i have a confession [1]

im playing a character

and if youre building a personal brand

you should do it too

i call this the 5% character

(this is how i gained 240k linkedIn followers)

and heres why it works

on social, nobody wants all 100% of you

youre a full complex person

instead people want the 5% of you

thats MOST RELEVANT to them

i first realized this years ago

when gary vee invited me out to a wine bar

at first, we were on camera

and he was his usual loud, rapid-fire self

then the camera left

and Gary became soft-spoken and more complex

i realized

in public, gary is playing

a CHARACTER named gary

its the version of himself

thats designed for an audience

this is so useful

because it gives you purpose and direction

once you establish your 5% character

you know how to show up every day

you become reliable and predictable

want to build yours?

ask yourself this:

1. what does your target audience need?
2. how can you solve their problem with content
3. what are the most important 3 attributes of your character that youll always embody?

for me, the answers are:

my target audience needs clarity

in complex work environments

i solve their problems

with useful stories and frameworks

and I am always approachable, optimistic, and solutions-oriented

BOOM

thats my 5% character

every day,

when I sit down to post here,

thats who I embody

===

in other words

its like what lisa simpson said

when bart became famous

"youre a one-dimensional character with a silly catchphrase" [2]

oh, one last thing before you go...

i was 15 and she was 12
we were the love of our lives
and we got married pretty early
but when our first-born turned 12
she noticed weird patterns about him
and she couldnt put her finger on it
i never told her, probably should have cos...
i only showed my 5 percent version to her
she didnt know i was secretly gay

get more punchlines at punchlineday.com

naii "is stretching sexual jokes until utter exhaustion" io

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[1] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jasonfeifer_i-have-a-confession-on-linkedin-im-playing-activity-7364635944387289089-GTEQ
[2] https://youtu.be/P_iiXWzqHRw?feature=shared&t=68