One of the biggest mistakes I see change makers make on their thought leadership journeys is thinking that their story is enough.

It’s not…

The problem is, it’s often our story that gets us noticed in the first place. It’s why so many people market themselves off the back of unique experiences they've had:

1. 💡 Starting/exiting a business

2. ⚡️ Launching a successful product

3. 🐉 Appearing in the mainstream media (e.g. Dragon's Den)

4. 💪 Overcoming major personal adversity

5. 🦸 Achieving a superhuman feat

All GREAT talking points.
All experiences that make your perspective unique.

But the stories that might get us ‘there’ in the first place, aren’t what keep us there.

This is why so many of us find speaking opportunities so hard to come by.
And why thought leadership can feel like such a slog.

Even the small percentage of people with a story so extraordinary that they can build consistent momentum from it eventually get stuck. Usually in one of two ways:

1. Stuck in the inspirational speaker category 🤩
   Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great category, but it’s a limiting one. 10 thought leaders might get booked for an event, there’s only room for one ‘inspirational speaker.’
   
   As for the rest of the slots? Well, they’ll go to the people with the most relevant and useful ideas and insights for the audience.
   

2. Stuck telling the same story even despite wanting to move on 🥱 

   Like the child actor who never outgrows their first role. Or musicians who are fed up of playing their old stuff.

   
   Eventually, we all want to move on.

This is why it is so important to lead with your ideas rather than your stories.

This isn’t just about messaging, it’s about relevance…

When I look at the leaders who have stood the test of time, it’s because they have mastered one of two skills that the rest of us haven’t (yet).

1. Idea Evolution ✨
   Specifically, the ability to bring their audience with them as they move from one idea to the next.
   
   For example…
   Simon Sinek: Start with why —> Leaders eat Last —> The Infinite Game
   Brené Brown: Vulnerability and shame —> Courageous Leadership —> Belonging and culture
   
   [Side note: Interesting how we know so little about Simon and Brené as people, yet we are so familiar with their ideas.]
   
   How 🧠?
   
   By evolving their ideas in public; BEFORE they are fully formed. This is why each concept feels like a natural progression rather than a sharp pivot. It’s less about abandoning a topic and more about building on its foundation.
   
   They’re not just evolving their ideas in public, they’re validating them with their audience first, before they go all in.

   
   I wonder how many ideas they’ve tested in public before arriving on the ones that truly resonated.
   
   —
   

2. Evergreen Reframing 🌲
   Specifically by finding ways to make old topics feel fresh and highly relevant today.
   
   For example:
   There is no-one better at this than ad man, Rory Sutherland. He gave his first TED talk back in 2009. Here he is, 15 years later, still talking about advertising - but this time reframing it through the lens of AI’s impact.

[Side note: He recently posted this on LinkedIn. It is his most successful performing post of all time… 🤯]

How 🧠?

By connecting timeless principles to present-day challenges. AI is an obvious one - so let’s use it to put your evergreen reframing skills to the test.

Have you connected AI to your expertise this year,* or have you neglected it?
*If so, how many times?

[Having just taken this test myself, it turns out it’s a gap in mine - I’ve not talked about it publicly once.]

Perhaps AI is completely irrelevant to your field.
Maybe its not.

Either way, this prompt might help you look at interesting ways to freshen up your ideas:

The bottom line?

You need a combination of the following three things to get started:

1. Unique ideas and insights…💡
   That you can speak about with passion and credibility.
    

2. That align with your audience’s interests…❤️‍🔥
   So they can benefit from them.
   

3. And event booker’s needs 🎤.
   This is where relevance comes in.

This stuff matters. It’s why we spend the first 4 weeks of the Thought Leadership Accelerator working on this together.

Alex

P.s. We kick off in January… Just 8 slots left for a speaking slot at the Talks of our Time filming day.

Reply to this email with the word Visionary for more info.