The best support you can offer yourself is confidence. Without belief in what you do and what you represent, you can’t successfully project a personal image that attracts customers. This confidence comes from an innate belief in your own worth as a person and as a product. It is the key to progress since it not only affects your relationships externally but also how you perceive and react to the world around you.
Confidence is Key
What is a personal brand if not an external valuation of your own self-worth? It is literally a projection of how confident you are in yourself. Now that it’s necessary as a way to increase your overall value alongside the value of the product you’re producing, it’s even more important to begin garnering as much confidence in yourself as possible.
Though some people seem naturally born with an unwavering belief in their potential, the vast majority have at least a few hang ups that make them doubt themselves. Through social media, however, these weaknesses can be hidden from sight. Before the days of the online persona, confidence had to be mastered physically as a means of projecting your persona onto others and attract those that saw your value. Nowadays, you can come up with rehearsed posts to send out that glisten with belief in yourself no matter how scared you are when you make the post.
Luckily, humans are extremely adaptable. Therefore, the more you post confidently, the more confident you will become mentally. It’s pretty much faking it until you make it a reality. On that same note, remember to steer clear of self-depreciation. It may drive you crazy because you want to point out all of your own flaws to avoid potential criticism, but do not give in to this desire. Those with self-confidence don’t waste their time worrying about small mistakes. They continually working toward making the next time even better.
Live by the Brand
Whatever your brand, believe in it. It’s you. You are unique. And, only you can deliver on actions and corporate brand promises in the way that’s uniquely you. If people meet you and find a very different person than what they experience through any other medium or interaction, they’re going to feel deceived and rightly so. Your brand, after all, should be an extension of your true self. It might be a bit more exaggerated but it should nevertheless be an accurate portrayal of the real you. Your personal brand is the culmination of every great quality that sets you apart and makes you an asset. Not living this way labels you a fraud.
So how do you avoid such a trap? Without a doubt, learning real confidence is a challenging feat to master.
The first step is assuming the language you use on social media. Because language directly affects how we perceive ourselves, it’s the fastest way to remove the disconnect between our online brand and our actual persona. Start talking as positively as you type and eventually that positivity will become your default way of acting. From here, everything else will fall into place. Once you speak confidently, you’ll believe in your confidence. Once you believe in your confidence, you’ll begin acting with the natural ease and charm that those with true belief in themselves exude.
Recently, I interviewed Nicole Wright, actress, director and co-host of Super Geeked Up (Super Geeked Up is seriously THE Geekiest Show Online! Join the SGU crew as they discuss your favorite sci-fi, fantasy, superhero, and geeky topics and play super-fun games!)
She shared this about personal brand self-confidence –
Nicole: I’ve always thought of myself as awkward. I was one that one kid that was super hyper, silly, loud and out there. I wrote a sketch for my high school Spring Production called “Bergetha the Bunny.” It was probably the weirdest and most hilarious thing I ever came up with in high school. I was dressed in a bunny/panther suit (long story), strumming an out-of-tune guitar and singing about animals who had sadly passed on. Literally the entire audience was laughing and on the floor and this sketch got me in the yearbook and notice for a college scholarship, I kid you not!
I realized that this was who I am and started embracing this “awkward” side of me and branded myself as Nicole the Awkward. I had a blog and vlogs where I told awkward stories and came up with awkward character sketches. It was really fun and it was a space that I felt completely myself! The sad thing is, I allowed others judgment of me to squash out this part of me that made me different and unique. And I became extremely critical of myself and extremely self-conscious. It wasn’t until a few years ago when I started feeling more confident in myself and allowed myself to embrace the “awkward” again.
The parts of ourselves that are “awkward” are also the things that make us unique and stand out and become our signature brand. Allowing others to convince me to be something other than who I am was hurtful and damaging. Thankfully, there are some very positive people in my life who helped me reclaim my awkwardness!
Not only is it important for you to be confident in yourself and not be ashamed of all the little quirky things that make you different, but it’s also important to surround yourself with positive people who encourage you, support you and push you to be the best version of yourself.
There are three huge things that have helped me embrace my brand. The first is my husband. He is my number one supporter, always encouraging me to pursue my dreams and be confident in myself. The second is my family and friends. And last, but certainly not least, is my Super Geeked Up family. Being a part of this team of lovable weirdos is one of the best things to have happened in my life. Not only do I feel that my awkwardness is supported, but it also gives me a platform and a space to encourage and connect with others. I have a passion for making a positive difference in the world and this brand gives me the platform to do just that by being able to connect with and encourage others all over the world that have similar passions and interests.
Your brand also gives you a platform to make a positive different in the world around you.
Being confident in yourself and your brand is important but what’s even more important is that you come at it with love and genuineness. We all are looking for ways to connect with others and the world around us. I know for me, when I see brand that is authentic and genuine, I can’t help but gravitate towards it and the people involved and look for ways to connect.
Keep Trying New Things
Confidence can become stale over time if you fall into complacency. Should this happen, even your online brand will suffer the consequences. As a preventative measure, continually force yourself to do things energize, excite you and even challenge you. Do you hate networking? During the next event you attend, make a connection with at least one stranger and build from there. By doing new things, you probe the boundaries of your potential. It’s succeeding with the scary things that show you all you’re capable of, and the longer this list is, the stronger your confidence becomes.
As with all things, however, remember to be cautious of going too far. Self-confidence in a personal brand is essential for attracting people but being too confident repels them just as easily. So long as you remain open to criticism and always seek to improve your identified weaknesses, you’ll be able to walk the precarious line between humility and pride.
