1 August 2009

Personal Branding, the PURPLE CAT way

Last night was another great night that you shouldn’t missed every end of the month on a Friday. Why, it was the second “Personal Excellence and Growth Meetup” and the topic was Stand Out from the Crowd! Learn to Create a Personal Brand! I must say it’s getting better and bigger (more crowd and great food).

Personal Branding is something that is uniquely yours. It is something that helps people to remember You. What do you think if you hear the word, Trump? you’re right, skyscrapers, The Apprentice (You’re Fired!), and oops, his hair. What about Oprah? I believe everything she says will turn into gold, imagine her Book Club and other organizations. Her famous tag lines,  ”You are responsible for your own life”, “Live Your Best Life”.  Think about the famous brands in the market, say Nike is equivalent to “Just Do It” . What about when you hear “It keeps going, and going, and going…” yes, you’re right its our neighbor who kept on yelling non-stop at her husband for whatever reason. OK, it was Energizer Batteries.

There must be a purpose for those slogans or names. Personal branding can only happen if you have a Purpose. What do you really want for Your life? What don’t You want in you life? What have You settled for?

You need to define your USP or Unique Selling Proposition. What will make your customers buy from You (ideas) instead from others. In order for you to understand your USP, you need to know 1.) Your Strengths 2.) Your Skills 3.) Your Values 4.) Your Passions.

You need to Reinvent Yourself. It means that you must unlearn (things that will not help you grow), learn (that will help you grow) and relearn (making a habit of continuous growing). Ask yourself, what’s missing with this picture?  Here’s a very nice quote from one of my favorite (invisible) guru  Zig Ziglar, ” Go as Far as You can See and when You get There, You will always be able to See Farther.”  Reinvention is about maximizing your Assets (strengths) and camouflaging your Liabilities (weaknesses). Be aware of how You are communicating with Yourself. Talk to yourself in front of the mirror and say “I’m the Best” as often as you want and feel what you’ve said.

Bringing Passion into the pursuit of Your dreams is critical if You are to dream Big and achieve those dreams.  Please refer to my previous post for more information, Finding Your Passion! Furthermore, you can ask some questions;

• What do I love to Do? –  look for elements in your Job that you feel good, it could be Your friends, relationships or anything.
• What do I enjoy Doing?
• What gives me an adrenaline rush?
• What do I feel proud of?

Here’s another great way to psyche up yourself, You need to Look Good and Feel Great. The greatest risk to a reputation is his/her  failure to factor image into his/her success in business or career. Here’s a circle of Success Cycle, if you Feel Great then you will Look Good. If You Look Good then You will Project Well. If you Project Well then You will have a Positive Response and when you respond positively then you will Feel Great (back to the start, see the cycle).

There is never a second chance to your Signature Look. Here are some tips to work on your signature look;

• Capitalise on your Assets – these could be your physical, your pearly white smile, your eyes, your nose, your gorgeous body
• Dress to suit your Body Shape
• Go for your Colors – enhancing your instant switch (power on) to your Glowingness
• You need to understand your Dress Style
• Dress to suit your environment or audience – you can dress a level up from your environment without being overdressed.

For me, most of the times, my wife made good recommendations for the clothes that I wear and did get some good compliments from colleagues in the office. So better include your wife or girlfriend whenever you want to select the dress style you want and be sure to you are comfortable wearing it.

Excite Others by developing a WOW statement or signature will get others to say WOW. A signature wow is a personal style that you did with a special touch.  To guide you ask yourself;

1. What am I known for?
2. What do I want to stand for?
3. Am I making a difference?

The sacred trinity for a Brand’s Success is 1. Clarity 2. Consistency and 3. Authenticity

• Does the message that you want to send to your target audience or public at large have clarity?
• Are you consistent in the image you project to others?
• How authentic are you? Are you true to Yourself?

Lastly, Tell the World! Position and Promote Yourself. Be visible.

My take on this is, Just Be Yourself at Your own Very Best All the Time.

PS

The next Meetup topic on August 28 will be on Persuasive Communication – The art of moving people through to action. Check more info at this site. See  you there!

HINT:  Don’t you know that the bold words above, is an abbreviation of PURPLE CAT. check it if you got it.