Influence Anyone

Most professionals think branding starts with picking the right customer. Howie Chan says that’s the wrong question to ask.

In this solo episode, Howie breaks down the positioning framework he uses to build some of the world's biggest brands, translated for executives, founders, and professionals who want to be remembered instead of overlooked. He explains why a brand is not a logo or a tagline but a memory sitting in someone else's mind, and why trying to serve everyone leaves that memory blank.

You'll learn how to plot your brand on the relevance and difference matrix, why trigger-first targeting beats picking a persona or title, how to map your direct, indirect, and alternative competition, and how to build a star anchor that sticks through point of view, repetition, and expression across visual, verbal, and experiential touchpoints.

Chapters:

00:00:00 What Brand Actually Means
00:03:25 The Relevance vs Difference Matrix
00:05:54 The Trigger First Strategy
00:10:11 Finding Your Difference
00:14:24 Expression: Point of View and Memorable Idea
00:18:09 Visual, Verbal, Experiential Branding

Mentioned in this video:

Neuroscientist: “Attention spans are NOT shorter” (7 tactics that get anyone’s attention) (July 28)

Your Expertise Deserves to Be Known

The Behavioring Lab is a new community for experienced professionals who want to build a professional brand that gets them known, trusted, and chosen by the right people.

→ http://behavioringlab.com/

Join the founding member waitlist.

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Produced by Ideablossoms

Most people think building a community means throwing up a Circle page or a Slack channel and waiting for people to show up. Sophie Cross, founder of Freelancer Magazine, built an 800-member paid community without a single group chat, and she tells Howie Chan why that absence was intentional.
In this conversation, Sophie shares how she launched her print magazine for freelancers through a fast, high momentum Kickstarter campaign, the psychological tricks she used to push past fear before hitting publish, and the real difference between a community that talks at people and one that connects people to each other.
You'll learn why speed can beat perfect planning, how to build a community around an outcome instead of an existing identity, why virtual co-working sessions keep freelancers accountable without adding more noise to their inbox, and what Sophie considers the most overlooked skill in growing a business around real human connection.
Chapters:
00:00:00 How Purple Cow Sparked Freelancer Magazine
00:06:21 Fear, Momentum, and the Courage to Launch
00:11:40 The Kickstarter Playbook: Pre-Launch and Testing Fast
00:18:43 Lessons for Building a Community
00:22:43 Building Community Without a Built-In Identity
00:27:19 Meeting People Where They Are (Howie's Community Test)
00:36:21 The Unspoken Realities of Leading a Community
00:39:15 Monetizing Community: Pricing, Team and Growth
00:42:50 Trust and the Small Things That Build Connection
00:46:56 Inside Virtual Co-Working
00:50:16 Final Advice: Surround Yourself with the Right People
From Sophie Cross:
Website
LinkedIn
Mentioned in this video:
Goldie’s episode: She posted 800 daily LinkedIn videos… and this happened! (July 21)
Your Expertise Deserves to Be Known
The Behavioring Lab is a new community for experienced professionals who want to build a professional brand that gets them known, trusted, and chosen by the right people.
→ http://behavioringlab.com/
Join the founding member waitlist.
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Produced by Ideablossoms

Mark Victor Hansen got rejected 144 times before Chicken Soup for the Soul became one of the bestselling book series in history. In this episode, Howie Chan sits down with the legendary author, publisher, and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise to unpack the psychology behind persistence, goal-setting, destiny, and influence.

Hansen breaks down why most people never figure out what they actually want, and shares the mental technique he and Jack Canfield used to program their subconscious mind while they slept, the same process that produced the Chicken Soup for the Soul title itself. He explains why storytelling is the real engine behind influence and sales, and walks through the traps that kill most first-time authors before they ever finish a book.

You'll learn why writing down your goals every day changes how your brain processes opportunity, how to identify a niche worth owning, and how the biggest rejections often turn into the biggest wins.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Ask Yourself, Ask Others, Ask God: Finding Your Destiny

00:04:35 Program Your Subconscious Before You Sleep

00:12:06 Storytelling: The Core of Influence

00:22:24 Four Paths to Publishing

00:25:02 The Traps That Kill Most Books

00:26:53 Own Your Niche: How to Choose What to Write First

00:32:07 Top Tips to Write Your Book

00:35:12 Writing Emotion Into a Nonfiction Business Book

00:38:52 Turning Problems Into Fortunes

00:44:17 Marketing Your Book: Lessons from Podcasting's Biggest Names

00:54:54 Final Advice on Purpose and Legacy

From Mark Victor Hansen:

Website

LinkedIn

Books

Mentioned in this video:

How To Create Any Reality (The Belief Blueprint) (August 4)

What’s Your Influence Style Profile? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots).

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 1,025+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

Become the Expert People Remember, Trust, and Choose.

Expert Foundations is a live 3-week program where you'll build the three foundations every influential expert needs.

→ https://www.howiechan.com/expertfoundations

Next cohort begins August 17 - September 4, 2026

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Produced by Ideablossoms

In this solo episode, Howie shares a very personal story. It happened in March, 2022. A brief phone call ended his dream job and he was forced to rebuild his career. Now, in hindsight, if he could redo the 18 months that followed, there are three things he'd do (very) differently.

Hit play and listen to Howie break down why being good at your job will not keep you safe in the modern workplace and how most professionals confuse personal branding with professional branding — that confusion is exactly what keeps smart, credible professionals invisible. Howie holds nothing back and walks through the three strategic foundations that have to be locked in before anyone posts a single thing online.

Chapters:

00:00:00 The Call That Ended My Dream Job
00:04:08 3 Reasons Building a Professional Brand Matters
00:09:59 Personal Brand vs Professional Brand
00:13:59 The Question Almost Everyone Skips
00:18:00 The 3 Foundations of a Powerful Professional Brand
00:31:21 The Skill Nobody Taught You
00:33:49 3 Things I’d Redo After Getting Laid Off

What’s Your Influence Style Profile? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 1,025+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

Become the Expert People Remember, Trust, and Choose.

Expert Foundations is a live 3-week program where you'll build the three foundations every influential expert needs.

→ https://www.howiechan.com/expertfoundations

Next cohort begins August 17 - September 4, 2026

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Produced by Ideablossoms (https://ideablossoms.com/)

Howie Chan sits down with Owen Fitzpatrick, social psychologist and author of Inner Propaganda, to unpack why your brain is running a quiet campaign against your own objectivity. Owen reveals that belief has almost nothing to do with logic. It has to do with what feels right, safe, and stable.
Together they break down the four different kinds of truth we mistake for objective fact, why argumentation almost never changes anyone's mind, how to build a belief growth mindset, and why your brain decides what to believe before it ever starts reasoning.
Owen also shares the deeply personal story behind why he's spent his career studying belief: he got very close to ending his life at 14 years old, but one line in his own suicide letter stopped him and saved his life.
Chapters:
00:00:00 How Our Beliefs Influence Our Reality
00:12:34 Why This Matters: Living in a Difficult World
00:17:12 Building a Belief Growth Mindset
00:22:16 The Kale Analogy: Curating Your Information Diet
00:26:56 Desired Truth: When We Don't Want to Believe
00:31:22 Becoming a Belief Leader
00:34:02 The Courage to Change Your Beliefs
00:37:19 The Antifragile Identity
00:43:03 Influencing Teams and Companies
00:52:03 Nuance, Real Propaganda, and Complex Characters
01:00:52 Owen's Story: The Letter That Saved His Life (and His Final Message)
From Owen Fitzpatrick:
Website
LinkedIn
Book: Inner Propaganda
Mentioned in this video:
Beyond Belief: The Truth About Why You Feel STUCK | Behavioral Change w/ Nir Eyal (March 10)
What’s Your Influence Style Profile? What do you do when you need someone to do something?
This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)
→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/
Join 900+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.
Become the Expert People Remember, Trust, and Choose.
Expert Foundations is a live 3-week program where you'll build the three foundations every influential expert needs.
→ https://www.howiechan.com/expertfoundations
Next cohort begins August 17 - September 4, 2026
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Produced by Ideablossoms