You may think of a thought leader as someone who is already a guru, politician or has 1 million followers; but I believe anyone can be a thought leader and have huge impact in their world… in their own lives, and in their community.  You don’t have to be an entrepreneur, politician, academic, or motivational guru to be one.

But you do have to be able to lead your own thoughts!

I don’t believe that anyone who just repeats what they’ve already heard, is a thought leader.  The thought leaders I admire are the ones who are able to lead their own thoughts, to be a self-directed thinker who creates new ideas, visions and methods to solve life’s problems… for themselves and others.

So what is a thought leader?

According to Fran Biderman-Gross, in an article in Forbes magazine, suggests that a thought leader is “one of the foremost authorities in selected areas of specialization, resulting in its being the go-to individual or organization for said expertise.” 

Maybe your idea of a thought leader is the people and authorities who have the most followers on the internet, or who are interviewed on television, published, teaching, or running companies.  So what about the rest of us? 

If we want to have some impact in the world, would becoming a thought leader make a difference?  Is it possible for “the rest of us”?

Forbes – “Start by being your true, authentic self. When you’re true to yourself—to your strengths, talents and passions—others will take notice.”

— Fran Biderman-Gross, “What It Really Takes and Means to Be a Thought Leader,” Forbes Magazine

So many of “the rest of us” weren’t introduced to those skills, but I found ways to learn and practice becoming a thought leader through the Master Key Experience course.

Mark Januszewski, creator of the course, is offering these skill sets to anyone who wants them! In 26 weeks, he and his team take the class through proprietary exercises and information based on The Master Key System, by Charles Haanel.  I found these skills critical for leading my thoughts, and for seeing and following my path toward leadership in my industry.

Why Mark over other personal development trainers?  He worked for W. Clement Stone, the man who helped Napoleon Hill launch Think and Grow Rich, who built The Success System that Never Fails, and mentored Og Mandino who wrote The Greatest Salesman in the World, all classics of personal development.

Why Mark over other personal development trainers? He worked for W. Clement Stone, the man who helped Napoleon Hill launch Think and Grow Rich, who built The Success System that Never Fails, and mentored Og Mandino who wrote The Greatest Salesman in the World, all classics of personal development.

Mark is 1 degree away from the true gurus.  Relationships like that just can’t be found anywhere else, and neither can the results Mark produces for his students.  He has documented proof of the average of 94% of graduates who claim they are happier, healthier and more successful.

The Master Key Experience helped me to grow my business in my local area and to some extent, in other parts of the country.  I do very little advertising to get clients, after 10 years in business and have presented at two international conferences.  I am not yet the full thought leader I might become, but I have the ability now to chase and achieve that ideal.

How to Know One When You See One

Aneesh Raman, interviewed for a Linked In post defines a thought leader as: “Having authentic, relevant, insightful things to say about a few key issues and saying those things over a sustained period of time in order to provoke new thoughts and actions by others.”

According to Allison Lewis, who wrote the post, “Prior to landing his current role as Founding Director of the LinkedIn Opportunity Institute, Raman was a Senior Economic Advisor for California Governor Gavin Newsome, and before that, he served in various roles for the Barack Obama Administration, including as a speechwriter for President Obama and for the Treasury Secretary amidst an economic crisis. Raman’s experience as a growth leader in the tech industry includes a stint as Head of Economic Impact at Facebook.”

Mark and Davene, Mark’s wife, and their team, are definitely in that category considering the thousands of lives they’ve impacted and I’d like to share how they have helped me gain success in moving toward being a thought leader myself.  And with the class coming up this month, you can too.

“Anyone who aspires to become a thought leader in their industry should consider: Are you firm in your purpose and beliefs? Are you staying true to yourself? Are you willing to shout about and defend your purpose? You must demonstrate strength and discipline in all your actions. You must have clarity about your purpose. That’s how you become known for something, productize it and even monetize it.”

— Fran Biderman-Gross, “What It Really Takes and Means to Be a Thought Leader,” Forbes Magazine

How the Master Key Experience Helps You Be a Thought Leader

Forbes suggest that as a thought leader, you must exhibit strength, service, discipline and consistency.  Through the practice of building a community inside the Master Key Experience and using copyrighted tools on your own, these attributes get built effortlessly.

The first important piece to becoming a thought leader, is learning your purpose, and owning it!  Assuring you are authentic, relevant and insightful, according to Raman. 

From the first lesson in the Master Key Experience, you start piecing together your purpose.  You learn to build a true Definitive Major Purpose, with specific criteria to help you manifest your purpose.  Mark’s methods help you to clarify Napoleon Hill’s suggestions.

Mark and his team recently shared a Vision Workshop to help people

define their purpose with just a handful of tools, and the results were astounding for the attendees.  The emotional displays of delight and the sheer joy of knowing their true selves took my breath away!

Mark and his team recently shared a Vision Workshop to help people define their purpose with just a handful of tools, and the results were astounding for the attendees.  The emotional displays of delight and the sheer joy of knowing their true selves took my breath away!

Now, part of the Training Solutions offerings, the workshop gave attendees tools they can use every day to keep on track and focused on fulfilling their purpose, using their gifts to make the world a better place.  The Master Key Experience offers a deeper dive to help you define your purpose, to understand why you are here.

“Thought leadership is about establishing a unique perspective on conversations that are playing out in society, so that you can try and inspire new thought and new action in others,”

— Aneesh Raman, Forbes Magazine

Mark teaches the skill to leading your thoughts.  Instead of just doing and thinking what everyone has taught you to do throughout your life, Mark helps you step away from all that “cement” and begin to think on your own, driving your actions with more intention, even subconsciously, to meet your purpose and manifest your dreams.

Steps to Becoming a Thought Leader

Here are the top 8 methods, compiled from multiple sites, to become a thought leader, along with examples for each on how the Master Key Experience helps you develop the skills:

1. Create High-Quality Content

• Blogging: Regularly publish blog posts on industry trends, insights, and thought-provoking topics. A blog site is offered to our members to help them assimilate what they’re learning and the amazing self-development they’re experiencing so they get practice in formulating and presenting their thoughts.  There are also digital solution classes to help members get their own blog site up, running and successful.
• Videos and Webinars: In the digital portion of the class, platforms like YouTube or LinkedIn are covered and a phone app is used to help members gain confidence in speaking with others on camera.

2. Speak at Industry Events and Conferences

• Keynote Speeches and Panel Discussions: Students may participate in discussions to share perspectives alongside course experts, after the webinars, to help integrate the material and gain confidence in presenting their own thinking and organizing how they present their thoughts.  Tribe Zoom sessions with smaller groups throughout the course are another way for members to practice speaking and organizing original thought.

3. Engage on Social Media

• Social Media Posts: Class members share their thoughts, articles, and insights on the members’ website to reach a broad audience. Davene’s classes on digital media are simple, encouraging and effective, and offered as a bonus, at no extra cost, to class members.

4. Write a Book or Publish E-books

• Publishing a Book: Write a book on your area of expertise, like several previous class members have done.  On average, every class ends up with one or two authors who finally found the courage and the discipline to write that book they always meant to write.  In advanced work, with 1:1 coaching, Mark has also helped members get their books published, just as he has done with Standing Tall, Seven Laws of the Mind, and others.

5. Collaborate with Other Experts

• Co-authored Content: Classmates have connected tightly in every class offered. Several have gone on to create partnerships for future projects, or business ventures.  Many members connect with their tribes who encourage their friends in whatever new adventures they pursue.  They have created a true mastermind, as both Haanel and Hill describe them… group of people working together in harmony for a single purpose.

6. Offer Consulting or Coaching Services

• Consulting or Coaching: The guides who offer personal consulting and coaching as part of the course, are all volunteers.  There is no additional charge for this service.  These heroes have finished the class and been trained over 5 months to provide members the best care possible.  You can meet this year’s guides here.  Browse through this site to find out more about, and by, each one.  After commencement, if this service appeals to your heart, you have the option to take the training and help next year’s class.

7. Build and Leverage a Strong Personal Brand

• Personal Brand Building: You have access to the digital class, and you can build blogs on the members’ site, and share those with others.  More importantly, the Master Key Experience will help you establish your strong, personal brand by helping you to clarify your purpose in this life, and will give you tools to help you move toward manifesting your goals.  Create your personal brand that showcases your work, insights, and mission, but first you must have clarity on these characteristics.

8. Develop a Signature Framework or Unique Perspective

• Unique Frameworks: Once you understand your brand, your core motive, and are clear on your purpose and what you want, you’ll have the tools and experience of the Master Key Experience’s methodology to develop a unique framework that shares your best with the world
• Distinct Perspectives: The mission of Training Solutions, which offers the Master Key Experience, is to help create self-directed thinkers who are free from the influence of outside “cement”, who can be the person they were meant to be in serving life.  You’ll find your distinct perspectives are more clear and easier to communicate using the course tools.

“(Thought leadership) is all about figuring out how you can lend your expertise in a way that helps others and fuels progress.”

— Aneesh Raman, Forbes Magazine

“As a former CNN war correspondent and speechwriter for President Barack Obama, Aneesh Raman says true thought leaders must be authentic, relevant, insightful and new, and they must focus on only a small set of issues. These leaders should speak on what they’re passionate about and have experience with, and their thoughts should be pertinent to the industry or audience” Fran Biderman-Gross states in her Forbes article.

The Master Key Experience also has proprietary methods to help you get and stay focused so you can build strength in the areas of your life first, then your industry, that help you fulfill your purpose.  Members continue to be amazed at how fast that manifests in their lives.

Aneesh Raman recommends that people who want to be a thought leader, “Focus on these three keys: purpose, values and story. Make sure you know what you stand for, what beliefs guide you and your unique narrative. Be willing to defend and articulate your purpose. Clarity of purpose allows doors to open and emotional connections to form, even deepen, more quickly than on average.”

Personal growth is about more than just knowledge—it’s about developing the ability to think independently.  Mark’s premier course, the Master Key Experience offers everyone great tools to do just that. Learn to lead your own thoughts, become aware of when you aren’t, manifest your dreams and become a thought leader for yourself and others.  Don’t miss out on the limited seats.  Bring forth the authentic YOU!  Class starts Sept. 29, 2024. Check out how the class works and start your scholarship application here!