Leaders are Made - BRAND

Take a moment and think of 5 brands.... What did you think of? First to mind for me are Apple, Nike, Google, TB12, and Amazon. These are brands that either play a key role in my day-to-day life or have a story that is relevant to me. I connect with them personally and I know their reputations, therefore, I am more likely to use their products or recommend them to others. Individual brands are the same, if people connect with you and value you, they will lean into what you have to offer. Now, take another moment and think of 5 people and their brands.....who did you think of??

Your BRAND will attract or repel fear. Your brand is who you are. As you go through your life’s journey, there is only one thing you will leave this world with and that is your reputation. Your reputation is your brand. Ever listen to a eulogy closely? You will hear about someone’s life, their accomplishments and if you listen closely, you will hear of their brand or their reputation.?

Fearless Leaders build a brand that is solid as a rock – because that is the foundation others come to depend on. Whatever your brand is today, you can improve it, enhance it and have it become known for being a calming influence amongst a storm. In fact, a truly Fearless Leader makes everyone in the room feel a tad more comfortable simply because they are sitting in the room. As you continue to build your brand, consider the following three ways to make it the best possible:?

Be Authentic – Make sure your brand represents who you are and who you are striving to be. Embrace your personality, your attributes, your strengths, and channel your energy into developing that brand. Your first step in doing this is increasing your self-awareness of what that authentic brand is. More to come on that in a future newsletter about emotional intelligence.?

Be Passionate – Build your brand around what you are passionate about. If you love animals, that should be part of your brand; if you are creative and artistic, that should be included; if you love sports and athletics, incorporate aspects of those activities. If your brand includes your passions, you will absolutely build it faster and with more authenticity. Why? Because it represents who you are and what you like, and as humans we tend to do the things we like to do, and we naturally gravitate toward our passions.?

Be Tangible – Reputations and brands are built on actions not words. Inevitably, what you do, is who you are. What you don’t do, is who you are not. What you say you are going to do, isn’t good enough. When people think of you, they will think of the tangible things they know about you – you love animals and volunteer at the pet shelter, you are creative and play the piano, you are sporty and coach youth soccer. See the connection between your passion and your tangible action? Bring your authentic self to your passions and use life as one big place to showcase your talent tangibly.?

Decide to build your brand consciously and start today.?