I am not a pastor or a counselor, but my struggle is with what people believe!   We all have a personal brand and at work we know our company and products have a brand so what is the problem?

Brands are built on beliefs about what they can do for the consumer. Personal Branding is far more difficult and what you believe about yourself impacts what you project to the world.

As a marketer I work with corporations, colleges, banks and hospitals to build their brand.  I meet people who have no money to spread their message. I also have clients who have the money to tell the world what they believe. Do you know that both sets of people share the same power you have?

You live in a world where you can communicate to the world in real time and you cannot hide.

Someone can videotape you and post that video on you tube or vine without you knowing.

You can write a status update or post a photo and you thought it only went to your friends.

If you communicate to the world a brand that is not you, you will fight every moment to be someone you are not!

We are not perfect and we make mistakes, building a personal brand helps you live to who you were meant to be and your faith helps you stay strong.

I had the honor to be paid by an executive who benefitted from our marketing strategy and personal branding so he paid for me to work with people who were extremely poor and very angry. Some of these people had been in prison and were not accountable. Their plan was to live off the government and work every opportunity to cheat the system. The last thing they wanted was a lecture on how to be accountable. Only when we looked at the lifestyle they wanted and the work they needed to do to get the life they wanted, could they see it was possible. Their biggest problem was not being angry. Their anger was overshadowed with getting to the core of the real problem. What they believed about themselves caused their anger. They did not believe they could be successful.  Only their faith led them to forgiving people who betrayed them and as they respected themselves by getting help, some needed counseling, medical help and mental health services. I admire their courage to take that help. When they respected others, their lives began to change because people started to treat them with respect.

You may think you are so different than the people I just described. but are you really?  Let’s see what you believe.

What voices shaped your beliefs about yourself?

Maybe you were shown that you could do no wrong or you did everything wrong. In business and in life unfortunately there is the Horn and Halo effect. Look at your family, your work place and how you treat people.  Is there someone you expect to mess up?  Is there someone who is always meeting expectations and without you knowing you give them the Halo.  There is good and bad in every human and unfortunately we judge and do not allow for mistakes. Take a hard look at how you judge others; it could be the events of your life shaped your beliefs.

What events shaped your believe about yourself?

As you look at your life events what truth do you see?

Do you often see that people see something in you that you do not?

It is like cutting your own hair; I could never do that because I cannot see every angle. Seeing your talents is hard.  You need to let others share with you what they see.

I ask you to ask people who know you personally and professionally to share your greatest strength and your greatest weakness (opportunity for growth)

What did you learn?  What will you change because of this feedback?  Are there trends in the feedback?

So as you ask yourself the questions I shared is it true that you have believed something about yourself that is not true?

If so explore your brand and build it based on fact not false beliefs.

About_Katherine_Miracle