The Soul of Your Brand -
Part 3
Who You Authentically Are
Matters Most
By Brad Stauffer, CPPC, CDC - On The Mark Branding
What would it be like to be truly authentic all of the time? What if you could be yourself, full out, 100% real 24/7? What would "getting real" mean to you?
We were born not knowing any other way of being, than being ourselves. Imagine stepping into a very similar state of authenticity while still having all the knowledge and wisdom we have gained in life. What would that be like? In this four-part series on The Soul of Your Personal Brand, we've examined the importance of personal branding, as well as the first step to discovery: Who You've Been. The next step to discovery is looking at who we are today.
Who Are You?
About ten years ago, before my father-in-law passed, we would always pick him up from his retirement group home, and bring him to the house for holidays. I hadn't known him before he had Alzheimer's, but he saw me every holiday for a few years, especially as we helped him in and out of the car. One holiday, I guess he finally mustered the courage to look directly at me, and say, "Who are you?" I looked right back, smiled and said, "I'm Brad!" "Oh," he said. And that was it. The holiday continued.
What if it was that simple: we just say who we are, show-up as we are and be who we are. In much of my younger life, I felt I wasn't good enough to just "be Brad," so I often found myself putting on a different hat or a different face for the appropriate occasion or a particular person. But it really got tiring over the years. I wasn't being who I really was. I just wanted to be me, with all of my greatness I had learned about, as well as all of my differences and quirks that I had come to accept. I wanted to bring forth the assertive, smart, entrepreneurial kid that I used to be.
Comedian Joy Behar says "...I believe that people should do what they loved to do when they were 10-the age before you start caring what others think."
Authenticity Is the Key
As a Meyer's Briggs-accessed introvert, I thought that extroverts had it all together. I experienced them as outspoken, bold and very authentic. I thought I had to be an extrovert to truly be the successful leader, influencer and teacher that I wanted to be. Thankfully, that's not the case. What I decided I wanted to be instead was truly authentic. That was, and is, the key to my personal brand, and yours.
As we build our brands in business, authentically is critical to the design. When people get that you are authentic, they instantly connect with you. When you meet someone that is genuine and real, you know it. Most likely, you're attracted to them, feel they are trustworthy and want to get to know them better. That's authenticity, and it needs to be the major player in your branding and marketing. People connect with (and do business with) authentic individuals.
No Hype to Conjure Up
If you are consistently authentic across the board from your "beingness" to your branding and marketing, you've captured your core essence (the soul of your brand), and that will attract your ideal client. The good news here is that coming from this truly authentic place, greatly helps keep your branding and marketing efforts easy. There's no hype to conjure up and no spin to create. You just get to be you all the time: coaching, speaking and marketing from your heart in a very natural way. What could be easier?
Your Brand is the Authentic You
Take a good look at who you are today. If you haven't done so already, consider fully stepping into who you really are, embracing everything about you. Choose to honor everything about yourself. If that means making some different choices, just make sure it's an authentic choice for you; not for others or for reasons other than what you want and who you are.
When we're in a place of complete acceptance, with full permission to be our unique selves, we begin to realize our brand.
What would it be like to be truly authentic all of the time? Maybe it's time to find out.
In two weeks, we'll present part four of this series.
About Our Expert
Brad Stauffer, CPCC, CDC, is a branding and publishing expert, certified coach, speaker, trainer and publisher. His company, On the Mark Branding provides personal branding, publishing and PR services for coaches, speakers and authors. He is co-founder of Inspired on Demand, a business development program for coaches, was also co-owner and publisher of choice Magazine and now serves as their business coach and publishing consultant. He is a certified coach through the Coaches Training Institute, and, is a Certified Dream Coach® through Dream University®. Brad has been a Toastmaster and speaking professionally for over eight years. He is Immediate Past President of the Western Publishing Association, a member of the International Coach Federation and Program Director for ICF-Los Angeles.
Visit: www.OnTheMarkBranding.com
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http://www.morefromchoice.com
For the choice expert series archives visit http://www.choice-online.com/expertseries.html
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