The world has changed.

The old rules. Do they apply now?

There have always been professionals in every field. But they have been made to seek permission at every step of the way. People who did not know anything about their art decided whether they deserve to be heard.

Steve Jobs was ‘fired’ from Apple.
Elon Musk was ‘fired’ from Paypal.
Seinfeld was not allowed to do stand-up comedy at a famous LA hub.
Oprah. Ellen Degeneres. Irrfan Khan. Anurag Kashyap.

There would be countless names that we know of. There would be many more that we haven’t even heard.

The rules of the game were simple. Either you are top of the charts or not. And what determines whether you are top of the charts is the company doing the distribution.

Now, distribution is well, distributed. Now is the time that Kevin Kelly wrote that seminar blog on. 1000 true fans. Because that’s all you need. And for that you don’t need a big firm to approve you.

The rules are different here. You need to make it easier for your audience to know you, to learn from you, to experience what you have to offer. You need to be the impresario. You can’t be the diva. You are running the thing end to end. Yes, you can hire someone for help, but that too is on you. You are on the hook. All throughout.

The certificates don’t matter because there is no one to show the certificates to. Your audience is not looking for your degree. They are looking for what you are showing up with. So, you can’t hide behind your fancy MBA or big brand company.

It’s scary. And exciting.

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