“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
Have you taken that first step in discovering, understanding, communication and managing your personal brand?
Sometimes that first step is the hardest. Mostly because of the fear associated with taking action into an area that is unknown.
If you remember, Martin Luther King had a dream. A dream that he focused on, shared with others, described in glorious and loving detail. Some of us can even recite his historic speech where he details the aspects of ‘his dream’. But, more important than his dream, my question for you today is what is yours?
Can you recite your dream in great and specific detail?
Have you shared with others the glorious specifics of your vision?
Or have you all too easily bought into and focused on someone else’s dream and forgot about your own?
Today, I challenge you to take a step and answer the following questions:
- What does success look like to you?
- What does it sound like?
- What does it feel like and taste like?
- How is your success making a difference to others?
The second part of that challenge is to write about this for ten minutes. Even if you just write, “I must keep writing” – then do so but keep writing. Thoughts will flow in and out as you do this. Jot them down.
Write down your dreams and your definition of success. Keep from judging it – just write it down. We read books or articles about managing our personal brand yet we do nothing and never more forward. Sadly, we often spend more time creating our grocery list than we do in writing down the specifics of the vision of our life. And, which is more important?
This past week – we provided helpful insights such as:
- The Holy Grail of Workplace Motivation by Skip Weisman
- Do Less and Get More Business Results in 2014 by Crystal Washington
- We Must Like You to Hire You by Nance Rosen
- 4 Ways to Jumpstart Your Brand in 2014 by Heather Huhman
- POWER of Branding: An Interview with J.D. by Bill Connolly
- How to Resign without Burning the Bridges by Ceren Cubukcu
- The New 3R’s for Business: Representation, Recommendations, Review by Elinor Stutz
- Side-Hustling: Angelo Sotira, CEO of deviantART by BIll Connolly
- How Many Influencer Meetings Did You Have This Month? by Eddy Ricci
- How to Reinvent Your Career in 2014 by Glassdoor.com
- Viewing Prospective Employers: Mirror or Glass Door? by Richard Kirby
- Can Personal Brands Use Facebook Ads? by Maria Elena Duron
- Economy of You: An Interview with Kimberly Palmer by Bill Connolly
- Build Influence for Your Brand with Klout Lists by Susan Gilbert
- Whale Songs and Social Media by Jeff Shuey
- Expand Your Brand with a Book by Leslie Truex
- Investing in Your Interview Wardrobe Pays Dividends by Alex Freund
- Increase Productivity by Automating and Recycling for Twitter by Nick Inglis
- Adding Story Telling to the Interview Process by Marc Miller
Here are some easily shareable (and tweetable) tidbits:
It’s important to tune into oneself and know when it’s time to take a break or to simply slow down. http://ow.ly/sDZQD [tweet this]
If you want people to engage with you on social media, give them something of value and reach out to them first. http://ow.ly/sE0h4 [tweet this]
Individuals who are candid are among the best communicators around the office. http://ow.ly/sE0QI [tweet this]
Your brand is YOU and it needs to be a reflection of you in all that you do. http://ow.ly/sE4lI [tweet this]
When describing yourself, be authentic: describe yourself how you are perceived, not how you want to be perceived. http://ow.ly/sE4Py [tweet this]
Being remembered is most important and means you occupy some prime real estate in the mind of someone. http://ow.ly/sElYz [tweet this]
The two key factors that motivate consistently across all generations in the workplace are autonomy and transparency. http://ow.ly/sEmFj [tweet this]
Practice taking unnecessary items off your plate to allow more time to focus on accomplishing your goals. http://ow.ly/sEtvU [tweet this]
A workplace secret: if they don’t like you, they won’t hire or retain you. http://ow.ly/sEtVr [tweet this]
In reality, social media and the Internet are only one facet of building a personal brand. http://ow.ly/sEujC [tweet this]
Resigning from a job is easy, but resigning without burning any bridges is not. http://ow.ly/sEvmP [tweet this]
As you take on new clients, are you giving them 100% of what you promised plus a little bit more than what is expected? http://ow.ly/sELdQ [tweet this]
Sharp professionals are very intentional with their networking and care most about the quality of people they meet. http://ow.ly/sEMqJ [tweet this]
Success relies on being willing to take the advice, criticism and feedback you are getting, even if you don’t agree. http://ow.ly/sEMOi [tweet this]
As a 20-something millennial, it’s reasonable to expect to work for 12+ employers in a “corporate career.” http://ow.ly/sENT0 [tweet this]
Once you have a clean looking, well organized and written business page, Facebook Ads are an absolute must. http://ow.ly/sHi1H [tweet this]
Create a Klout account to measure your social media. It seems to stand out from the rest in terms of being the standard. http://ow.ly/sHi4Y [tweet this]
The volume of your posts on different social media platforms may vary and will impact whether you are really being heard. http://ow.ly/sHi6A [tweet this]
Be open to your dreams. Try the two part challenge and let me know your feedback and insights in the comments below.
Are you busy? Here’s some quick and easy tips on Social Marketing for busy people.
