When you know what you want in life and you are
willing to work hard to achieve that then you can`t live a free life as you
wish. You just can’t, period!
The way you talk, walk, eat, laugh, sneeze,
sing, smile, dress, greet other people,
respond to conversations are determined by what you want to achieve, they don’t
just happen haphazardly. In our everyday life we are working on creating a
brand that can stand out, a brand that we are comfortable in and it starts with
knowing what you want and knowing your worth. There is nothing like a bad brand
but rather we associate ourselves with different brands due to our different
tastes. It’s funny how brands that we don’t associate with always stand out and
we are able to recognize but we find it hard to recognize those we think are good for us. A bully who terrorizes the whole village will be known by all and recognized but that faithful woman who takes care of her family won`t be recognized,
who cares anyway!
Don’t you think those two people have put equal
efforts on creating those brands, for it takes determination, handwork, and
persistence to become what you really want to be? Someone will say some brands will
not get you anywhere in life and I say that’s your theory still to be proven.
What I want is NOT what you want, what makes me happy is NOT what makes you
happy. I always envy those people who have managed to build their own brand
from scratch and it came out so good that you can’t even imitate.
I remember watching this police story on BTV on
bullying and I couldn't stop shaking my head throughout the series because the
guy was good. First you should have a dream and then deduce a plan on how to
achieve that dream. So his dream was to go to jail, at least I think that was
the bigger picture. You don’t just wake up today and go to jail, you have to
work hard to achieve that. He decided to bully everyone in the village, from
kids to elders. He got recognized everywhere because his brand stood out and he wouldn't pass by without anyone noticing that this guy is going places (to jail
of course). He was that good! The question is, Are you that good?
Personal branding is basically selling someone
your personality. You need to think hard about HOW you act. You should have a
clearly identifiable personality so that people can easily feel like they know
you personally, even if they've never met you.
Because your personal brand is built from the
thoughts and words and reactions of other people, it’s shaped by how you
present yourself publicly. This is something that you have control over. You
can decide how you would like people to see you and then work on publicly being
that image. Values are the easiest thing to present and have people identify
with, so start there. Are you the sort of person who puts ethics above
everything else?
Every good brand involves the notion of
expertise. Even if
you’re not interested in marketing your advice, you need to create the
perception that you are very good at what you do. You need to be an active force in your field.
You need to be changing, innovating, and making a significant contribution to
your field at all times or else your brand will die out over time.
Be good at what you do so people don’t have to
guess if that could be you or not. Stand out from the crowd and show the whole
world the true YOU. Be passionate about your brand and let it last a lifetime.
