Foundation

Pick Your Topics - The Strategic Architecture of Expertise

~15 min read

Chapter 6 of 29

"You only have to be able to evaluate companies within your circle of competence. The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital." - Warren Buffett

The Question Everyone Asks (And Gets Wrong)

All right. Now, for something that a lot of people struggle with, which is picking your topic. Like, what are we going to talk about here?

This is a question that I get from many people. I've gotten this question hundreds, if not thousands of times over the last couple of years.

And there's a lot of different opinions online about what or how you go about picking your topics. I have kind of a nuanced belief on this and view on it and it's one that changes and evolves over time.

I encourage you to start narrow.

I personally believe that early trust is built off of being great at one specific thing and talking about that same specific thing.

The Friend Who's "Great at Everything"

We all have that friend who is the best at everything. And we know that they're not good at any of it. By them talking all about how great they are at all these different subjects and all these different skills, we pretty much assume that they're not good at any of them.

Contrary to that is the friend who only talks about woodworking and how they love carving this beautiful chair or putting together this amazing desk for their parents or whatever.

The person who is obsessed around one thing and speaks about that at nauseam is the individual who we believe has credibility and is actually good at what they're talking about. They have expertise.

The Psychology Behind Single-Subject Authority:
Research in cognitive psychology shows that people inherently trust individuals who demonstrate deep knowledge in specific areas over those claiming expertise in many. This phenomenon, known as the "Specialist Bias," explains why we trust our cardiologist's heart advice over our general practitioner's, even though both are medical doctors.

"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are." - Steve Jobs

The Science of Expertise Development

Beyond the 10,000-Hour Myth:
While Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that 10,000 hours leads to mastery, recent research reveals a more nuanced reality:

Meta-Analysis Findings (Case Western Reserve University):

Deliberate practice accounts for only 26% of skill variation in games like chess
21% in music, and 18% in sports
Among elite performers, practice predicted only 1% of performance difference
Hours to reach "master" status ranged from 728 to 16,120 hours - a 22x variation

The Critical Factors Beyond Practice:

Age of initial engagement: Early starters achieve higher skill levels
Quality of practice: Deliberate practice vs. mechanical repetition
Genetic predisposition: Natural aptitude affects learning speed
Learning environment: Access to expert guidance and feedback
Motivation and persistence: Intrinsic drive to improve

The Deliberate Practice Distinction:
Research by Anders Ericsson emphasizes that "not every type of practice leads to improved ability. You don't get benefits from mechanical repetition, but by adjusting your execution over and over to get closer to your goal."

The Gary Vaynerchuk Master Class

A great example of this is that when Gary started making content online forever ago—I mean, he was super early. I think 2006, 2007 on YouTube, he was the wine guy. He made content around wine. That's what he knew super well.

Now, at the time, he also understood business and marketing, but he didn't talk about that. He built his base and credibility off of a subject matter that he was world-class at.

Over time, he began to expand that, right? He began to speak to the different business practices and marketing techniques that he used to build his dad's wine and liquor store. But in the beginning, all of his content for the first several years on YouTube was Wine Library TV where he was tasting and giving reviews on various wines.

And then what you started to see is he would start to pop up at South by Southwest and start talking more about marketing. And then one day all of a sudden this amazing speech gets dropped on YouTube accompanied with a book called "Crush It!" where he informed everyone of his beliefs on marketing and utilizing this new crazy thing called social media.

The Strategic Pattern

And so what you see there is Gary started very narrow and as his experience and knowledge expanded, so did the subject matter that he covered in his content.

Again, if you try to talk about everything in the beginning, you will dilute the power of what you're speaking to.

What You'll Notice About My Content

So what you're going to notice is I'm not going to sit here talking about business tactics. I'm not going to talk about sales techniques. You're not going to hear me referencing customer success techniques and strategies because that's not my wheelhouse. That's not my expertise.

My expertise is on scaling brands and using organic content strategy to accomplish that. And so that's what you're going to hear me talk about.

But what may happen is over the next couple of years as I gain more experience in other areas, you might watch my brand and my subject matter and topics evolve.

Phase 2: Strategic Evolution (2009-2012)
The Bridge Content:

Began discussing business strategies used to build the wine business
Shared marketing techniques that proved successful in practice
Connected wine industry insights to broader business principles
Maintained wine content while adding business perspectives

Phase 3: Platform Expansion (2012+)
Leveraging Established Credibility:

Launched VaynerMedia based on proven marketing strategies
Published "Crush It!" demonstrating business expertise
Scaled to Fortune 500 consulting using documented results
Maintained wine roots through occasional Wine Library TV episodes

The Results:

Built $200+ million agency (VaynerMedia)
Established unshakeable market position in content marketing
Created multiple revenue streams from single expertise foundation
Maintained audience loyalty through nostalgic callbacks to wine roots

The Amazon Diversification Model: Layers, Not Leaps

Strategic Expansion Framework:
Amazon's evolution demonstrates how successful brands expand while maintaining core identity:

Phase 1: Core Mastery (1994-1997)

Focus: Online bookstore exclusively
Competency: E-commerce infrastructure and customer experience
Market Position: "The everything store for books"

Phase 2: Adjacent Expansion (1998-2005)

Strategy: Leverage existing infrastructure for related products
Expansion: CDs, electronics, toys (products that shipped similar to books)
Core Retention: Maintained book focus while adding complementary items

Phase 3: Capability Leverage (2006+)

Infrastructure Monetization: AWS (leveraging internal tech capabilities)
Market Creation: Kindle (combining books + technology)
Core Reinforcement: Audible acquisition strengthened book market position

The Critical Success Factor:
Amazon never abandoned books—they reinforced their original positioning through strategic acquisitions like Audible, now the largest audiobook platform globally.

The Psychology of Interest Stacking

Research Foundation:
Studies from Nature Communications show that interest-based networks create stronger social capital than traditional relationship-based networks. People form deeper connections when they discover multiple shared interests rather than single commonalities.

The Neural Basis of Connection:
Neuroimaging research reveals that well-connected individuals show very similar neural responses, suggesting they process experiences similarly. This neurological alignment strengthens social bonds and community formation.

The Workplace Connection Study:
Research tracking workplace relationships demonstrates the "interest stacking" effect:

Day 1: Single commonality (work at same company)
Week 1: Discover shared interest (both love Kendrick Lamar)
Month 1: Find additional connections (both into fitness)
Year 1: Multiple shared interests create lasting friendships that survive job changes

Strategic Application:
This research validates the 80/20 content approach:

80% Core Expertise: Builds credibility and business results
20% Personal Interests: Creates multiple connection points with audience

The Joe Rogan Multi-Interest Model

Interest Portfolio Analysis:
Joe Rogan demonstrates masterful interest stacking across diverse topics:

Mixed Martial Arts (original expertise)
Stand-up Comedy (professional background)
Hunting and Outdoors
Health and Human Optimization
Conspiracy Theories and Alternative Thinking
Politics and Social Commentary

The Compound Effect:

Single Interest: Potential audience member
2-3 Shared Interests: Regular listener
4+ Shared Interests: Super fan and evangelist

The Business Results:

$100 million Spotify deal based on audience loyalty across multiple interests
Diverse sponsor portfolio aligned with different interest segments
Sustained growth over 15+ years through interest expansion

When and How to Expand Topics

The natural question that I imagine is coming up for you right now is, well, how do I know when it is the right time to expand? I feel like maybe right now I'm at that point. Or on the flip side, I'm so far from ever expanding. Like, I want to only talk about this subject matter for the rest of my life.

Here's my take on this:

1. You Should Actually Know What You're Talking About

You should actually know what you're talking about before you talk about it. So, if you haven't actually gotten to a point of excellence and world class, then I don't know that I would talk about this new subject matter. I don't think I would bring it into the table because what value are you going to be providing the audience by sharing something that you don't really know much about?

Mastery Indicators:

Consistent positive feedback from experts in your field
Ability to teach others and see their success
Recognition from industry leaders and media
Results that validate your expertise

2. Wait for Audience Validation

Another thing that you can look at is once you're known for a specific topic and you get consistent engagement and positive feedback from the audience on that, then you can consider to start to expand.

3. Take Adjacent Topics, Not Dramatic Jumps

I would encourage you to take on adjacent topics, not something that is completely different. For example, I'm not going to be talking about brand strategy and organic content strategy and then next week start talking about breath work.

That would be completely off-the-wall and make no sense, right? So, there would be too much of a jump for my audience to trust me on this new subject matter because there's nothing about what I've been talking about right now that would give me credibility for this new subject matter.

To use Gary as the same example when he was talking about wine and building the brand and the company online. By him doing that and gaining success with the company, it gave him credibility to speak into marketing and to share those strategies because he had demonstrated them in actual use. He put those strategies that he shared with us to practice to build his business and that gave him credibility to jump into the next section or the next topic in his career.

4. Listen to Your Audience

Another one is look at your audience and what they're asking for. If you start noticing that they're asking for additional information on something that you don't really cover that much, but you've maybe hinted at or has been displayed in a minor way in your content, well, maybe that is time for you to start speaking to that subject matter.

For example, if all of you watching this started asking me a ton about my Harley-Davidson and all the little intricacies of all the upgrades that I've made and the performance and the handling and how I go on long road trips, I would gladly answer those questions.

Strategic Adjacency Examples:

Wine → Business: Gary used wine business success to validate marketing expertise
Books → Everything: Amazon leveraged e-commerce infrastructure across products
Fitness → Nutrition: Natural progression based on shared audience needs
Design → Psychology: User experience bridges visual design and behavioral science

The Crayola Nostalgia Strategy

Case Study: Returning to Roots
In February 2025, Crayola announced the return of eight discontinued colors, some discontinued as recently as 2017, others dating back to 1990.

Strategic Analysis:

Nostalgic Appeal: Targets current parents who grew up with these colors
Core Reinforcement: Demonstrates commitment to brand heritage
Community Connection: Shows responsiveness to long-term customer relationships

The Psychological Impact:
Research shows that nostalgia creates powerful emotional bonds and increases willingness to pay premium prices. Brands that honor their origins while evolving create the strongest loyalty.

Application for Personal Brands:

Occasionally revisit content formats from your early days
Share "throwback" perspectives that show your evolution
Acknowledge and appreciate your earliest supporters
Demonstrate growth while honoring foundational principles

Don't Be Rigid - Stay Flexible

Now, based on the niche you're in and your desired associations, that's what's going to inform the topics that you want to explore and expand on.

A key reminder in this, and this is where a lot of you are potentially going to get hung up, so this is why I'm saying this: don't think of it as a rule when you're picking these topics. These are guidelines that you can follow that make it easier for you to create content, but don't make it an absolute rule.

As much as I was saying that it'd be weird for me to make content around brand organic content strategy and then immediately jump to breath work. Sure, that might be really abrupt and kind of like gnarly for the audience, but ultimately our goal is to do this for a long time. And so if that is something that you do want to talk about, f* it. Just jump and do it.

By no means are these rules to follow. These are guidelines to help you and make this easier for you. Not something that you have to overthink 24/7.

The Content Pillars Trap

In fact, I'm going to double down on this real quick because I think a lot of people sit down with a brand strategist or whatever and they build out these content pillars and then they always say, "Well, if it doesn't fall within the content pillar, we can't talk about it."

But here's the thing. When Trevor and I sat down and identified what we were going to be talking about in our content, we didn't necessarily say Harley-Davidson's, but as you can probably tell if you're at this point in the video, I reference Harley a lot. And I want to make content around my Harleys as well.

Is it one of my content pillars? No, it's not. But if I want to make a video about my Harley, I'm going to f***ing do it because I enjoy it. And I think that what it does do is it rounds out my brand and makes me more interesting. I'm not just somebody who cares about brand and organic content. I also love my motorcycle and love to travel on it. I love to customize it.

This is what will make you interesting and will cause you to actually stand out from your competitors.

So the key here is don't be rigid. Stay flexible.

The Three-Question Topic Selection Framework

So if you're trying to figure this out, here's three questions that might help you:

Question 1: What am I genuinely passionate about discussing?

If you can't tell by now, I'm very passionate about brand strategy. It probably comes through in my tone here. That's what you want to talk about. You want to talk about something that you're going to want to talk about because when you do that passion comes through and people will connect with it and they will probably feel like you are more convicted about what you are saying and believe you more and actually take action on what you are saying rather than just sitting and listening.

Question 2: What will resonate with my audience most right now?

So for me, for example, when I talk about brand strategy, something that is definitely a need in the audience that I have is organic content strategy. I'm going to talk far less over the next year about my paid media strategy because that's something that a lot of people that I have spoken to over the last 5 years need less help on. They have more experience in that.

On the contrary, a lot of people look at organic content on social as like this black box magical mysterious thing that they do not understand. And so that's why a lot of the content that we're going to put out this year is going to be around organic content strategy.

Question 3: What will cause my audience to change their actions the most?

Studies show that educational content succeeds when it leads to behavior change. Content that generates action typically:

Addresses urgent, painful problems
Provides step-by-step implementation guidance
Includes accountability mechanisms
Connects to measurable outcomes

The 80/20 Content Architecture

The Strategic Breakdown:

80% Core Expertise Content:

Business-driving topics that align with your revenue generation
Authority-building content that establishes your market position
Problem-solving material that directly helps your audience achieve results
Case studies and proof points that validate your expertise

20% Interest Stacking Content:

Personal interests that make you more relatable and human
Adjacent topics that provide additional connection points
Behind-the-scenes content that shows your personality and process
Community-building material that fosters deeper relationships

The Human Connection Research:
Studies show that audiences need to see you as human to trust your expertise. The 20% personal content serves several psychological functions:

Reduces the "expert distance" that can intimidate audiences
Creates parasocial relationships that build long-term loyalty
Provides conversation starters that deepen engagement
Demonstrates authenticity in an increasingly artificial digital world

Strategic Implementation: Your Topic Expansion Roadmap

Phase 1: Core Mastery (Months 1-6)

Single-Topic Focus:

Choose one specific area where you have genuine expertise
Create 80+ pieces of content exclusively in this area
Monitor engagement patterns and audience feedback
Build recognition as "the person who talks about [your topic]"

Success Metrics:

People begin introducing you by your specialty
Engagement rates consistently exceed industry averages
Expert opportunities emerge (speaking, consulting, media)
Revenue opportunities arise from your content

Phase 2: Strategic Testing (Months 7-12)

Adjacent Topic Exploration:

Test 2-3 related topics through small content experiments
Monitor audience response to determine expansion opportunities
Maintain 80/20 ratio (core expertise vs. new topics)
Document which expansions drive business results

Audience-Driven Expansion:

Survey your audience about additional interests
Monitor comments and messages for expansion requests
Test personal interest content in small doses
Build comprehensive understanding of your community

Phase 3: Systematic Expansion (Year 2+)

Portfolio Optimization:

Expand topics that show strong audience engagement
Eliminate topics that don't resonate or drive results
Create content series that explore expanded topics in depth
Develop signature perspectives on your expanded subject areas

Nostalgia Integration:

Occasionally return to foundational content themes
Share evolution stories that connect past and present expertise
Honor early supporters through callback content
Demonstrate growth while maintaining core identity

Chapter Summary: Building Sustainable Content Authority

Topic selection isn't about finding the perfect subject—it's about strategically building expertise that compounds over time.

The professionals who achieve lasting content success:

Start narrow to build unshakeable credibility in specific areas
Expand strategically through adjacent topics that serve their audience
Stack interests to create multiple connection points with their community
Honor their origins while demonstrating continuous growth
Focus on action by creating content that changes behavior, not just informs

Your topic strategy should serve two masters: building business results and creating human connections.

The content creators who build sustainable businesses understand that expertise isn't just about what you know—it's about consistently helping your audience achieve results while remaining authentically yourself.

"Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years." - Bill Gates