Each morning when you wake up, you gaze into the mirror. You see someone others seldom see. You see the you that has sleepers in your eyes, pillow lines in your face and a nasty case of “bed head”.
After your shower you return to the mirror, looking a little more like the “you” that others see and know. But who lies behind the persona… behind the reflection? Identifying your personal brand attributes will help you answer that question and requires you to look into that same mirror from an entirely different perspective.
While its essential to put your best foot forward in business and in life… it really must go beyond “image” to include those aspects that truly make you unique. Like a snowflake, you are one of a kind and unlike any other, but when you look in the mirror, what do you see staring back at you? Do you see someone extraordinary… or do you see someone who is not quite good enough, flawed in some fashion or simply ordinary?
While most can summons the intellectual insights to recognize that they are unique, few look in the mirror and see something more than a series of flaws and dysfunctions. In an effort to rise above the conditioned limitations of our past, humans have an uncanny ability to project these limitations back into their future.
Personal Branding puts an end to the futile dance that keeps you stuck between self perception and self promotion.
As human beings we are meaning making machines, yet the meaning we create is based entirely on human mis-perception
What we believe to be truth… is nothing more than a belief. And our beliefs are flawed and inaccurate… but yet when you look into that mirror, the beliefs you hold about yourself, good or bad, feel so incredibly real. What’s a human to do?
As you begin to recognize that your life & your identity and your “self” are all predicated on nothing more than the meaning you’ve assigned to everything… you begin to gain incredible insights into magical world of marketing.
Choose to explore for yourself, the benefits of personal branding, and you will be inspired to become more effective at introspection… More vigilant as seeing yourself for who you honestly are as a person. Your personal brand is made up of your “brand attributes” and consists of those personality traits that define how you move through the world. But when you look in the mirror do you see what others see?
A Fun Challenge Few Will Take
This exercise will rock your world… and its very sad that so few of you will actually try it. Why… because its scary. Anything worth its merit is intimidating… especially when it reveals something new about yourself.
For those you up for a little personal growth and self improvement I challenge you to take a small pad of paper and give one sheet to 10 different people. Ask them to write down your four strongest personality traits, and to fold the paper closed before giving it back to you. Refuse to look at or discuss any of the answers until you have collected all 10. These anonymous pieces of paper hold within them the very personality traits that make you unique. You will be amazed at how many of them are the same or similar to one another.
These are your “personal brand attributes” and are the essence of your personal brand. Choose the three that resonate with your soul and begin to focus on how to add value to others through these attributes. Who knows, tomorrow when you wake up, you just might look in the mirror and see something truly extraordinary.
Let me know about your results by leaving a comment about your experience below.
