True success is being able to live your own life in your own unique way. In a world where everyone wants you to be everything, and be like everyone, only one thing counts: Being able to define who you are. There are three key elements to defining your personal brand: clarity, constancy and compelling. Knowing your personal purpose, principles and promise are the things that make you stand out from others with the same skills or same experience.
Everyone one of us is unique; we carry a crystal clear uniqueness, that if we concentrated on that, we would change our own personal in-world and the world outside. The inner world within you fights for recognition. You might not agree with me, but all of us walk around with a hidden collar that says, “I am someone important and please treat me with dignity”. There is a cry within each one of us for greatness and human dignity.
This human dignity does not come from riches and fame, but comes from valuing little things, doing them faithfully and with love and the surpassing worth of friendship with God. Your personal brand is who you are. What comes to people’s minds about you when they hear your name is your personal brand. In your team, when people mention your name, what you are known for is what jumps into their mind. You cannot build your personal brand by trying to be like someone else, that is called a copycat, something fake. While shopping in Singapore, I noticed something very unique in the shops; the shop owners pointed out to me real item from a fake one, an imitation from the original. Brand names items have specific reputations. They last longer, are trusted, and they have been tested and proven trustworthy. Self-branding is very important in the world we live in today.
It is what separates those that will change our world today and the world to come from those that will surely pass away leaving us nothing to tell others about them. Only the original you can make a difference in the world today. Every day of your life, people judge you based on the actions and behaviors they observe from you. This process is the act of perceiving. While you do not have control over how other people view us, we do have control over our actions. Proactively shaping how others perceive you is a key strategy to standing out. So stop living re-actively and choose to live proactively.
Why are we so afraid to live our lives like “us”? Many of us could have been so far in life, in our careers, relationships and even financially if we did not constantly look for people’s approval, in everything we want to do and say. So in fear of what people will say, we took a career that we are not happy with so we can look cool. We married someone because everyone else except us, thought they had the right job, right education, or the right social standing, while the truth of the matter is, it is your life. When all doors close behind you, when the lights go off, who are you? Fear of failure also is another hindrance. Just because everyone else failed in that particular area does not mean you will fail too. True success is making it in areas where everyone else has failed. It is taking a project that everyone has done poorly, and making it excellent.
I was recently one of the panelists in UC Berkley at a women in leadership conference. We were talking about how data influences marketing, which in turn drives decision making in buying. When we got to QA session, the first question that came from the audience was “how do you market your ideas in the corporate world as a woman without fear of being rejected?” It was clear from the discussion that ensued that success begins with intentional self-branding mixed with an inner attitude that says this is who I’m and this is where I’m going. People who succeed have this attitude, “You have a choice to either join me or get off my way”. This is when your desire for success becomes greater than your fear of failure. It is not who you are that hinders you, it is who you think you are not. People do not reject you for who you are, but they reject the person you present yourself to be. How you manage your personal brand determines how others view you shape. This will shape your life and your career.
Self-branding will call for standing out in a culture where you might have some abilities and background. Think about this, are there abilities you can develop, that can make people follow you, befriend you or just want to know you more? Can you identify values you can add and bring to your team, church, organization, family life, or even your community? Ask yourself this question, “Why will someone want to associate with me today?” What am I known for?” In other words, what skills, abilities, knowledge and attitudes do you have that might bring change to your inner world and the world without?
Jesus was and still is a brand name. When you mention Jesus there are things that jump into your mind. When the name Jesus is mentioned one thing that comes into people’s mind is, he died for our sins, he forgives our sins, he provides for our needs, he was unique in the society he lived in, he was not a man pleaser, and he did things uniquely. When Jesus walked into the temple and found everyone laughing, happily selling and buying, his response was unique. He didn’t see the building as a market place, but said it should the house of prayer. There also men and women who have lived in our world and have used their unique abilities to bring change. For example, Steve Jobs was known for his persistence, innovative thinking and inability to listen to others in some cases. He had unique ideas. Today when his name is mentioned, you think of the iPhone, iPad, Mac book, or iTunes. Something jumps out of our minds today when such names as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther king, or Abraham Lincoln are mentioned. The mention of their names reminds us of something great that they did.
To sum up this article, this week start branding yourself by your habits. What you do repeatedly becomes a habit, and a habit becomes a character. How do you want to be remembered? Be the unique person that God created you to be. You are in the place you are in, in this hour and season for a greater purpose. You can only accomplish what needs to be accomplished by being unique and true about who you are.
