Attention vs. Conviction: Being seen and being followed

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If you're serious about building a personal brand with depth and intention, you need to check out the latest episode of The 505 Podcast featuring Dan Koe. Dan is a writer, philosopher, and one of the sharpest minds in the creator economy, helping people escape burnout and turn their lived experiences into real leverage.

In this conversation with hosts Bfiggy and Kostas Garcia, Dan breaks down why 2026 is the perfect moment to build a creator business, why 1,000 true fans beats 25,000 followers, and how to design a brand people actually subscribe to, not just scroll past. They dive into knowing what moves the needle, monetizing without chasing virality, and why creators need better filters, not more ideas.

Watch the full episode here:

Focus on creating "subscribe-worthy" content, not just scroll-stopping content. The difference? Scroll-stopping gets attention for a moment, but subscribe-worthy content makes people think "I need more of this in my life." This means going deeper on fewer topics rather than chasing every trending sound or format. Think: what would make someone want to hear from you again next week?

I was listening to the Joe Rogan podcast with Chris Williamson recently (watch it here), and Chris mentioned something that stuck with me: the difference between attention and conviction in the context of activism. But I want to flip that and talk about how it applies to personal branding, because I think there's a massive misunderstanding happening right now.

Most people building personal brands think they're trying to get attention. And they're not wrong - attention is the initial spark, that first moment someone notices you. It's driven by novelty, entertainment, aesthetics, maybe even controversy. Trendy videos, viral takes, edgy thumbnails… that's how you capture attention. But here's the issue: attention fades fast. Algorithms reward frequency, not depth. So creators chase attention and mistake it for influence.

Attention is transactional. It's given and taken back instantly. If I want your attention, I might say something incredibly provocative or against the grain. You'll stop and think, "Whoa, that's crazy." And that's actually useful. Discovering what your differentiator is, what your controversial opinion is within your niche, can be a powerful attention-getter. But it doesn't last.

That's where conviction comes in. If attention is the spark, conviction is the gravity that pulls people in and keeps them there. It's the deeper trust and belief people feel in you, driven by consistency, principles, depth of thought, and the courage to stand for something. Think about creators like Casey Neistat, Alex Hormozi, or even Kobe Bryant. Their ideas and values actually shape how people act.

I'm personally obsessed with Alex Hormozi's work. His marketing principles, the value equation, his product offer strategies - I live and die by that stuff because I've seen it work, and he's reinforced it over and over. That's conviction. I'm not just following him, I'm an advocate. I share his books with people across totally different industries because I genuinely believe they apply to everything.

Conviction turns your audience into advocates. It compounds. The more you share what you believe, the more people align behind it. And yes, the more people oppose it, which is actually a good thing. If your ideas don't have opposition, you don't have ideas at all. You have general statements about reality.

When you're making your point about branding, football boots, vacuum cleaners, barbecuing - whatever your thing is - it's important to keep reinforcing your core ideas and values. Here's something we always say: as soon as you start getting hate messages, that's when you know you're hitting a chord. And the cool thing? You'll likely have double, triple, even quadruple the number of people who love your content. They just won't say it as loudly because they're busy advocating for you to other people.

So here's the bridge: Attention is how people find you. Conviction is why they stay. Your brand needs both, but in my opinion, only 20-30% is about catching attention. The real quality comes from building conviction through clarity of belief and proof through action.

You can visualize it like this: Attention → Connection → Conviction → Influence.

If you're already creating content, here's a practical audit you can do: Does your content reflect what you actually believe, or what you think will perform? I personally got stuck in this with football boot content. Yes, there were other things I wanted to talk about - behind-the-scenes of lower-level football, my interest in music, running shoes, apparel, family. But I didn't, because I focused only on what I thought would perform.

The challenge for you is to post ideas that challenge or teach something, not just show something. Sure, show proof - especially if you're a business owner. But challenge someone to do something or teach through that example.

Revisit your belief stack or content pillars - the three to five things you stand for no matter what. Things like "process over perfection" or "athletes are entrepreneurs." Then anchor your storytelling in conviction. Show how you live your beliefs, not just talk about them.

At the end of the day, attention makes you visible. Conviction makes you inevitable. And that's what makes you a key person of influence.

So here's my question for you: What's one belief or principle that defines your personal brand? Something you'd stand by even if it made you unpopular in your niche?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Hit reply and let me know, or better yet, if this resonated with you, share this newsletter with someone who's building their personal brand. The more of us focused on conviction over just chasing attention, the better our collective content becomes.

Until next week,