Lara Acosta joins James Smith to discuss the problem with personal branding. While millions of entrepreneurs chase the "influencer" dream, a quiet crisis of ego and AI-generated slop is destroying genuine market value. This obsession with being interesting rather than useful is a dangerous lie that is threatening the future of human agency and business growth in 2026.
šļø Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
š§Ŗ Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
š Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
šš¼āāļø Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Follow Lara on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laraacostar
We cover:
ā¬ Why Introverts Will Win Personal Branding In 2026
ā¬ How High Ticket Pricing Creates A Halo Effect
ā¬ Why Writing Is The Ultimate Skill For Manipulation
ā¬ What Happens When You Stop Chasing Vanity Metrics
ā¬ How To Reinvent Your Identity Through Radical Change
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:59 The Problem With Personal Branding
02:28 How Lara Built LinkedIn
03:49 Be Useful, Not Interesting
05:29 Ego Is Slowing Growth
08:52 Retrospective Storytelling Wins
12:07 Hooks Plus Visual Hooks
15:15 Ghostwriters And AI Slop
20:09 Turning Attention Into Income
24:24 How To Raise Prices
31:06 Why High-Ticket Works
36:41 Message Beats Equipment
40:09 Mastering Problem Awareness
52:17 The Cost Of Visibility
58:10 Why 2026 Belongs To Writers
71:18 SMPB + 4321 Framework
77:38 Email Lists Beat Platforms
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