Each of us brings unique gifts and talents that can be used to make valuable contributions in our personal and professional lives. This is why the concept of personal branding works. Developing your own personal brand is not about winning a popularity contest. There’s no cookie cutter solution or set of behaviors or theories you can just take over from other successful people. That would not be considered being authentic to your true self. It would be in a sense false advertising because you are pretending to be someone you’re not. Being an original ‘You’ is far more valuable than being a first-rate imitation of someone else. Wouldn’t you agree that an original Picasso painting is far more precious than a brand new lithograph of the same painting? Your personal brand must be the product of authentic self-examination, or it simply won’t work.

If you know yourself inside out, your strengths and weaknesses, you can begin to value yourself. You will then be able to articulate your value and effectively demonstrate your skills, attitudes, beliefs, sense of worth, and the breadth of possibilities within you. When you know your strengths and the value of your contributions, you will be able to develop a personal brand that reflects the person you desire to share with the world. Whether it is inspiring others through your servant leadership skills (a leadership philosophy in which the leader serves the people he/she leads by encouraging collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment), using your communication skills to nail that sales presentation or listen to a troubled family member or friend, or simply demonstrating to colleagues, clients, and superiors just how much more you have to offer, you are building your brand, one action at a time.

Peter Montoya, author of The Brand Called You, describes your personal brand as “a personal identity that stimulates precise, meaningful perceptions in its audience about the values and qualities that person stands for.” I often use the phrase, “What you see is what you get!” when describing myself. As you consider your own personal brand, work hard to ensure that what people see is what you want them to get.