This is a message that you must listen to if you ever want to be a successful entrepreneur or influencer. It’s the only real secret that you need to strictly abide by at all times. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!!!!

If you fail to understand this one concept, then I promise you that you will never be anyone of influence or make any real money in business. So many people forget this one idea even though, in my humble opinion, it’s dead obvious and communicated frequently.

Have you ever been to an event and you meet someone for the first time who just talks about them self? Does it make you want to run in the opposite direction? Of course it does, and that’s why this lesson I am going to drill into your head today is so important.

Every influencer I have met through Addicted2Success, and every successful Silicon Valley Entrepreneur I have met through my day job, have all understood this concept, and they swear by it. You will fail no matter what if you don’t take the time to practice what I am going to talk about.

These seven rules below are how you make sure that what you do is about those you serve and not you:

Rule 1 – Building a personal brand is BS

The catch phrase that has existed since social media was invented and that is told to everyone is build your personal brand. Building a personal brand is total BS!

By building a personal brand, you are tell everyone online that what you do is all about you. Building a personal brand usually means posting content that always talks about yourself or has some stupid selfie of you doing something that doesn’t add any value to anyone’s life.

The way you build a personal brand is by not building your brand. Sounds confusing doesn’t it? It supposed to be because the only time you will build any brand is when you add value to people – end of story.

People that talk about themselves constantly on social media make me vomit, and I know you probably have the same feeling so don’t be like these fools! Find something you care about and share it with the world to help others. If you do this enough then maybe, just maybe, you might build a brand.

Rule 2 – Don’t have a big head

As you add values to other people’s lives, make sure you don’t do so with a big head or communicate in a way that makes you sound like you are better than everyone else. You’re not and neither am I. We are all global citizens of this world searching for our purpose so we can be fulfilled – that’s why we exist.

Sure, tell people when you have success in your life, talk about the things you do and what you’re good at, just don’t do it in a way that comes across as cocky. As an entrepreneur, you will never create a game-changing business by yourself; you must attract others to your mission.

No one will join your mission if you have a big fat head full of hot air and a disgusting sense of arrogance about you. What will build a monster business for you is the ability to inspire people in a way that makes them want to join your vision. This one tip can allow you to start the next UBER!

Rule 3 – Influence takes time

I meet lots of people at various events that I attend who try something for three months and then say no one is listening. We live in a busy world with loads of distractions and statistically it now takes someone sixteen interactions with a product before they respond.

Influence on social media or as an entrepreneur takes time. By time, I mean at least one year, and for the successful entrepreneurs I know, typically five years. So sit back, relax, take a chill pill, and make sure whatever it is you are doing is something you love otherwise you will never be able to have the patience it takes to succeed.

Rule 4 – Don’t establish a community only to help yourself

Someone said to me the other day, “Tim I’ve had this community for a while, and it’s not making me any money.” My response was “that’s because the community is not there to make you money it’s there to get something from you.”

What I meant when I said this is that you only get what you want when you give your community what they want. If you create a community just for the selfish purpose of making money, then you will be forgotten about quicker than last weeks mainstream TV news.

Rule 5 – A community is not there to flog stuff too

Directly related to my previous point, a community doesn’t exist just to be bombarded and flogged useless products that don’t serve them or that they never asked for. Instead, find stuff that has worked for you, and ask your community what problems they are having and how you can help.

“When every message you say to a group of people is proudly brought to you by some ridiculous product it get’s really painful really quickly”

If you are going to offer products and services, then give plenty of value first, and present what you can offer in a non-spammy way and don’t over do it bud!

Rule 6 – Be 100% transparent and share everything you know

Not only is what you do not about you but if you are going to lead a group of people as an influencer or an entrepreneur then make sure you are 100% transparent. If you want to supercharge your results even quicker then share everything you know.

A great example is Nathan Chan who is the creator of Foundr magazine. I saw him speak a few weeks ago, and the guy shared everything. He went into his financial affairs, shared legal issues he had, and even told us his social media strategy for a product he hasn’t even launched.

He had instant credibility in a room full of people who mostly didn’t know him, and it was damn infectious to see a guy just go all out and not hold anything back. The traits that Nathan displayed are the true essence of not being all about yourself.

Rule 7 – Don’t use someone else’s community and then screw them

Last rule of not being all about yourself is don’t help someone build their community and then screw them over and steal what you helped them create. When you help build someone else’s community you are doing so as a privilege.

You are doing so not because it’s all about you but because you believe in what the community stands for. What you get in return (although it’s not about you) is credibility that you didn’t have before, free education, and access to network with people.

By stealing something from someone else’s community, you are making things all about you and people will never transfer over to your own community if they know you stole something to get there – the truth about dishonest people travels faster than a shooting star.

Did any of these rules resonate with you? Let me know in the comments section below or on my website timdenning.net and my Facebook.