A New Twist On Personal Branding

The term Personal Branding has been used for many years. According to Wikipedia, Personal Branding is a conscious and intentional effort by people to create and influence public perception by positioning them as an authority in their industry, elevating their credibility and differentiating themselves from their competition. All of this, to ultimately advance their career, increase their circle of influence and have a larger impact.

Throughout time, human beings have always had the desire to heighten their abilities and focus on “self packaging” In this context, Personal Branding is defined by an individuals inner set of skills, motivations and interest in self promotion. Famed, ”Think and Grow Rich” author Napolean Hill used the term self positioning as one’s attempt to create a Personal Brand, Fast forward to more current times, the term Personal Branding, or Personal Brand has been used primarily by professional athletes, actors and musicians.

While recognizing the origins of Personal Branding, the term seems self serving and narcissistic. While the concept of creating an outward persona mirroring a strong set of inner Core Values is important, care must be taken to express an authentic approach to Personal Branding, which will be outlined here.

As a result of high profile individuals creating their Personal Brand, the concept has now “trickled down” to people in many walks of life. This concept should be encouraged for all people, to define their goals, identify their strengths, develop and enhance leadership qualities and establish a positive presence in areas of personal experience and knowledge.

For many, it is difficult to capture all of these steps and formulate them in a way that makes everyday life more meaningful and impactful. In its most basic form, the development of a Personal Brand is the ultimate “come to Jesus” moment of assessing who you are and where you are with your life. This moment is the beginning of your own journey towards establishing your Personal Brand and guiding where it will take you.

Everyone has a Personal Brand, regardless of you consciously knowing it, or planning it out! The Personal Brand may be in professional life, an area of expertise, family matters, or community service. Personal Branding is an ongoing, organic, unavoidable aspect of todays world! Your Personal Brand can be a powerful vehicle to reach goals in all aspects of your life.

Building your Personal Brand needs to be intentional. Being intentional refers to a persons conscious effort to put their “best foot forward” A Personal Brand is a very public reference to you as an individual.

The list of possible characteristics of one’s Personal Brand is vast, but may include the following:

. Strong Leadership Skills

. Ones Profession

. Accomplishments

. Challenges

. Abilities

. Personal Intensity

. Outward Appearance

. Inner Drive

. Personality

. Degree of Compassion Towards Others

. Development of Goodwill

. Exhibiting Forgiveness

. Keeping Ones Word

. Defending A Worthy Cause

. Striving Against Great Odds

. Relatability

. Authenticity

. Character

. Being Prepared

. Consistently Consistent

There is one interesting fact with this long list of Personal Brand characteristics. Many of these same characteristics are exhibited by good leaders. That correlation is in line with the basic belief that the world needs good leaders! Wouldn’t it be a great, if more people had strong leadership skills at the forefront of their Personal Brand?

Author Peter Montoya in his book, ”The Personal Branding Phenomenon”, defined Personal Branding as “a personal identity that stimulates meaningful perceptions in its audience, about the values and qualities that a person stands for” Contrasting this definition with the Wikipedia definition ,Montoya does not mention positioning oneself as an authority, or elevating ones authority in their industry. I also believe that at it’s core, Personal Branding is a simple yet powerful set of basic values unique to the individual person. It is not about how much money one earns, how big their house is, or the type of car they drive. It is more about the set of strong characteristics one currently exhibits and how they are working to gain additional positive attributes.

In closing, Personal Branding should not change your personality, make enemies, or have a negative affect on your family or personal life. Personal Branding is not about, ”look at me” in a Facebook, or Instagram moment. Personal Branding is about being grounded in a set of strong virtues, that portray the human and authentic side that all people should strive for.