Unlock Your Authentic Self: A Guide to Personal Branding

Welcome to this week's newsletter!

Today, we're diving into how to tap into your authenticity and build a personal brand that truly reflects who you are.

"Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are." — Brené Brown

Discovering Your Values

Your personal values are the foundation of your authentic self. They reveal what truly matters to you and guide your decisions, behavior, and goals. To begin discovering your values:

• Firstly, run your eyes over the list of 230 potential values.

What stands out to you and which ones resonate with you?

Are there any that you feel immediately repulsed by or laugh at or say to yourself, 'no chance!'?

Highlight these or write them down. It doesn't matter how many there are at first glance.

Next, think or write about these:

• Consider a moment when you feel completely fulfilled.
• List some of the emotions that you consistently experience and find motivating.
• Next, reduce your response to the previous question to one or two word answers. Refer back to the list of values for suggestions.

Refining Your Values

Get to a list of 10 - 15 values and START BIG.

It’s okay; you can keep refining your list until you land comfortably with a succinct 3 to 5. When you are ready, start to prioritize your list. Arrange each value by its order of importance to you.

It might be great to start by identifying your top value, then your second highest, and so on.

PRO TIP: This can be a challenging process; take your time, and remember there’s no deadline on this project.

Testing Your Values

Now that you have clarity on your core values, it's important to test them in real-life situations to ensure they truly resonate.

Once you start to get clearer on exactly what values are important to you, then you can start to get feedback and test them out:

• Run them by family, friends, or colleagues.
• Start to use them in your work conversations and in meetings to see how they land with people.

Look for people’s facial expressions, non-verbal body language, and check in on the verbal too, and ask, ‘Does this sound like me?’ ‘Would you use that word to describe me?"

INSIDER INFO: This is where we kick start the process around the essence of our personal brand.

Showcasing Your Values

Remember, your personal values are the foundation of your personal brand. By consistently aligning your actions and decisions with your core values, you build a brand that is not only authentic but also compelling and unique.

Take your time, trust the process, and let your true self shine through in everything you do!

If you want a free copy of "How to Build an Authentic Personal Brand Without Sounding Fake" and gain complete insights on creating a powerful personal brand, including a comprehensive workbook to guide your journey, click here .

Hi I'm Kirsty Norton and I am a refreshingly unconventional and relentless tech career coach.

If you'd like to read more of my articles then dive in here: https://www.hustlewithease.co/blog

Or if you are looking for some cool career resources, this is for you: https://www.hustlewithease.co/tech-career-growth-resources

Thinking about working with a coach, then let's talk: https://hustlewithease.as.me/schedule.php

Have a great rest of your week!