How do you want to Project yourself to the World?

If you were asked to describe yourself in one word, what would that word be? Would it be something like, honest, obsessed, driven, compassionate, humorous, empathetic or any myriad of other possibilities? Write down the one word you would use to describe yourself. Is it the same word other people would use to describe you?

I like to refer to that one word, as the foundation for you to state your personal brand, a reflection of who you really are and how the world perceives you to be. The most crucial element of your personal brand, if you are to be successful, is that you must be authentic. The picture you project to the world and the one people see, must be a true reflection of who you really are. People will see right through anyone who is pretending to be something they are not.

Is your Personal Brand the right one to Bouy you to the Success you Desire?
Is your personal brand, showing the people around you that they can trust you? Are you reflecting and building a reputation filled with integrity and is it adequate to support you to achieve your personal and business goals?

Action Idea: Explore the brand you wrote down previously, see if it is authentic and ask yourself if it is supporting or sabotaging your efforts?

An Authentic Personal Brand will Stand the Test of Time
Once you have built a strong personal brand, which allows the people around you to get to know, like and trust you. Your personal brand becomes your best asset, a constant reminder to everyone around you that, despite the whirl wind of change all around us, your authentic personal brand is reliable, trustworthy and a bastion of strength. No matter what the future may bring, your personal brand offers security for the future.

Your Personal Brand is not your Business Card
When thinking about your personal brand, get the notion out of your head that your business card, website or marketing materials are your personal brand. You can strive to design these to reflect your personal brand to the world, but always remember that your personal brand is that really powerful, crystal clear image or positive idea, which springs to mind, whenever people think about you. It is the foundation of what you stand for, reflecting your values, philosophies, attitude, abilities and commitment.

Who are you?
Your authentic personal brand tells the people, who you associate with or who you do business with, who you really are, whether you can be trusted, what you do and what makes you unique. It is a reflection of the value you project to the market place. The challenge we face is that, whether we are aware of it or not, we are projecting a personal brand to everyone around us. You can continue to project a personal brand to the world, over which you exert little or no control or you can use the awareness which flows from this article to start to sculpture an authentic brand, which will support you on your success journey.

Shaping your Personal Brand
You have been shaping and building your personal brand ever since you took your first breath on this planet. Every interaction you have, how you communicate with people, every time you enter a room, look someone in the eye, shake their hand, communicate with them or even every blog you post, picture you post on your social media platforms, is projecting your personal brand to the world. Everything you do or fail to do every day, add another chisel mark to your personal brand. Is the picture of your personal brand, which the world is seeing, the kind of reflection you want them to have or does it require some polishing?

Action Idea: Explore your authentic self and the brand you want to reflect to the world. Get a crystal clear picture in your mind of what your personal brand is. Now try to encapsulate this picture into one word, which will allow you to develop, package and reinforce your personal brand. Capturing your personal brand and stating it in one word allows you to get absolute clarity about what you stand for and makes it easy for you to get everyone around you to understand and support you and your personal brand.

Once you have identified the word, which best describes your personal brand. It is crucial that you project exactly that to the world; in the way you dress, show-up, speak, interact with people and deliver on every commitment you make. Become intentional with how you project your personal brand to the world; always strive to demonstrate your values and what you really stand for. Strive to walk your talk and be authentic.