The first and most important plank of building a ‘Fearless Brand’ is to be authentic. This is true for any brand – your company, goods and/or services – but especially true for your personal brand. Your personal brand is ‘in play’ and being messaged every second of every day. I’m often asked “How can I be authentic when ______?” That blank is filled in with any number of concerns but the things I hear most are in regard to something negative.
What is mentioned most by clients and connections are their short comings…real or perceived. It’s important to remember that we’ve all reached our highest rank on this earth – and that is human. We all have short comings, ‘defects’ and deficits. But we all have tremendous gifts to share. Embrace your entire self. Work on what needs to be addressed and accept the rest – it’s what makes you YOU.
Here are five considerations which will allow you to be the most authentic ‘you’ possible…
Don’t turn your back on your past
You can regret your past mistakes or you can embrace them for the lessons that they’ve provided. Learn from them rather than obsess with what might have been. Without them you wouldn’t be where you are now with endless opportunity.
Embrace your strengths
True humility – by my definition – is accepting all of our negatives AND our positives – exactly as they are. It is not uncommon to discount our own talents, skills, experience and knowledge. The key is to be realistic in assessing – and embracing – our strengths. Make certain that you don’t inflate – nor diminish – your strengths.
Remain teachable
To be truly authentic, we must be open to learning and changing – evolving if you will. One of the most effective ways to do that is to obtain fresh, honest and positive input from someone other than ourselves. Every successful athlete has a coach. Every successful business person has one or more trusted advisers. This is not to say that you must follow all of the advice or believe all of the assessment(s). Remaining teachable merely means to remain open to new and different perspective.
Be proactive
If you know me, you’ve heard me say “Manage your own brand – or someone else will.” To be authentic we must be proactive – taking the steps necessary to remain true to ourselves, accepting what we can’t affect and taking the necessary actions to learn and grow.
Know your WHY
Clarity is power. Having a clear vision of who we are, where we want to go and do is essential to authenticity. We must know our ‘why’ – our motivation, inspiration and yes, passion. One of the best explanations of the importance of ‘WHY’ is a TEDx talk given by Simon Sinek titled “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”. In it, he details the Golden Circle of Why. I encourage you to invest the approximately twenty minutes it takes to watch. It will be worth your time.
Having read this far you shouldn’t be surprised when you read this – What’s the simple answer to having an authentic and ‘Fearless’ brand? Simple. BE AUTHENTIC. Being authentic is indeed the key to a fearless personal brand.The five factors I’ve listed are all key to achieving that goal. What do you do to make certain that your brand is authentic? Leave a comment – but keep it ‘real ‘ 🙂
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Coach, International Speaker and Thought Partner - Bill’s mission is to add value to the world – one brand at a time. Bill guides individuals and companies alike in building what he refers to as a ‘fearless brand’. This is the process of discovering, embracing and delivering their greatest value – which allows them to realize greater profit. Read More
Great post Bill.
Seeing a lot of personal brands these days where people are trying to give the impression they are flawless. Since that is (nearly) impossible to achieve in real life I have to wonder if they are also honest or authentic about their positives.
Personally I connect better with people who are real. Not all the flaws, but real, willing to let down the guard a little… authentic.
Thanks.
Doug,
There indeed are quite a few brands – both personal and product/company brands that attempt to position themselves as flawless. Flawless actions, plans and behaviors can occur, but only in brief bursts. I’m not saying to lead with one’s short comings or past mistakes. However, it is important to own those – and learn from them. Thanks for commenting my friend.
Great post, Bill. Your five factors are right on.
I love that my past (mistakes and achievements) are all part of my story and what brought me to today. The most difficult times in my life led me to Linda, Bob, and the rest of you.
I know that continued growth and success will be result of putting other’s interests first, being authentic and establishing as many know, like and trust relationships as I can!
Thanks again for your insight!
Mary,
It’s SO true. We’re all exactly where we are because of everything we’ve done. If we aren’t where we want to be at any stage in our life we can take stock of our present, learn from our past and change course. I appreciate you taking the time to comment and sharing your experience.