The Importance Of Personal Branding

Most of the mentioned definitions of Personal Branding are from a personal marketing (selling) point of view and image building, which can turn into an ego trip. Personal Branding is more than just marketing and promoting yourself. The image of your Personal Brand is a perception held in someone else’s mind. Successful Personal Branding entails managing this perception effectively. Your Personal Brand is the synthesis of all the expectations, images, and perceptions it creates in the minds of others, when they see or hear your name.

Peter Montoya (2005), author of The Brand Called You, believes the key to Personal Branding is knowing how you are perceived by others: A great Personal Brand is a Personal Brand identity that stimulates precise,

Building an authentic Personal Brand is a journey and an evolutionary and organic process. It starts with determining who you are at your core authentic self, which is based on your dream, vision, mission, life philosophy, values, key roles, identity, self-knowledge, and self-awareness, rather than inventing a Personal Brand that doesn’t reflect your true self. With an authentic Personal Brand, your strongest characteristics, attributes, and values can separate you from the crowd. Without this, you look just like everyone

Define and formulate your Personal Ambition; this phase involves defining and formulating your Personal Ambition in an exciting and persuasive manner and making it visible. Your Personal Ambition is the soul, starting point, core intention and the guiding principles of your Personal Brand. It’s the fuel for your brand and encompasses your personal vision, mission, and key roles, related to four perspectives that should be in balance: internal, external, knowledge & learning, and financial perspectives (see Figure 2.1). This will create balance in your brand and in your life. It is about identifying yourself and figuring out what your dreams are, who you are, what you stand for, what makes you unique and special, why you are different than anyone, what your values are, and identifying your genius, incorporating an introduced breathing and silence exercise. You are almost twice as likely to accomplish your brand if you write this down. Formulation is critical to building a strong brand. So take the time to think about your life and to write down