When you think of the brand you are most familiar with some of the big names may come to mind. Certain drinks of a pink color or shoes with a greek goddess name. When in fact the brand you are most familiar with is yourself. One of the common misunderstandings I have seen from a leadership perspective is people failing to realize they are on stage, providing free marketing of themselves. Good or bad, they represent their brand and what it stands for.

Lets clarify, this isn't an indictment on any particular choice of representation or an urge to turn to a certain style. This is merely understanding that you need a consistent approach in whatever your brand is. You can look to any marketing information out there. Overwhelmingly, consistency is the key to approach in most situations. By looking at yourself as a brand you can begin to take a consistent approach to achieving your goals. You will find this also helps to create a focused approach. As a leader I am fond of the saying "gentle persuasion applied relentlessly". With this approach to yourself its easy to help connect with the person you are trying to bring aboard your way of thinking, yourself!

As you start to reach milestones in understanding yourself it becomes easier to market your skills and passions. This can be in pursuit of a chosen job or career. It can be in pursuit of a hobby, activity, or even relationships. The uses are endless.

While it may be weird at first to think of even relationships as important in the brand of you, this is a basic and primal area of our lives where we want to make great first impressions and follow up with even better experiences together. This is exactly what branding of products and services aims to do. In this scenario, you are the brand and the customer is the potential mate. We court the experiences with the other person by presenting ourselves in our best manner. What if in pursuit of brand you, you find out more that helps even in this area.

There is the old saying fake it til you make it. This can apply to your brand as well. I am not advocating lying about yourself. I am merely suggestion work on your personal brand as much as you work on your other areas of you life and the rewards become spoken and acted into existence. Want to be better, tell yourself you are capable of overcoming the obstacles ahead of you, champion yourself and your abilities like you would your favorite meal at the best restaurant you ever eaten at. This belief in yourself can set you apart and help you achieve things you didn't think possible.

In my own experience I didn't realize I was a brand until my 30's. I was passed over early in my career for promotions into larger leadership positions and I couldn't understand why. The people I was in charge of loved me and worked incredibly hard to achieve great results with me, yet none of that mattered, I didn't understand what it was. It wasn't until I talked to the people they chose to go into these positions and understand that each of them had positioned themselves in more ways then I imagined to be a natural choice. I was rough around the edges in both ways I could see and ways I didn't even think of.

When your name is brought up in rooms you aren't in for future promotions or inclusion in a whole host of things the image and brand of you is the most important thing in that moment. The worst part of this scenario is you can't control any of it. What is done is done. If I could change anything I would have understood earlier that great results aren't necessarily able to overcome snapshots of you in fleeting moments. The consistent and steady approach, even in momentary failure, will result in far better outcomes in all areas of your life. Graciousness and patience is key, yet incredibly hard to learn.

Think of your journey and your brand during life as a voyage. It will take an incredible amount of input to get to the desired destination. The input is the knowledge and exploration of self and life as you go. The destination is the outcomes and goals you want from life itself. Explore what the different inputs can do for your voyage and in turn how you can help to bring new input for others. The branding of you is supposed to be as much fun as it is exploratory. Use each different period of your life as a chance to explore and broaden your brand. Carry a positivity that is infectious to others, then let them champion you. This is what people call lucky. Its the innate connection you make with people you meet in life and the influence you carry in them moving forward. Make your brand legendary!

For my brand, I hope to bring my insight to others and possibly help to give positive influence to people. I have gained so much through my time in the hospitality industry, marketing and promotions, and many other experiences in my life. This is my personal brand. Motivation in stories and anecdotes when around and with other people. This is my manifestation of my personal brand to something I love to do. Teach people the things I have learned and in turn hopefully interact with others and continue to learn and gain new experiences. That is the story of experience et al and what my brand and motivations are. Thanks for starting the journey with me and hopefully looking into your own brand or maybe even the furtherance of it.

Thanks for starting this journey with me. If there is a particular topic you would like to know if I have experienced just ask and lets talk.
[IMAGE: https://images.hive.blog/DQmT5AgRXksY2oBno1RVQy6qkNrXXUBhexYSwyvUDc6Ls9U/737F7239-D070-415E-8490-560396C1BB71_4_5005_c.jpeg]