Personal Branding

"Personal branding" at its core is the reputation you create for yourself in the public sphere. To some people this is vitally important, more important than even the real content of their character. The "image" they project to the world around them is all that matters. They will act in ways publicly that completely contradict their real character because they believe it will make others like them more, look up to them, admire them or make them more successful. Whatever the motivation, creating and upholding the personal brand they want to portray is critical to their lives, whatever they perceive that to be.

On the flip side, there are people who do not think about their "personal brand" and just live. Regardless, they still have an image and reputation to the public based on their actions, words and behavior. To these people, that isn't important to them and they live their lives irrespective of what other people think of them. Still, they have a personal brand.

In the end, whether it's the most important thing or not on your radar at all, that's not what really matters most. Although, I would suggest that if your personal brand causes you to behave in ways that are contrary to who you really are, that's not a good thing. What does matter is what the content of your personal brand is and what that means to the world around you. Because, whether you carefully craft your brand or don't at all, it absolutely does affect your life in the sense that how people respond to you and what happens to you in your professional life play a big part in your success. If you own or run a business, or are a key executive, your personal brand can massively dictate whether you and your company succeeds or fails.

So, what's the lesson here? Be mindful of how your words, actions and behavior will be perceived by the world because it can make an enormous difference to your life, and your success.