text: That’s certainly true for Guy Kawasaki. He’s become a bestseller, and his blog posts, Tweets, and books are read by tens of thousands of people, who tell tens of thousands more. It’s a beautiful word-of-mouth cycle.
  Today we buy Guy because thousands of other people buy Guy. But before there were thousands, there was Steve.
  Steve Jobs “bought” Guy — he made him Chief Evangelist for Apple back when Apple was more of a geek dream than the mega-business anti-hero that it is today.
  People first got caught up in Guy’s enthusiasm because a smart dude at a little company believed in him, and then that little company took off.
  You may or may not have that kind of luck, but you’ll never know unless you find some little companies (or bloggers, authors, or speakers) who believe in you right now.
  Start showcasing the people who like you, even if it’s one at a time. Don’t wait until there are thousands who drool at your feet.
  The beauty of having thousands of fans is that they create a second wave of social pressure — fans don’t want to be left behind by not knowing about Guy’s latest. Fans do want to hang with the fun people, to belong to the group who’s read it and put it to use and can quote their favorite lines.
  If you’re old enough to remember when only those cool new sneakers called Nikes would do in junior high, then you know the feeling well.
  Uncover what’s cool about buying from you and emphasize it. Before there are thousands, imagine who they’ll be, and then draw them to your in-crowd — just like Guy in 1983, when Nikes were everywhere, but Apples were only a fruit you bit into.
  As a past “Mac-head” I learned to love this Apple Chief Evangelist way, way back like 20+ years ago … and I’ve followed his career mostly because anyone that Jobs hired, had to be good!
  Social proof is other people convincing new folks to give you a try. But past performance — a demonstrated history of showing up and being remarkable over time — clinches the deal.
  Past performance helps people convince themselves … because despite what those financial disclaimers say, past performance very often is an indicator of future worth.
  In other words, if you’ve done good work before, you’re probably going to do good work going forward. Crowing (humbly) about your past removes risk from your potential new customer’s mind.
  Now there’s no doubt about it, consistency over time is going to take … time. There is no sneaky way around that. Guy began the part of his career that we usually hear about at Apple. He moved on to become an entrepreneur, a successful venture capitalist, an in-demand speaker, and the author of ten books.
  If Guy wants to convince us that we’re taking very little risk in buying a copy of Enchantment, he can point to that long history. He’s not some random dude, he’s a known quantity.
  His successes in guiding others convince us that he’ll provide great guidance once again with this book. When he writes about the many businesses he’s helped to launch, fund, or grow, it’s legit for him to refer to his “Golden Touch.”
  As you develop your history, go ahead and crow about it. There’s an old saying that every success guarantees the next.
  Write about your successes, and your audience will look for a little of that success to rub off on them.
  Guy has been on the front line … Real knowledge comes from doing it, owning it, admitting failure, and being able to express it in human terms.~ Mark Lovett
  You could say I saved the best for last — after all, you’ve got one, I’ve got one, and Guy’s got one.