CREATING YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING FUEL

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar

As taught by Don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements, to speak with impeccability is to speak from your highest self. It means that you speak with intention and with integrity. It means that your words are in alignment with what you say you want to produce—your vision and your dreams.

This has never been more true, with the advent of the World Wide Web, online forums, chat group and social networks. More than ever, you must master your words. Fail to do so, and you will be embroiled in flame wars and such. You must be conscious of the thoughts you think and the words you write—both about yourself and others. To be successful in the digital age, everything the Success Principles teaches to build self-esteem and self-confidence, to build relationships, and to build dreams—is amplified.

CREATING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

A new concept is something called personal branding, which has grown with the rise of social technologies that have made this thing called “branding” not only more personal, but within reach.

Many people think that personal branding is just for celebrities, but the reality is that each and every one of us is a brand. Personal branding is the process by which we market ourselves to others. As a brand, we can leverage the same strategies that make these celebrities or corporate brands appeal to others. We can build this thing called brand equity just like them.

But what is a brand exactly?

The word “brand” comes from the Old German word “brant”, which means “to burn”. It came from the practice marking property permanently with a hot iron. But a marketing expert today will tell you that branding is the process of creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers’ mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme, to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

Jerome Conlon, who wrote Soulful Branding believes that a brand is like a “field” of thoughts, impressions, experiences and regard, that is emanated by a company into the world. He has used this approach to understanding branding, as the strategic branding manager who helped make Nike and Starbucks household names, to help many companies and celebrities create, repair and expand their brands.

Jerome says, “There is a strong connection between brand communications and human cellular resonance. The human subtle energy body, or the emotional body, the light body or the soul or whatever you want to call it, vibrates with a higher frequency and energy when positive emotional chords are struck. A positive brand experience literally brightens us within. Branding is not just a management science, it’s also an art and a philosophy.”

This means that your personal brand is the emanation of who you are into the “brand energy field” that exists within the collective subconscious of the public at large, and this effect has become even more pronounced with the advent of social networks.

It turns out that mastering the inner art of branding actually requires a deep and profound understanding of human nature and the meaning of man. And mastering your personal brand requires that you reach the same level of understanding, but about who you are and what you bring to the world.

And so, literally, your inner thoughts radiate into this field. Therefore, you must be impeccable in both thought and deed on the Internet.

In practical terms, employers will Google you before they even invite you to an interview. So you need to be fully conscious of all of those impressions that are gathering about you. So here’s the #1 tip: live your brand.

This means to actually be, think, breathe and eventually manifest the ideals that you seek. Most people will simply come up with a few words to slap on the social network profile. What’s more important is how you act, and how you are received your friends, partners, clients, prospects, vendors, colleagues…everyone out there.

HERE ARE TEN TIPS TO GET YOU ON THE PATH TO PERSONAL BRANDING SUCCESS:

1. Lean into it. Because of the noise level out there on the web, introverts don’t do so well. Just showing up isn’t enough when your personal brand is at stake. You must live life out loud!
2. Forge meaningful relationships. Remember everything we said about building powerful support team and finding a wing to climb under? Here’s your chance to make it happen. Ask! Ask! Ask! and reject rejection. The ability to find a great mentor and great Masterminds is amplified on the Internet. So get out there and forge strong and meaningful relationships with those who are more apt to speak up on your behalf.And once you’ve forged relationships, be loyal and positive and supportive and loving. It doesn’t matter how many friends you have on Facebook or followers on Twitter. What matters is how strong and resilient those relationships turn out to be.
3. Share who you are. Put yourself out there. Share the truth of who you are, and when we say that, we mean the highest truth. Don’t get scared and don’t over-analyze the situation. Is someone giving you a hard time on some online group? Go and clean up that incomplete. Transcend your limiting beliefs about who you are and what you can do in this amazing medium.So if you’re branding yourself as someone who is good at something, you have to try to be that way… not only for the clients that are paying, you want to share some of that secret sauce with everyone out there. If you’re innovative, demonstrate it. If you’re a great coach, don’t just include testimonials, offer some coaching through your blog.
4. Share your why. According to Simon Sinek, a NY Times bestselling author, “People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it.” By defining your personal why, the how and what become much easier to express and reflect your intentions and higher being. So start with why.
5. Be fully present. Nothing is worse than dealing with someone who only talks about themselves at a party. Be interested in who people are, what makes them tick, what makes them happy, what makes them excited. Even on a chat board, be fully present when you read what they are saying. At a certain point, if you feel empathy, you will want to help them get what they want, and that is the way to build your personal brand.