Whether someone wants to write a book, speak on stages, build a movement, or activate a global audience, the path to becoming well-known feels esoteric.
But it’s not.
It all comes down to one strategic principle you absolutely must follow.
The Invisible Wall That Stops Most People From Changing the World
Most people who want to grow their influence and impact run into the same barrier.
It’s something we call Sheehan’s Wall, named after my friend and colleague Peter Sheehan (yes, he’s alive, and no, he’s not an old mystical guru…he’s my age).
Every industry has two groups of people: the unknown and the well-known.
On one side of the wall, you have the dreamers.
These are people with massive visions:
“I want to write a book that changes the world.”
“I want to speak on the biggest stages.”
“I want to build a company that matters.”
But nobody knows them yet.
On the other side of the wall are the people everyone recognizes: your Oprahs, your Brené Browns, your Tony Robbins…
And between the “knowns” and the “unknowns” is a giant, invisible barrier called Sheehan’s Wall.
Most people never break through.
In fact, most people, every time they try to break through the wall, end up hitting the wall and bouncing back.
Why Most Personal Brands Never Make It
People try to leap from obscurity to notoriety by mimicking the people on the well-known side.
They say to themselves:
“Tony Robbins talks about business, health, relationships, mindset.
I’ll be multifaceted too!”
So they start talking about everything.
Then the ideas start flowing: T-shirts, calendars, magnets, day planners…maybe even a shoe line!
Next, they start trying to show up everywhere: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, Facebook, LinkedIn, your local bakery, everywhere.
And then comes the onslaught of business models: masterminds, live events, Facebook groups, courses, keynote speaking, book funnels, digital products, ads, affiliates…
And on top of that, they’re wearing the CMO, CSO, CEO, COO, customer service rep, bookkeeper, collection agency, and head of product development hats.
And every morning, they wake up with more ideas.
None of those ideas are bad.
But the combination of them is a predictably ineffective strategy.
Because when you try to do everything, you end up bouncing off the wall. Why?
Because of one simple principle I wrote about in my first book, Take the Stairs:
Diluted focus equals diluted results. Every time, no exceptions.
Diluted Focus = Diluted Results (My Favorite Case Study)
Lewis Howes is one of the most generous people on the planet when it comes to giving us credit.
He has spoken about our work together in ways that truly humble me.
Here’s why.
When Lewis first sat down with us, he had 17 different revenue streams.
Seventeen.
Courses, masterminds, webinars, speaking, books, you name it.
As part of our strategy process (something we walk every client through), we listed them all out and asked three simple questions:
- Which of these has the most natural momentum?
- Which takes the most time?
- Which creates the most stress?
The answer pointed to something surprising at the time.
His podcast, The School of Greatness, actually had the most long-term potential.
So we asked him:
“What would happen if you shut everything else down and went all in on the podcast?”
That was not an easy question, especially because he had a mastermind doing multi-seven figures and I was helping teach it!
But to his credit, he shut it down the next week.
What do you think happened next?
- His podcast grew from 30 million to 500 million downloads.
- His business jumped from multi-seven-figure to eight figures.
- His most recent book became a massive New York Times bestseller.
Did we teach him some magical podcast hacks?
No.
But we did teach him focus.
The One Thing That Breaks Through Sheehan’s Wall
If you want to build a world-changing personal brand, you cannot do it by chasing all your ideas.
You break through the wall by finding the one thing you are uniquely called to do and going all in on that.
And you don’t have to figure that out alone.
This is exactly how we help people at Brand Builders Group.
We help them find their one focus area and give them the strategy playbook to take them from obscurity to well-known.
If you’ve ever felt pulled in a hundred directions and tired of bouncing off the wall, let’s talk.
Most people tell us that one free call with our team brings more clarity about their vision than they’ve had in years.
Schedule a free brand call here.
We’d love to meet you and hear your story.
The world doesn’t change when you do everything.
It changes when you commit to the one thing you were truly meant to do.
Stay focused.
