---
title: "Authority"
description: "A personal brand that has already done the thing and teaches from it."
canonical: https://tomsharman.com/glossary/authority/
updated: 2026-10-25
---

# Authority

A personal brand that has already done the thing and teaches from it.

## Why does it matter?

An authority leads with the result and teaches from it. The audience follows because the person has already been where they want to go.

## How does it work?

1. Ask whether they have already done the thing their audience wants to do.
2. If yes, lead with the result and teach from it.
3. Write the line down and test every video against it before it goes out.

## Where has Tom used it?

[Sam Stoffel](https://tomsharman.com/case-studies/sam-stoffel/) made his money, sold the business, and now teaches. His formats, selfie videos, podcasts and reviewing personal brands, all teach from that result.

## Related terms

- [Builder](https://tomsharman.com/glossary/builder/index.md): A personal brand in the trenches, documenting the journey while it happens.
- [The messy middle](https://tomsharman.com/glossary/messy-middle/index.md): The ground between builder and authority, where a personal brand says both things at once and stalls.
- [The eight things](https://tomsharman.com/glossary/the-eight-things/index.md): Six to eight messages a person says over and over, a hundred different ways, until people know what they stand for.

## Where is it explained?

- https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/positioning/builder-or-authority/