My 2012 Manifesto on Creating an Elite Personal Brand
The last few years have been a winnowing of mediocrity. Brands - especially personal brands - have had to toughen up, work harder, and be smarter in order to survive. If you aren't a mediocre brand, this process has created more discipline, more perspective, and a stronger sense of confidence.
2012 is now a chance to create a true competitive advantage with your personal brand; to join the elite in your industry, community, etc. Note: by elite, I mean The Best - the 1%'ers of performance, not wealth or status.
Here are 5 check-boxes for creating a truly elite personal brand in 2012:
- Get Fit. Losing weight and getting fit is an outward sign of inward discipline. From a first-impression standpoint, people will notice. More importantly, you will notice. It will give you more self-confidence and more endurance. You will be able to work with a clearer head and work longer hours when necessary. Don't over-think this. Getting fit is a matter of math (burn more calories than you consume), education (learn what to put in to your body and what exercises to do), and discipline (have a plan and stick to it). If you need help in any of these areas, I strongly recommend hiring a personal trainer - especially one with a sports conditioning background. Remember, this isn't about vanity - it's about performance. I also highly recommend the book The Power of Full Engagement. This is a fitness/performance book written specifically for executives and professionals.
- Get Your Crap Together. It might be time for an honest conversation with yourself. Specifically, this is an honest conversation is about your weaknesses. Every elite person I know is very aware of their weaknesses. They have a system for dealing with them - and often are able to channel these weaknesses, turning them in to strengths. Being aware of and dealing with weaknesses keeps you humble and centered. The list can be long: our past, bad habits, emotional issues, mental health, financial issues, family drama, relationships, etc. By dealing with these issues, you are doing what few people are willing to do - which makes getting your crap together a competitive advantage. My friend and mentor Ron Price wrote an excellent book on this subject called Treasure Inside. Buy it here.
- Remodel Yourself. This can be summarized as: buy some new clothes and get a new hair cut. The cool thing is that if you get in shape and deal with your internal weaknesses (1 and 2 above), you will WANT to look different. As I have said many times, I don't give style advice to women (at least not proactively!), but here are some tips for my fellow dudes:
- Don't let your wife/girlfriend pick your clothes for you. Be a man and do this yourself. Instead, pick up an issue of Men's Health. Each issue is chock full of ideas for creating a good style.
- When it comes to clothes, don't be afraid to find your own style. If you don't know where to start, stick with classics (Think Frank Sinatra).
- Buy suits and sport coats that will last at least 3 years. This means darker colors and non-trendy cuts. It also means higher quality, so that it will last. I recommend Men's Warehouse for suits. They can help you find the perfect colors and cuts for you.
- Once you have the above, you can compliment it with more stylish items such as shirts, shoes, ties, watches, etc. With the exception of timeless styles, ties and shoes should not be worn beyond a year.
- Some don'ts ... with a few exceptions, don't wear slip-ons with a suit; don't wear button-down collar shirts with a suit; don't wear your tie too long or too short; don't wear pleats. And the biggest Don't of all: don't dress like you are trying too hard or not trying at all!
- Find a hair stylist that tells you what kind of hair style looks good on you. A tip within a tip: find a celebrity dude with a similar hair line as yours to be your Haircut Lab Rat. He has the bank account to hire expensive hair stylists. Then show his picture with the hair style you like to your stylist.
- Improve Your Communication Skills. Mediocre personal brands are poor communicators. Even decent personal brands are good at either speaking or writing. Elite personal brands are awesome at both. The great myth is that speaking and writing are some sort of inherent skill. While you may have a disposition to one over the other, both are learned skills. As such, they take repetition, practice, and discipline. So ... find a topic you are passionate about and write and speak on it. The writing part is easy: start a blog. Speaking opportunities are fairly easy too. Civic and business groups, schools, and non-profits are always looking for speakers. Just make sure your topic is relevant and useful. If you need help with your speaking skills, join Toastmasters. It is a boot camp for speaking - and also a great networking opportunity.
- Expand Your Mind. Consider this ... if something has mass appeal, it is rarely elite. By its very nature, mass appeal requires the dilution of awesomeness. So every day we are fed mediocrity in education, news, advertising, car, music, movies, books, restaurants, etc. Almost all of this encourages everyone to be average; to blend in. And, ironically, if you don't blend in, you aren't hip or cool. Here are some mind-expanding habits I see from elite people I know:
- They are readers. More specifically, they are Learners and books are a great way to learn.
- They are "local-vores". This means they eat locally. They get to know local restaurant owners and chefs; which expands their knowledge of food and culture.
- They are independent thinkers. They have multiple sources of news and information and research and fact-check what they are told.
- They are quotable. They have original ideas that people want to write down (or re-tweet).
- They are not Over-Promoters. They tend to be quiet and often un-assuming.
- They are happy. They smile, laugh, and have deep, meaningful relationships.
None of the above is easy. That's why they call it "Elite". When you find yourself lost or stuck, remember these three things:
- If you have talent, originality, and discipline you don't need the rest of the world to define you.
- Honesty, humility, and kindness are the most elite of traits.
- Nothing worth doing can be accomplished without commitment and enthusiasm.
I hope you have an awesome - and Bacon-y - year!
Is your brand Oatmeal or Bacon? Find out here.
For social links, view my About.Me Profile: http://about.me/fosterthinking
