [00:08:07].
- Association and Status: Major brands often use celebrities for endorsements to associate their brand with the status and values embodied by the famous individual [00:08:27]. Consumers then buy the brand to associate themselves with that aspirational status [00:08:44].
- Multi-Dimensional Depth: Mega-stars like Joe Rogan deepen their audience engagement by exploring various interests (UFC, comedy, biohacking, UFOs) [00:09:18]. This “cross-pollination” compounds the audience faster [00:09:37].
The Future of Success
The “game has changed fundamentally” [00:09:59]. While past generations built empires on oil, the new generation of wealth will be built on attention [00:10:01]. Media will continue to become more expensive and fragmented, making the audience increasingly valuable [00:10:06]. The best time to start building an audience is now [00:10:17].
Future centi-billionaires will be those who can effectively:
- Capture attention [00:10:25]
- Hold attention [00:10:26]
- Multiply attention [00:10:26]