It has been a full year since I wrote something on this blog. Many people wondered where I went to. Many stopped seeing the name “Daniel Ngari” on Facebook, Twitter and in their mailboxes. Someone even asked me “So where the bloody hell are you?“.

I will soon write a blog post explaining my leave of absence; and unveil what I have been working on in that period. but for now, SIT BACK!!! and watch this amazing girl, Rose Nasimiyu. Then follow the instructions at the end of the blog post.

If you are in a position to help financially, please do, if not,you can still help by spreading  the word by sharing this blog post with friends.

My man Shakespear said, “that which we call a rose would by any other name smell as sweet”. He could well have been talking about Rose Nasimiyu.  She is only nine years old, in Nairobi Kenya and is a cancer survivor with an amazing story; inspiring others and being strong. I just talked to her on the phone and want to do my best to help spread her message.

You can help by sending her mother money. Her mother’s name is Phoebe Nafula. Her phone number is +254724551754. You can send her money through Western Union or through Mpesa if you are in Kenya. You can send any amount as every little bit counts.

For those outside the country (Kenya), it may be easiest to send money through BabaWatoto.com http://www.babawatoto.com or through MamaMikes http://www.mamamikes.com both reliable and reputable remittance websites that are popular with Kenyans abroad. They are both safe and you can send money directly to a person’s phone in Kenya. They are based in USA but have offices in Kenya.

Her details again: Phoebe Nafula, phone number +254724551754.

Special thanks goes to Jeff Koinanage for the good work he does on The Bench at K24TV. Thanks for the inspiring stories.

Please leave your comments after watching this video. Here are a few comments from others who have watched the videos.

“Baby Rose- You are an inspiration to many. You will live another day as per your prayer always. i have no words for you other that MAY GOD GRANT YOUR WISHES, and we Pray for you too.

Mr. Jeff- This was soo inspiring. Please bring such little beautiful angels to inspire and speak sense like the little girl………………….than­k you – ronniestrobes “

I can’t hold back my tears,may God feel mercy on her.You will live child,nothing is impossible before the eyes of God!! –
cathnj08

Think through that which you want to build. Reflect on the implications of your success. Visualize on the magnitude of the success you desire. If you have big dreams, then you should have a strong foundation.

Spend the time learning the ropes, training and getting experiences. I have been in situations where I have succeeded without having properly built a foundation. It is not a good feeling when you have to live with the fear of your success crumbling. My experience has taught me that it is better to wait to succeed than succeed when you are not ready.

Core Values for Success

What are your core values? Have you ever given serious thought to developing values as a way of building your foundation for success? It is good to consciously think of the set of values that you would not compromise on. Examples of such values are honesty, integrity and trust.

Running for the office of the USA president requires one to have a character that is beyond reproach (atleast in theory). The media and opposition looks for any shreds of evidence of hidden weaknesses and past mistakes. The core values and character foundation requirements for the United States president are different from that of a long distance truck driver.

What do you want to be and what are the moral requirements? Think of the core values that will ensure your success in your ventures. What kind of foundation are you standing on? Who are the key people in your life? What does your history and past actions say about you?

From this point forward, assuming you want to get ahead in life; what do you need to do? What changes do you need to make in your life? You are as strong as your weakest link. If you have skeletons in your closet, they can come back to haunt you.

A Strong Foundation in Business

To get ahead in business, you need to have a strong foundation. Many people focus too much on what they can get out of business instead of first laying a strong foundation.

Do you know who your customers really are? Do you know what their most pressing needs? How are you going to meet and exceed their expectations? Conducting proper marketing research is a great way to build a firm foundation for your business.

Take time to understand the people you are going to serve. Take time to know what value they are seeking. Identify their evolving needs and be proactive in serving them. It is said that the customer is always right. They have the right to spend their money with whom and on whatever they deem fit. Become a close fit to their expectations and desires.

Do not put your needs before those of your customers. That is myopic and a recipe for failure. Let your value proposition reflect the wishes of your customers. Understand your competition and position yourself in the minds of your customers as being the best supplier.

Another way of setting up a good foundation for business is to understand the numbers. Cash flow is everything in business. Manage your payments, receipts, income and expenses prudently. If you do not have the know-how, employ the services of a good accountant or book keeper.

Find a balance between providing value for your customers and getting paid. When you get paid, have systems in place to re-invest the profits. Treat the business like a baby. It needs nourishment. You cannot keep taking from your business and expect it to thrive. To create a sustainable business, have a strong budgeting process, cash flow projections and multiple streams of income.

A Strong Foundation in Relationships

You do not want to be in a relationship with someone who is “still finding themselves”. They will betray you and jump off the relationship if they find out that it is not you they were after. Are you that kind of person? Are you still finding yourself?

Take time to know yourself. Know what you want in a partner. Know what you seek in a relationship before you commit to one. Understanding and clearly communicating your needs and expectations of each other is one very important foundation stone of relationships. Be sure you understand each other’s fears, likes, hopes, dislikes, circumstances and customs.

Many people jump into relationships without proper dating or courtship. That can be a recipe for disaster. It is easy for a relationship to cloud your judgment if you jump in too soon. Wherever possible, take time to develop a friendship and understanding before committing to a relationship.

If you are already in a relationship, and you think that that relationship is doomed, then get out now. There is no honor in staying in a relationship that is not going anywhere because of the fear of being single. There are so many other people out there and you may be surprised to find that true happiness is not beyond you.

In the event that you find yourself in a relationship that has the hope of working, then take it upon yourself to do what you can to make it work. Lay a good foundation for your relationship by creating bonding opportunities, having shared values, expectations, aspirations and memories. Build and maintain trust; it is the foundation of healthy relationships. Broken trust is hard to recover so if you find someone trusting you do not abuse it. If you have failed your partner then think of ways of making it up to him or her and hope that time will heal. If your partner has abused your trust and you want the relationship to work, find it in you to forgive and rebuild the trust. Without trust, it is impossible to love truly.

A Strong Foundation in your Career

You can have a strong foundation for long term career success by getting into a career that matches your talents and desires. Find that which you love to do and pursue it for a career.

You can set yourself up for success through proper training and gaining of experiences. For example, if you wanted to be a successful small business owner, make sure you learn all there is to do with your offering. Also make sure you learn skills such as marketing, finance, human resource management etc that will be useful for you running your business successfully. You can learn through formal education, learning from other small business owners, attending seminars or through self education.

Networking and contacts building is another smart way for setting yourself up for career success. As Confucius once said “dig the well before you thirst”. Make friends with people in your industry and related industries before you need them. Build your networking strategy to be a win-win relationship. Bring something to the table when you go networking.

A Strong Foundation in your Finances

To succeed in finance, you have to understand the time value of money. Live within your means. Watch you outgoings and worry about the cents and the dollars will take care of themselves. Learning to live within your means especially when you are starting out is one of the best ways of securing your financial future. Many people, perhaps due to peer pressure, end up spending more than they can earn, or saving less than they should. Remember that your early choices will influence your future significantly.

Another way of setting yourself up for financial success is to invest in your financial education. You may be a musician, doctor, brick layer or mechanic, but you still need to learn how the world of finance works. You need to take the time to understand various investment options available to you. Do not let a third party make all the decisions for you. Their interest and your long term interests may not always align.

When building your financial empire, remember that there are things that are beyond you that could go wrong and hand you financial ruin. Become adequately insured. Good income protection policy, medical cover, life insurance policy and other covers can come in handy for you and your family if things go pear shaped.

Fundamental Habits

We are creatures of habits. The kind of habits you have will influence your long term success. Think of the habits you form as the foundation for your success.

• Focus – Avoid distractions. Set clear goals on what you want to achieve and focus on that until you get the results you desire. Work on your ability to concentrate and see things to completion.

• Hard work – Nothing in life comes easy, not success anyway. Be prepared to work for your success. You need to develop that ability to work hard. Make it a part of you to put in the hours and effort that it takes to succeed in what you set your mind on.

• Sleeping Habits – Do you get adequate sleep? Sleep deprivation can lead to loss of productivity. On the other hand, sleeping too much can reduce the time available to you to work on your ventures. They say “early to bed, early to rise, makes someone healthy, wealthy and wise”. Are you an early riser? Many successful people have a regular sleeping patterns and wake up early. The early bird catches the worm. (sshhh…don’t talk about the early worm!).

• Persistence – Do you jump from one venture to another? Do you jump from one investment to another? Do you jump from one relationship to another? Staying put long enough to accumulate success is a vital habit that can bear good dividends.

• Listening – God gave us two ears and one mouth each. Use them in that proportion. Develop good listening habits. Even the dull and ignorant people have their side of the story. Listening enables one to gain insight in the way others think and interpret situations. Accept that you will not always be right or know everything.

• Follow Up – Many people can do something once, but very few have the tenacity to follow through on their commitments. It is not what you do once that matters. It is what you repeatedly follow up on that makes the difference. Whether you are developing a relationship with a partner or customer, following up can make all the difference.

In Summary

Decide upfront what kind of success you desire and set up an appropriate foundation. Setting out to succeed without a strong foundation is recipe for disaster.

If you like this article and others on this blog, kindly invite your friends to read or subscribe. I would also love to hear you comments on the topic of setting up a strong foundation for success in life.

YOU cannot retain a true and clear vision of wealth if you are constantly turning your attention to opposing pictures, whether they be external or imaginary. Do not tell of your past troubles of a financial nature, if you have had them, do not think of them at all. Do not tell of the poverty of your parents, or the hardships of your early life; to do any of these things is to mentally class yourself with the poor for the time being, and it will certainly check the movement of things in your direction.

“Let the dead bury their dead,” as Jesus said.

Put poverty and all things that pertain to poverty completely behind you.

You have accepted a certain theory of the universe as being correct, and are resting all your hopes of happiness on its being correct; and what can you gain by giving heed to conflicting theories?

Do not read religious books which tell you that the world is soon coming to an end; and do not read the writing of muck-rakers and pessimistic philosophers who tell you that it is going to the devil.

The world is not going to the devil; it is going to God.

It is wonderful Becoming.

True, there may be a good many things in existing conditions which are disagreeable; but what is the use of studying them when they are certainly passing away, and when the study of them only tends to check their passing and keep them with us? Why give time and attention to things which are being removed by evolutionary growth, when you can hasten their removal only by promoting the evolutionary growth as far as your part of it goes?

No matter how horrible in seeming may be the conditions in certain countries, sections, or places, you waste your time and destroy your own chances by considering them.

You should interest yourself in the world’s becoming rich.

Think of the riches the world is coming into, instead of the poverty it is growing out of; and bear in mind that the only way in which you can assist the world in growing rich is by growing rich yourself through the creative method–not the competitive one.

Give your attention wholly to riches; ignore poverty.

Whenever you think or speak of those who are poor, think and speak of them as those who are becoming rich;as those who are to be congratulated rather than pitied. Then they and others will catch the inspiration, and begin to search for the way out.

Because I say that you are to give your whole time and mind and thought to riches, it does not follow that you are to be sordid or mean.

To become really rich is the noblest aim you can have in life, for it includes everything else. On the competitive plane, the struggle to get rich is a Godless scramble for power over other men; but when we come into the creative mind, all this is changed.

All that is possible in the way of greatness and soul unfoldment, of service and lofty endeavor, comes by way of getting rich; all is made possible by the use of things.

If you lack for physical health, you will find that the attainment of it is conditional on your getting rich.

Only those who are emancipated from financial worry, and who have the means to live a care-free existence and follow hygienic practices, can have and retain health.

Moral and spiritual greatness is possible only to those who are above the competitive battle for existence; and only those who are becoming rich on the plane of creative thought are free from the degrading influences of competition. If your heart is set on domestic happiness, remember that love flourishes best where there is refinement, a high level of thought, and freedom from corrupting influences; and these are to be found only where riches are attained by the exercise of creative thought, without strife or rivalry.

You can aim at nothing so great or noble, I repeat, as to become rich; and you must fix your attention upon your mental picture of riches, to the exclusion of all that may tend to dim or obscure the vision.

You must learn to see the underlying TRUTH in all things; you must see beneath all seemingly wrong conditions the Great One Life ever moving forward toward fuller expression and more complete happiness.

It is the truth that there is no such thing as poverty; that there is only wealth.

Some people remain in poverty because they are ignorant of the fact that there is wealth for them; and these can best be taught by showing them the way to affluence in your own person and practice.

Others are poor because, while they feel that there is a way out, they are too intellectually indolent to put forth the mental effort necessary to find that way and by travel it; and for these the very best thing you can do is to arouse their desire by showing them the happiness that comes from being rightly rich.

Others still are poor because, while they have some notion of science, they have become so swamped and lost in the maze of metaphysical and occult theories that they do not know which road to take. They try a mixture of many systems and fail in all. For these, again, the very best thing, to do is to show the right way in your own person and practice; an ounce of doing things is worth a pound of theorizing.

The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.

You can serve God and man in no more effective way than by getting rich; that is, if you get rich by the creative method and not by the competetive one.

Another thing. We assert that this book gives in detail the principles of the science of getting rich; and if that is true, you do not need to read any other book upon the subject. This may sound narrow and egotistical, but consider: there is no more scientific method of computation in mathematics than by addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; no other method is possible. There can be but one shortest distance between two points. There is only one way to think scientifically, and that is to think in the way that leads by the most direct and simple route to the goal. No man has yet formulated a briefer or less complex “system” than the one set forth herein; it has been stripped of all non-essentials. When you commence on this, lay all others aside; put them out of your mind altogether.

Read this book every day; keep it with you; commit it to memory, and do not think about other “systems” and theories. If you do, you will begin to have doubts, and to be uncertain and wavering in your thought; and then you will begin to make failures.

After you have made good and become rich, you may study other systems as much as you please; but until you are quite sure that you have gained what you want, do not read anything on this line but this book, unless it be the authors mentioned in the Preface.

And read only the most optimistic comments on the world’s news; those in harmony with your picture.

Also, postpone your investigations into the occult. Do not dabble in theosophy, Spiritualism, or kindred studies. It is very likely that the dead still live, and are near; but if they are, let them alone; mind your own business.

Wherever the spirits of the dead may be, they have their own work to do, and their own problems to solve; and we have no right to interfere with them. We cannot help them, and it is very doubtful whether they can help us, or whether we have any right to trespass upon their time if they can. Let the dead and the hereafter alone, and solve your own problem; get rich. If you begin to mix with the occult, you will start mental cross-currents which will surely bring your hopes to shipwreck. Now, this and the preceding chapters have brought us to the following statement of basic facts:–

There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.

A thought, in this substance, Produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

Man can form things in his thought, and, by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.

In order to do this, man must pass from the competitive to the creative mind; he must form a clear mental picture of the things he wants, and hold this picture in his thoughts with the fixed PURPOSE to get what he wants, and the unwavering FAITH that he does get what he wants, closing his mind against all that may tend to shake his purpose, dim his vision, or quench his faith.

And in addition to all this, we shall now see that he must live and act in a Certain Way.

About

The Get Rich Series is based on The Science of Getting Rich. It  is a classic book by Wallace D. Wattles. It is a practical manual intended for the men and women whose most pressing need is for money; who wish to get rich first, and philosophize afterward.

Discussion

I would love to hear you ideas and opinion on this chapter. Your comments are highly appreciated.

A Life of Achievement

In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as “Beat It”, “Billie Jean” and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as “Black or White” and “Scream” made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.

One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time”—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world’s most famous men, Jackson’s highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades.

Prior to his death, Jackson had been scheduled to perform 50 sold-out concerts to over one million people, at London’s O2 arena, from July 13, 2009 to March 6, 2010. During a publicity press conference, Jackson made suggestions of possible retirement.  Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, had stated that the first 10 dates alone would have earned the singer approximately £50 million.

-Wikipedia

For all Michael Jackson’s fans out there, it is a sad day. Let us pray for his family at this time of mourning.

Personal branding is one of the last things in the minds of poor people. I have lived with people without running water or electricity. Telling a person in that situation to launch their own personal branding blog or attend expensive networking events would make little sense.

What would you do if you were languishing in poverty? Would you buy bread or a Swiss watch? Would you take a second shower or buy high end colognes?

If at 29 I was still living with my parents, I reckon my personal brand would suffer. People would talk behind my back saying that I had “failed to launch”. I could have valid reasons for living there e.g. being jobless, but the world would hear none of it.

You do not have to be Bill Gates to have an effective personal brand. But sleeping on the streets won’t help you either. Being financially able to build your personal brand is rarely spoken about as a core element of personal branding. It is the missing link in many personal branding lessons. Heck, it even costs money to hire great personal branding coaches such as Lethia Owens.

I read and re-read my personal branding articles, they are great lessons, but they may not apply to everyone. Personal branding on an empty pocket or hungry stomach is an exercise in futility. Personal branding calls for confidence and self belief. Unfortunately, when poverty comes in through the door, confidence escapes through the window.

Making money or getting rich is a practical confidence building tactic in a capitalist world. If you are reading this, you are most likely not poor per se, but you are also, most likely, not Donald Trump or Richard Branson either. We have learned how to build a powerful personal brand in this series. In the next series, we shall look at how to fund a powerful personal brand.

The new series, starting tomorrow, will be about the science of getting rich. Yes there is a science to getting rich. I want to become rich and I want you to become rich too. Together we shall explore the road to riches. Together we shall eliminate the obstacles and lay the ground work to making some money.

Join me for the brand new “Get Rich Series” coming to you from tomorrow!

1 – Who am I?

Personal branding is the sum total of perceptions that others have of you. To be able to change how others perceive you, you must understand yourself first. Who are you? What are your core values? What is your character based on your history? What are your talents, passion or experiences? What kind of personal brand image do you currently have?

2 – Brand Vision

Sit back and think about the kind of personal brand you want to have. What do you want people to think of you? Visualize where you want to be. Define what you consider as the apex of personal branding. How can you get there? What is your mission in life and how does it fit with your desired personal brand?

3 – Target Audience

Do not flatter yourself that everyone is a candidate for your personal brand. You have to select who you want to be the target of your personal branding efforts. Think of those people you want to target. Give them a name, talk to them, be with them, and understand how they currently feel about you.

Consider segmenting your target audience for various personal branding messages. For example, you can communicate one aspect to your work friends, and a different aspect to your church friends.

4 – Dropping Excess Baggage

Think of all the things that currently limit your personal brand from thriving. Do you have the fear success or failure? Do you have confidence issues? Eliminate your fears and work on boosting your confidence. Avoid self limiting beliefs and self sabotage.

We are creatures of habit. You may want to avoid some habits that are detrimental to your personal brand. There may also be people that pull you down; decide how you want  to deal with them.

5 – Personal Cheering Squad

Find people who believe in you and foster relationships with them. This can help you improve your confidence and enhance your personal brand. Find people you admire and get them to mentor you.

Your cheering squad can become evangelists of your personal brand. Give them good reasons to talk about you. It may mean doing more than your call of duty. Give them a simple way to talk about you. Consider getting a slogan for your personal branding.

6 – Personal Brand Packaging

A present that is nicely wrapped up has a higher perceived value. It shows care, effort and dedication. Decide how you want to package your personal brand. Wrap yourself up nicely in nice clothing, signature way of doing things or memorable words. Find an angle and package yourself in a way that is attractive to your target audience.

7 – Be Yourself

Be happy in your own skin. Accept yourself for who you are. Let your confidence shine through in everything you do. Being yourself does not mean settling for less.

8 – Personal Branding Action Plan

Create a step by step action plan for developing various aspects and qualities of your personal brand. Do not let things just happen; plan your personal brand to excruciating details. Many people do not this. Be ahead of the pack.

Plan exactly how you are going to go about creating your personal brand. Plan your brand message and packaging. Determine how you are going to fund your branding efforts (you know it is not free right?). Decide how you are going to spend money on your personal brand (e.g. haircut, clothes, training, travel, dining etc). Think through all aspects of your personal brand and how they interrelate and chart a path forward.

9 – Personal Brand Evaluation

Evaluate your personal branding at strategic intervals. Check to see if you are following your action plan. Get feedback from your target audience. Ask a trusted friend or a professional to help you evaluate your personal brand. You may be surprised by what you learn.

10 – Continuous Improvement

Improve gradually based on what you learn during the evaluation step. Conduct a SWOT analysis of your personal brand. Keep improving your style, confidence, networks and skills.

Summary

The road to personal branding success begins with a single step. I hope this blog post has given you some pointers on where to start. I would love to hear your comments.

No matter how deep in hell you may be, if you look inside yourself, you will see that a hero lies in you. The strength of your character and your hunger to bounce back can help you overcome adversity. Many people give up on the first sign of trouble, but the art of bouncing back is what separates successes from failures.

Shapes that adversity may take

Some people say that when poverty comes through the door, love escapes through the window. Just like poverty, when adversity strikes through the door, self confidence, personal brand and respect may escape through the window.

The following are some of the forms and shapes of adversity.

1) Illness or Death

Adversity may be strike in the form of the grim reaper. Death is inevitable, however losing a close family member or friend can have devastating effects on a person. It causes all sorts of emotions and can inflict extreme pain. Death of a loved one can cause loneliness and depression.

Being diagnosed with a terminal disease can cause depression as well. It can cause fear that one will become a burden to their family and fail to provide or be there for their loved ones.

Overcoming the adversity of death or illness is not easy. Keeping a positive mental attitude can help you cope. Being diagnosed with a terminal disease such as HIV may be the end of life as you know it, but not the end of living, in absolute terms. One can still bounce back to living well, through proper medical care, exercise and eating right.

Dealing with the emotions of loss, loneliness and depression is not easy. You may want to seek professional counseling, or allow time for the pain to subside. Remember that life goes on and you need to bounce back to life even after bad news. It may not be easy but every effort counts.

2) Relationship Breakdown

Relationships are built over time and breaking up is difficult to say the least. You may have great hopes for a relationship, be it a personal or business relationship. If that does not work out, or there is betrayal involved, it can cause a lot of pain.

Betrayal is very painful for the person betrayed in a relationship. It is the violation of the mutually agreed-upon rules or boundaries of a relationship that leads to heartache, anger and resentment.

The break down of a relationship can cause loss of trust and confidence. It can result in loss of productivity and motivation in life. It can cause loneliness and regret.

Bouncing back from a relationship breakdown, while not easy, is vital. I wrote an article recently on 10 Powerful Strategies for Dealing with Heartache. Stay positive and be wise on the choice of your next relationship partner. Take time to heal and focus on other matters or people instead of dwelling on the broken relationship.

3) Loss of a job/income

You may be in a job today and at a jobless corner next week. The bills will not take a break. You may owe money on your credit cards. Being out of job can create a feeling of helplessness, not being able to help the people who depend on you or pay bills.

Job loss can be bruising to the ego. Many people build their personal brands around their jobs. One way of insulating yourself against the pressures of job loss is to maintain a balance in life. Have a strong identity that is not defined by your job. This will help protect your sanity and self esteem if you lose your job.

Having an active number of good contacts can help you in bouncing back. Your contacts can help you find another job or provide another avenue of generating an income. Being confident of your expertise and specialization can help you in bouncing back.

4) Business failure

You may invest a lot of money and time in developing a business. Then the environment changes because of competition, new trends or new legislation. It is very easy to feel like a failure. A business failure can mean loss of income and sliding into debt. Just like a job loss, it can bruise your ego. Other people may lose their jobs or income.

Having your own business is a source of pride for most people. Losing your business or having to shut down your doors stings at the core of a business owner. Fortunately for many business owners, they have a thick skin. They know how to bounce back.

Bouncing back may entail stepping back and looking at your reason for failure. Did you have weak systems? Were you a bad manager? Did you have problems with your cash flow? Was it a result of new competition or changes in the marketplace?

Whatever the reason for failure in business, do not let it paralyze you. Many successful businessmen and businesswomen have probably had it tougher than you. Reflect on your past success and failures and learn from them.

It takes time to jump start a failed venture. You may have to walk away, cut your loses and move on to something else. Do not repeat the same mistakes. Find a new angle to get back in the game. You can only win by getting back in the ring not by becoming a spectator.

An Example of Bouncing Back – Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs (born February 24, 1955) is an American businessman and co-founder, and CEO of Apple Inc. Jobs is the former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios.

He co-founded Apple in his parents’ garage when he was 20. He worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just him and his partner in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees.

They had just released their finest creation – the Macintosh – a year earlier, and he had just turned 30. And then he got fired. How does one get fired from a company he started? Well, as Apple grew they hired someone to run the company, but their visions of the future began to diverge and eventually they had a falling out. The Board of Directors sided with the other guy. So at 30 Steve Jobs was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of his entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

It turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to him. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed him to enter one of the most creative periods of his life.

During the next five years, He started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, He returned to Apple, and the technology they developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance.

None of this would have happened if he hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was an awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.

If you ever fall from grace, or find yourself in a tough position, remember Steve Jobs. Do not lose faith. Live to fight another day. Let your personal brand bounce back.

Summary

Bouncing back from failure or adversity can determine how your personal brand is perceived. No matter how deep your losses may be, stay positive. Adversity is a part of life but how we deal with it is what makes the difference. Stay true to your mission in life and personal brand, even when the tide turns against you.

The Art of Satisfaction

Once upon a time, a man planned a date on a revolving restaurant in a big skyscraper in the heart of the city. He spoke to a friend who had been to that restaurant and was assured that that was one of the best restaurants in his city. He went to their website and loved everything he saw. They had a flashy presentation on the delightful dining experience. He was sold. He called the restaurant and reserved a table for Friday evening…

Come Friday, he and his date went out for the dinner date. The restaurant had valet parking and after getting off the car, they walked up to the lift. Everything about this restaurant was romantic, she thought. Then they got to the 60^th floor where the restaurant was located.

They were made to wait for a table for 30 minutes (standing). Then they sat down and waited for another 30 minutes for the waiter to notice them again. As if that was not enough, they waited for way more than an hour for their food to arrive. She kept reminding herself that it was not a fast food restaurant, but boy, was she hungry!

How satisfied people are with you depends on the promise you sold them. Did your impressive resume impress your boss so much but your performance on the job has not matched up to expectations? No wonder she is not satisfied.

Satisfaction is the difference between expectations and actual performance. It is a delicate balancing act. The trick is to under promise and over deliver. If you are big on making threats and promises, then be bigger in implementing them. Be bigger in taking action.

Have a Bias for Action

I am a computer programmer. One of the problems that many programmers have is that they tend to over analyze and over think of the most creative ways of solving a particular problem. This may come at the expense of the actual writing of the software. We call it analysis paralysis.

Don’t spend a disproportionate amount of time and effort analyzing how to solve your problem or how to get to your goal. Instead, have a bias for action. Borrow from our friends at Nike – “Just Do It!”.

Every step you make towards your goal (action), will give you more confidence and lessons, even if you fail. Like this blog for example. I spent so much time last year thinking of what kind of features to have, what kind of community to cultivate etc. Those were just delaying tactics, I later realized. That is why this year, I decide to just do it. It may not be perfect, but at least it is out there, touching the lives of a few people.

Does your talk match your punch?

I have always admired Mohammad Ali. He unleashed a sharp mouth to the American public in the 1970s. But luckily for him, he could match his talk with the punches in the ring. What impact do you think it would have had on his personal brand if he did not have the punch to match his words? Here are a few of his words…

“I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize, but get used to me. Black, confident, cocky — my name, not yours. My religion, not yours. My goals, my own. Get used to me.”  Muhammad Ali

“I’m the king of the world, I am the greatest, I’m Muhammad Ali. I shook up the world, I am the greatest, I’m king of the world, I’m pretty, I’m pretty, I’m a bad man, you heard me I’m a bad man. Archie Moore fell in four, Liston wanted me more, so since he’s so great, I’m a make him fall in eight, I’m a bad man, I’m king of the world! I’m 22 years old and ain’t got a mark on my face, I’m pretty, I easily survived six rounds with that ugly bear, because I am the greatest.” Muhammad Ali

Just before the fight in Manila, Thriller in Manila, Ali tounted  Joe Frazier saying “It’s gonna be a chilla, and a killa, and a thrilla, when I get the Gorilla in Manila.”

My friend, think carefully about your words. Make sure you can back them up. Don’t talk like Ali if you don’t have the punch. It may be better to be known as a quite achiever than the big mouth without the punch.

Inspiring Action Quotes

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. - Albert Einstein.

Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement. Alfred Adler

Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. Benjamin Disraeli

You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone, which can become a watered-down, occasional hope that you’ll get to tomorrow. Intention without action is useless. Caroline Myss

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle. Kahlil Gibran

“Do-so” is more important than “say-so.” Pete Seeger

Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Summary

Do you want to be a talking brand or a doing brand? It is your choice. Your personal brand image is the difference between what you make people expect (using your words for example), and what you actually deliver (through your actions).

AIDA

Research has shown that before customers buy a product or service, they go through a series of steps. Before they take action, they go through the following steps: Attention, Interest, Desire and then Action.

Attention

Companies spend millions trying to attract customers and to gain attention in crowded marketplaces. They put their advertising on TV; give away free samples just to get noticed. They invest in attention seeking campaigns.

To maximize the advertising dollars, companies laser target their customers to minimize the cost of getting attention. If a company wants to attract accounting staff, they place advertising in places where accountants are likely to be reading, watching or hanging out.

To get attention to your personal brand, determine what you want to communicate and to whom. Do something different. Do not be like everyone else. Avoid being invisible by becoming a purple cow.

Determine what your target audience needs and communicate that aspect of your personal brand. People are driven by the desire to avoid pain and the desire to gain pleasure. Communicate aspects of your personal brand to help people avoid pain and gain pleasure.

Create awareness for your personal brand through networking and delivering upfront value to others. Be a resource and a value giver.

Interest

People take very little time before deciding if a product or service is of interest to them. That is why you should seek to make a brilliant first impression. With so many choices, today’s consumers are spoilt for choice. They watch many TV stations, listen to numerous radio stations, visit a gazillion websites, watch hundreds of movies and have friends a phone call away.

Companies may gain the attention of consumers through aggressive advertising campaigns. But sustaining interest is a different ball game. To be truly interested, the product or service needs to meet the unique needs of the customer.

You may be able to gain attention and awareness but you will only be able to sustain interest of people if you offer clear benefits to their most pressing problems.

If you are looking to sell a book, you will only get sustained interest if your subject matter talks directly to the needs and wants of the potential readers. What is it about your personal brand that uniquely meets the needs of others? Communicate your benefits in a clear way. Raise interest by showing specific benefits.

Desire

What makes people open their wallets to buy a pair of expensive sports shoes? What makes someone pick up the phone and call that special person they met at a party?

Peoples’ desire to avoid pain and/or gain pleasure is what drives them to take action. Companies spend time, money and effort to attract attention, create interest and desire for their products and services. They do this by communicating how their products are able to help consumers gain pleasure or avoid pain.

For people to desire your personal brand, you must attract attention and cultivate interest. Position yourself as the answer to their problems. Communicate how you are going to solve their problems. Borrow a leaf from marketers and make yourself the object of your target audience’s desires.

Summary (Action)

Whether you want to get a particular job or start a new relationship you can use the marketing concept called AIDA.

Get better results using your personal brand by walking people through the stages of Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. It is a simple principle that works well in sales letters and in selling products and services. It can work wonders in your life too.

Not all charmers are magicians, but they all cast a magic spell on others. They induce others to act. They persuade others to do what they want them to do. Welcome to my little, quick and dirty guide to becoming a charmer.

Genuine Interest

Each of us is different; with unique quirks, experiences and world views. To become a charmer, you need to accept and embrace the fact that people are different. Be genuinely interested in what makes a person unique instead of relying on stereotypes. Develop empathy – be willing and able to put yourself in the shoes of others.

Ask questions that can give you answers to what makes the person unique. Asking questions in a friendly, warm tone can open up conversations and give you insight into what makes a person tick. Remember the answers to the questions you ask. Do your best to remember peoples’ names, birthday, careers, preferences and other facts.

Pet Topics

Pet topics are topics that you can immerse yourself in and talk about for hours. What is your pet topic? What do you love to talk about? What are you at ease talking about?

Develop a set of pet topics that can help you connect with others. Have topics that bring out the best in others. Appreciate other people’s pet topics and be willing to listen as they go on and on.

Examples of good pet topics include music, movies, sports, fashion, jokes etc. Be careful about making politics and religion your pet topics. Those two topics are more likely to cause divisions than find common ground.

Positive Attitude

Look out for the best in people. Look at the glass as half full instead of half empty. Make people feel good about themselves. Focus on positive stories, issues and moments. Show appreciation and gratitude when good things happen.

Magic Words

Use words to charm your way into peoples’ hearts, and minds. Develop charming vocabulary. Make words like “thank you”, “sorry”, “please” easy to roll off your tongue. Be creative in finding charming words that make people feel at ease.

Practice

Like all good things, charm takes practice. Practice makes perfect. If you are not at your charming best at present, take heart. If you keep practicing, taking baby steps, you will eventually get there. Try charming one person at a time, try making one person feel good about themselves. Your charming ways may not always work, in your charm fails you, do not worry too much. Try again. The more you practice being charming, the better you become at it.

Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex. Norman Vincent Peale

Generosity

Give unexpected gifts. People love generous souls. Brand yourself as generous. Complement people genuinely and generously. Feed peoples’ egos. Give your time and your attention to the person you want to charm. Be there at their hour of need.

How do you make people feel? After a long period of time people generally don’t remember what you said but rather how you made them feel. Give people the gift of love and respect. Give kind words and encouragement in tough times.

Be a cheerful giver. Give something of value to people you meet. Not necessarily money but what you have in your reserves. When you give you are making a deposit in your spiritual account and you will reap your rewards with the same measure you give out.

“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured to your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measure to you” – Luke 6:38

Summary

Becoming a charming person is good way of getting more out of life. Charming people are more easily able to influence others and get people to like them. They are more likely to make friends.

Watch charming people. Learn from them. Do not reinvent the wheel. Read, watch, listen and observe what makes them so charming. Then start improving, one aspect of your communication and personal brand at a time.

Thoughts

Your mind is very powerful. You become whatever you think about or envision. Positive thinking means changing the predominant thoughts in your mind to pleasant and empowering thoughts. Some people think of it as self hypnosis, while others think of it as a way of connecting with the mystic of the universe. If you populate your mind with positive messages, you will see a fundamental shift in your fortunes, feelings and outcomes; and ultimately your personal brand.

If you hang around people who are optimistic in life, you will most likely end up looking at the glass as half full. If you hang out with pessimists, you will always see the glass as half empty. Your friends will influence how you think whether you realize it or not.

It may be the way they look at you when you say something, or how they behave when you do something. Be careful about the people you let into your life. They can make or break you even without you realizing it. Surround yourself with positive people and their positive energy will radiate to you. Become more positive and you will impact the people around you and gain their respect for your personal brand.

Character

Character is the attributes that determines your moral and ethical actions and reactions. Character is different from talent, it is shaped over time by the events, decisions you make and actions that you take. The strength of someone’s character refers to their inner person, whom they really at the core.

When a man loses every single earthly possession all he has to fall back on is his character. The strength of character consists of virtues such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, good behaviors or habits. Character is what determines a person’s ultimate personal brand and destiny.

The good thing is that the strength of character can be developed, just as iron is turned into steel. Iron is made stronger by removing impurities and stress hardening. You can develop strength of character by getting rid of negative influences and behaviors in your life (impurities) and stress training (getting out of your comfort zone).

Character can also be developed by learning from others through observation, reading or listening. Just as iron is converted to steel in different stages, you can develop your strength of character progressively.

Emotions

You can use the power of positive emotions to enhance your personal brand. I have learned to harness some positive emotions with good results in my life. Understanding positive emotions can help you bring more of them in yourself and others. Emotional state management is a powerful skill to add to your success arsenal.

Emotions determine our mood, our mood affects our choices, our choices affect our actions and our actions determine our success.

Habits

We are creatures of habit. There is no way you are going to achieve different results if you keep doing things in the same old fashioned way. To achieve any goal in life, you need to change some habits. Think of the goal you want to achieve, and decide what habits would keep you from achieving that.  Then change those habits.

Summary

Personal branding from within is all about self mastery. Self mastery means becoming the master of your own ship. It means becoming the primary guiding force to your destiny. It is the ability to reign supreme on your desires, impulses, emotions, appetite and mind.

This ability cannot be bought with money or fame, but can be developed through discipline. Self mastery means being in control of yourself and not letting your emotions and impulses dictate your life.

P.s – I would love to hear from you how we can enhance our personal brands through self mastery.

 1 – Game Theory

 Treat personal branding as a game. Looking good is a game. Learn to play the game. If people think you are successful, they will treat you better. They will want to be associated with you; they will make you feel better. If you feel better, your dominant thoughts will be empowering. You will gravitate towards positive thoughts. You become what you think about. Play this game right and you will be on your way to success.

 2 – Body Image

 A sexy body is nice to look at. Do you have a sexy body? Does your body make you cringe when you look at yourself in the mirror or does it light up your face with pride? You can attain a better body through exercise, eating right and stay clear of vices such as drugs and alcohol. Work out towards your dream body. Stay in shape. Above all, be happy with the way you look, others can tell if you are happy with your body or not.

 3 – Skin Deep

 I went to a national school in Kenya that had students from diverse backgrounds and from different parts of Kenya. I noticed after my second year of high school that I had the uncanny ability of being able to tell someone’s social-economic background just by looking at them. The tell tale signs were in the skin texture.

 Then when I came to Australia, though not as marked as in Kenya, I noticed that people from different parts of town had different skin textures. Do you look like you have had a tough life or do you look like you spend time on a day spa? Are you hard yakka or a yuppie? Are your hands soft and smooth or are they tough and rough?

 A little moisturizer and lotion does the trick. Use the right kind and you will be on your way to skin deep personal branding. If you are black like me, I do not recommend you try this: get a sun tan. A sun tan makes white people look better in my humble opinion.

4 – Face Value

You may get to meet people online, on email, through correspondence or via phone. But finally a day comes when you put a face to the character. What does your face say about you? Do you have a successful looking face? Do you look confident?

Smiling in 42 languages is a great way of enhancing your face, putting people at ease and propping up your personal brand. It is a great way to make a perfect first impression.

5 – Barber Shop

For men, trimming your hair and shaving regularly helps project a better image. Set a date with your barber regularly.

For ladies, spend time making that hair look good. Having a bad hair day? Not doing your hair right can affect how you feel and how you carry yourself. Do your personal brand a favor and get the best hairstyle you can afford. Get a hairstyle suitable for the occasion, your body type, your skin color etc.

6 – Dress to Kill

Thou shalt not kill unless it is done through perfect dressing. Make sure you wear the appropriate attire for the occasion. Be comfortable in what you wear. Only wear clothes that suit your body type. Buy twice as expensive clothes and buy half as many. Expensive clothes are generally more durable, but be sure to dress within you budget.

7 – Different Car

A great car speaks volumes about the driver. Same guy, different car, will attract more attention from the ladies. Yes I said it. Think of cars like Porsche, BMW, Hummer, Ferrari, Mercedes etc. They radiate success and project prosperity.

Decide early what a car means to you. Do you want to rent, buy or lease? A car is a depreciating liability. Do not overreach for the sake of image. It can cost you more than the marginal gain in image that you might gain. Think of your financial position before splurging on a top car.

8 – Neighborhood watch

Have you seen the Eminem movie 8 Mile? What side of 8 mile do you live in? What does your pad say about you? What does it communicate about you even before you open your mouth? Where you hang out, shop or work also determines your image.  Before you pack your belongings and move to a better neighborhood, think of your long term viability. There is nothing worse than leaving a bad hood, going to live in Malibu or Beverly Hills, and then having to move back when your fortune dwindles.

9 – Subtle Bragging

Open braggarts are such a turn off. They are universally despised but might be tolerated. Avoid massaging your own ego. Do not show off your possessions especially to those who might be less fortunate as you. Be humble.

In the other hand, subtle bragging can get you noticed. It can work wonders in your personal branding efforts. Have you noticed any form of subtle bragging on this blog? lol. You can weave your achievements into stories. Casually drop an accomplishment in conversation without making the accomplishment the center of your conversation.

You can also accomplish landmark achievements that leave others talking about you. Let others brag about you on your behalf.

10 – Be Scarce

You are familiar with the laws of supply and demand right? The more available you are to people, the more likely they are to take you for granted. Increase your value by being scarce. Go MIA (Missing in Action). Familiarity breeds contempt. Learn to excuse yourself after you have met your objectives. You are a busy man (or woman) remember?

11 – Communication 501

Learn the right words for the right situation. Increase your vocabulary. People can tell a lot about you by the kind of words that come from your mouth. Your words can give away your social economic background even when you may look like a million bucks.

Learn to listen. You have two ears and one mouth. Use them in that ratio. Take a genuine interest in others and seek to find out what makes them tick. Be informed about various topics that can help you sustain conversation even with strangers. What is your pet topic? What do you default to?

12 – Finer Things

The finest things in life are priceless. But there are a few big ticket items and ideas that can make you seem more successful. Be a connoisseur of the finer things in life. Perhaps you could play polo, have a cigar, and immerse yourself in the world of art. Just be careful not to live a champagne lifestyle on a beer income. It may come back to haunt you.

13 – Birds of a Feather

Show me your friends and I will tell you what kind of person you are. If you hang out with crooks and losers, people will brand you guilty by association. Be careful whom you let into your space. Network with successful people and re-engineer yourself to be comfortable around successful people, if you are not naturally comfortable around the.

14 – Good Manners

Good manners don’t cost you a thing. People probably miss to see your good manners, but if you replace good manners with bad, people are bound to remember.

Open doors for the ladies, learn to say the magic words “thank you” and “please”. Look people in the eyes when talking to them. When greeting others, offer a firm handshake. Do not interrupt when others or talking or give the impression that you are just waiting for our turn to speak.

15 – Travel the World

Go to exotic destinations and talk about it. Have a global network of friends; take photos with them in their locations. Come back to your local with tales from different cities. Enthrall others with your travel stories and bond with others who have had similar experiences. Carry souvenirs from various continents, countries and cities.

16 – Attitude is everything

Thoughts are real. You become what you think about. Fill your mind with empowering thoughts and a winning attitude. Think you are a winner, look like a winner, behave like a winner and you will become a winner. Success or failure is all in the mind.

17 – Be Yourself

Be happy in your own skin. Do not fake like, you only live once. Do not be a mini version of someone else. Embrace your originality, quirks and personality. Be confident in yourself. Do not doubt your own abilities. If you are not self assured, how are others expected to be confident of you? Accept yourself just as you are. That is the biggest gift you can give to yourself.

Summary

 We have looked at various habits and ways of projecting a more attractive personal brand. Radiating success brings success to your life. Not all habits are good or applicable to you, but I hope you have picked something that you can put to use.

would love to hear your comment on this blog post and the question of projecting a successful image even before you succeed. Any story will be most welcome.

 When people get to do something, they get a deeper understanding of it. They see the insider benefits more clearly. I have seen the effects of blogging on my personal branding efforts. I will present the case for blogging to you; with the hope of inspiring you to start a blog today.

 My Blogging Lessons

 I used to run a web design business. Getting clients was not easy. I did not have an ad on the yellow pages nor was I listed in the web designer directories online. I relied on word of mouth and that was slow at best. Every time I finished one job, I had to hit the tarmac, or pick up the phone trying to find the next job. It is not the smartest way to run a business or build a brand.

 When I started this blog in January 2009, I set out on a personal development journey. I wanted to learn to be more positive, and to inspire others. Over the years, I had accumulated experiences, both good and bad; that I thought could benefit others if I shared. My end goal was to grow, and to help others grow. I also wanted to meet new friends and “future business contacts”. Nobody had told me about the power of blogging in personal or even business branding. I experienced it, and as usual, I will share with you freely.

 The blog started slowly, I was not sure what direction to take the site. I did not have many visitors at first, but my friends Paula, Philip, Brenda Njeru and Nyomi were always there, encouraging me to keep going. I would get home after work, tired but knowing there were a few people waiting to read my blog the next morning made me write something to inspire them.

 Then I started promoting the blog on a few places online. More people started coming, they seemed to like what I was writing and invited a few of their friends as well. Soon enough, I met incredible people who I have no doubt will be my life long friends. I started getting requests for consulting, and help with web design from people from different countries. This was without even me trying. I was subtly giving hints about my expertise on the blog, but that was not the main objective. The side effect of blogging turned out to be bigger than I anticipated. I knew about blogging since my uni days in 2001. Why had I never taken action and started one?

 Going by the number of inquiries I have got from readers of this blog, I can tell you with authority that blogging is a powerful personal branding tool. People email asking me to give them advice on immigration to Australia, about relationship matters, about social media, about online marketing, about starting a blog, etc. Others ask me to mentor them and give them advice on one area of life or another. I do my best to help, but I feel like I cannot do everything for all the people who send me requests. With time I will develop this site to offer more help on the areas that people ask me about…but I digress

 If during my web design days I had a blog, I reckon I could have got a lot more business than I did. Blogging has proven itself to be a good way of connecting with friends and am sure it can be used for connecting with partners, customers, suppliers and media. You do not have to be a business owner to benefit from blogging. You can be a student and start a blog; you can be a career person and start a blog. Whatever you do in life, think of how blogging can help you.

 How to Brand yourself using a Blog 

• Your Objectives – A road to anyplace leads to a town called nowhere. If you want to achieve any kind of goal, you need to precisely plan where you want to go and how you are going to get there. What kind of brand image do you want to communicate using your blog? What are you trying to get out of it? Write down your objectives on a piece of paper. Review them a few times before you even write your first blog post.

• Your Target Audience – One man’s meat is another man’s poison. What I write on this blog may be appealing to you but boring or annoying to another person. Do not try to be everything to everyone. The quickest way to erode your personal brand is to try and please everyone. Think clearly who you want to target with your blog and obsess over meeting their needs. I have a particular type of target on this blog and I think day and night about how to meet their needs. Every time I hear something on TV or read something on another blog that can be of benefit to my target audience I write it down. I am obsessed with meeting the needs of my target audience.

• Get Your Angle – Website and blog readers are like ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egyptians had many gods, each god provided them with something unique e.g. fertility, rain, wealth etc. They worshiped the god that met their particular objective. If you are not meeting an objective of your website visitors and target audience, they will turn elsewhere. If you provide the same information as another god (or blog), you will be fighting for scarce attention. Take time to define your angle. Your brand will shine brighter if you have a unique angle instead of copying someone else.

• Communicating Ideas – A blog is a means of communicating ideas. In a war or in case of disasters, government spokesmen have a clear objective of communicating. They are responsible of keeping citizens informed and assured. You may not be a government spokesman but you are the spokesman for your brand. Think clearly how you want to communicate with your target audience. Communicate with them in terms that make sense to them. Do not talk down on them. Do not be too technical if they are not. Use the right lingo to communicate your ideas. You may communicate your ideas through written word, videos or podcasts. Be the perfect spokesman or woman for your brand using your blog.

• Getting Feedback – I celebrate every time I get both positive and negative feedback on my blog. Writing and getting no comments or feedback would be lonely. I do not think I would be able to do it with the same dedication if I did not have the feedback. Feedback comes in many forms. It may be in the form of blog comments, website statistics or comments from other bloggers and my friends. Seek to improve your blog and brand by actively soliciting feedback from your target audience especially at the beginning of your blog’s journey.

• Promoting Your Brand – It is not a matter of build it and they will come. Even after pouring your heart out with great content for your blog, you have to promote it. You have to get people to know that your blog exists. There are a number of ways of promoting your blog that are beyond the scope of this article. Let it suffice to say that you can promote your blog through paid advertisements, search engine marketing, viral marketing, link exchanges, and content syndication amongst hundreds of other ways. 

Bloggers and Personal Branding 

1. Gary Vaynerchuk – WineLibrary.com 

Gary Vaynerchuk brought wine appreciation to the masses. He is a blogger who has attracted a cult-like following of more than 80,000 viewers a day. To break down the barriers, stereotypes, and misperceptions that otherwise prevent people from exploring and enjoying the exciting and rewarding world of wine. Vaynerchuk’s informal style, described as “unpretentious, gonzo approach to wine appreciation” is in contrast to conservative wine industry norms. Vaynerchuk refers to his followers as “Vayniacs” and “Vayner Nation”. He has built one of the most powerful personal brands using blogging and in particular video blogging as his platform. Customers depend on Gary for his advice and within five years, Wine Library grew from a $4 million dollar business to a $45 million business. 

1. Brian Clark – Copyblogger.com 

In January 2006, a former attorney, Brian Clark founded one of my favorite blogs on the net. Brian built three successful offline businesses using online marketing techniques before switching to a producer model that involves building, monetizing, and occasionally selling online media properties. He is a very good writer and shares his best information with his blog readers. Copyblogger has over 55,000 subscribers and more than 150,000 unique monthly site visitors. He continues to grow his personal brand as an authority in copy writing and generosity. 

1. White African – WhiteAfrican.com

One of my favorite bloggers is Erik Hersman (Hash). He grew up in Kenya like yours truly but now lives with his family in America. He writes on WhiteAfrican.com, which is a blog about technology and his thoughts on how technology is impacting, and can change Africa. He has built his personal brand and in the process earned the respect and admiration of visitors from 1200 cities who visit his blog every month. 

1. Mario Armando Lavandeira -  PerezHilton.com 

Amongst the most popular gossip blogs is PerezHilton.com. This is a blog by celebrity blogger Mario Armando Lavandeira.  He writes under the pseudonym Perez Hilton. On his website, Lavandeira posts gossip items about musicians, actors and celebrities. He often posts tabloid photographs over which he has added his own captions or “doodles.” 

1. Heather B. Armstrong  – Dooce.com 

Dooce.com chronicles the life of Heather B. Armstrong from a time when she was single and making a lot of money as a web designer in Los Angeles, to when she was dating the man who would become her husband, to when she lost my job and lived life as an unemployed drunk, to when she married her husband and moved to Utah. 

In 2002, Armstrong ignited a fierce debate about privacy issues when she was fired from her job as a web designer and graphic artist because she had written satirical accounts of her experiences at a dot-com startup on her weblog, dooce.com. This action has led to what is commonly known as to be “dooced” – to be dismissed from one’s job as a result of one’s actions on the Internet. 

She writes under the pseudonym of Dooce. Armstrong explains that “Dooce” came from her inability to quickly spell “dude” during IM chats with her former co-workers. 

Setting up a Blog 

Ok, you have heard all about how blogs can help you achieve success in personal branding. You have even sat through as I shared stories about 5 bloggers that I admire. Yes you now know that it is important to have a blog and it can make your personal brand popular. But where do you start? How do you launch your blog today? 

1. Blogger – You can setup your own blog on Blogger.com within 10 minutes. Blogger is a blog publishing system. It is owned by Google. The service itself is located at www.blogger.com, and blogs that do not publish to their own websites are hosted by Google at subdomains of blogspot.com. 

1. WordPress.com - This is a free service by the makes of the free open source WordPress software that powers this blog. It is an easy to use system with over 4.5 million blogs hosted. You can get started in 10 minutes or less on http://www.wordpress.com 

1. Livejournal – Express Yourself, Share Your Life, Connect with Friends Online. You can use Livejournal in many ways: a private journal, a blog, a discussion forum or a social network. Check out http://www.livejournal.com 

1. Typepad – TypePad is a blogging service from the company Six Apart Ltd, and the largest paid blogging service in the world. Originally launched in October 2003, TypePad is marketed to non-technical users and includes additional features like multiple author support, photo albums and moblogging. The service is available in several languages and countries around the world, but in the United States is sold at three different subscription levels. TypePad is currently used by many large organizations and media companies to host their weblog, such as ABC, MSNBC, the CBC, the BBC and Sky News. Check out http://www.typepad.com 

Buying Your Own Domain Name 

A great way of building your own brand is to use your own name or brand name when registering starting your blog. This name is called the domain name. Examples of domain names is danielngari.com, copyblogger.com, whiteafrican.com etc 

A domain name costs about $10 USD per year if it had not been registered before. If the name you want to buy is already owned by someone else, it is likely that they will ask for payment upwards of thousands of dollars. Spend time on domain registration websites to find out if your name is already registered. Alternatively, start a blog using the free blog services above, and they will provide you with a blog name for free. 

Summary 

Blogging is a fantastic way of building your personal brand. I hope you have been inspired through this blog post to test the waters when it comes to creating your own blog. It may seem daunting before you start but once you get to write a few posts, it gets easier. The trick is to define your objective upfront and not expect overnight results. Have fun blogging and add value to the lives of people who read your blog.

What is Social Media?

Social media are internet based tools for sharing and discussing information. These tools are designed to encourage participation and rely on users for their content (as opposed to an editorial team).

Social media websites allow sharing of opinions, insights, experiences and perspectives. They have become a popular stop for many internet users. There are not many ways of building your personal brand online, which are as effective as by using social media.

1 – Video Sharing

You can use YouTube or other video sharing sites to enhance your personal brand. Starting a video blog is real easy if you have a good message or engaging personality.

YouTube has revolutionized video usage on the internet. It allows millions of users worldwide to watch video clips daily. You do not even need to be logged in to use YouTube. Creating an account allows you to add video, save favorite videos, create play lists, share play lists and create video channels.

Creating a YouTube video channel will put you at par with TV stations or other big brands. YouTube levels the playing field for brands and content creators. They even carry the cost of bandwidth and provide the service for free.

If you are good with video or not camera shy, you can really extend your brand, get your message across and engage your audience. YouTube has built in viral marketing features.

It allows viewers to be able to share videos by embedding them on other sites. YouTube also allows other websites to programmatically access their catalog, thus giving you wider exposure for your personal brand.

Check out YouTube on http://www.youtube.com

2 – MySpace

MySpace is a social networking website with an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos.

You can use MySpace to build your network of friends and associates. You can use MySpace to build your Profile Page. The site allows you to customize your profile with music, colors, images and layouts.

Though no longer the most popular social networking website, it features over 100 million users and provides an array of features ideal for personal branding. If you are interested in bands and music, MySpace is the place to be. You can build a fan page and an outlet for letting out your music to a wide audience.

Check out MySpace on http://www.myspace.com

3. Facebook

Facebook users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with each other. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.

It is the most popular social networking website on the planet. The site provides an excellent array of features and privacy controls. You can make new friends on Facebook or keep a network of only close friends and family.

You can build your personal brand using the sites features such as Profiles, Fan Pages, Groups and Events. One of the most popular applications on Facebook is the Photos application, where users can upload albums and photos. Facebook allows users to upload an unlimited number of photos.

Check out Facebook on http://www.facebook.com

4. Twitter

Twitter is the new kid in the block of social media. It has taken the internet by storm. Twitter’s growth, according to Nielsen Online indicates that the site grew 1,382% year-over-year in February 2009. Twitter has Facebook scared and is said to have been the root cause of Facebook changing its page design recently.

Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows users to share messages in 140 characters or less. A Twitter user is called a “Tweep”. A twitter user can “follow” others; they can also “unfollow” someone. If you are following me for example, you will be able to see my status updates. The status updates are called “Tweets”.

Big and small brands are heading to twitter. If you do not have a Twitter account, consider creating one and figure out the system from within. Once you create a Twitter account, please “follow” me http://twitter.com/danielngari

Many celebrities, brands and even countries are using Twitter including Ashton Kutcher, Oprah, BBC and Israel. Creating Twitter account takes 5 minutes at most and opens up a world of real time interactivity and personal brand building.

5. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003 mainly used for professional networking. As of May 2009, it had more than 39 million registered users, spanning 170 industries.

The purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. The people in the list are called Connections. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection.

This list of connections can then be used in a number of ways:

• A contact network is built up consisting of their direct connections, the connections of each of their connections (termed second degree connections) and also the connections of second degree connections (termed third degree connections). This can be used to gain an introduction to someone you wish to know through a mutual, trusted contact.
• It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one’s contact network.
• Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates.
• Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.

The “gated-access approach” (where contact with any professional requires either a preexisting relationship or the intervention of a contact of theirs) is intended to build trust among the service’s users. (Source: Wikipedia)

Create a LinkedIn Account to start building connections and promote your personal brand. It is a wildly popular professional networking site especially in the United States.

Check out LinkedIn on http://www.linkedin.com

6. Google

Behind the simplicity of the Google homepage is an array of power & social media features. Google is one of the most powerful brands in the world today and you can use their free services to enhance your personal brand.

• Google Alerts – You can set up Google Alerts to be notified instantly when someone mentions your name or anyone’s names on the internet.
• Google Groups – You can setup a group of like minded people to share views, opinions, documents, links or opinions. It is a good way of enhancing your personal brand in small targeted way. Highly recommended.
• Google Reader – It is a way of subscribing to multiple blogs using a technology called RSS (Really Simple Syndication). It helps you keep in the loop of what is going on in your area of interest.
• Google Calendar – A great calendar that I love. You can create to do lists, setup reminders and share your daily activities with colleagues.
• Google Mail – Gmail is a web based email from Google that has a search-oriented interface and a “conversation view” similar to an Internet forum.

7. Online Forums

Online forums, also called bulletin boards or message boards are a great way to connect with others and build a profile online. People participating in an Internet forum may cultivate social bonds and interest groups for a topic may form from the discussions.

If you are passionate about a subject, find internet forums that talk about that topic. You can only build your personal brand on a forum if you participate as opposed to being a “lurker”.

Forums are “hang outs” on the internet. People spend hours upon hours on online forums talking, debating and sometimes arguing. Be careful what you say online forums. It may come back to haunt you and your personal brand.

An example of an online forum is http:/www.webmasterworld.com which is an online forum for people who build websites or make a living online.

8. Social Bookmarking

Do you have an overflowing list of bookmarks on your computer? Or do you use a public computer? Did you know that you could store your bookmarks on certain websites? You can then access those bookmarks from any computer and share them with your friends.

Social Bookmarking is a method for Internet users to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web pages on the Internet with the help of metadata, typically in the form of tags.

You can build your personal brand by being active on Social Bookmarking sites such as Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Propeller, StumbleUpon or Technorati.

9. Photo Sharing

A photo is worth a thousand words. You can use photos and images to communicate various aspects of your personal brand. You may want to showcase your latest holiday or your latest contacts. Whatever your reasons for wanting to share your photos, you can use the following sites effectively.

• Flickr – Flickr is an image and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community platform. It claims to host more than 3 billion images.
• Picasa Web – Picasa Web Albums (PWA) is a photo-sharing web application from Google. It allows users with accounts at Google to store and share 1 GB of photos for free.

10. Niche Media

Depending on what kind of personal brand you seek to build online, you can find small websites that will allow you to build your credibility, give and get value, and reach your target audience.

For example, if you run a small business, you may want to list your business in directories that are related to your business. For example, if you run a Web Design company and live in Toronto, you can list your business on a directory targeting “Toronto Web Designers“. That way, people searching for web design services in that city will be able to click to your website.

You can also visit and comment on blogs and websites related to your industry. You can sign up for newsletters or join mailing lists in your niche market.

There also some big sites that you can find a corner dealing with whatever you love. For example, a site like Amazon is huge, but has little corners for all sorts of niche ideas. You could be interested in books to do with Home beer brewing, or Hitler… whatever your interest you can find a group of people who share your interest in sites such as Amazon.com or Ebay.com

Summary

I hope this blog post has inspired you to dig into a couple of social media sites to make new friends and promote your personal brand. Go Social. Build your brand.

In the movie Ghosts of the Abyss, master storyteller James Cameron journeys back to the legendary wreck of the Titanic.  He captivates 3D moviegoers with vivid sights of the majestic Titanic. The movie goes deep into the ocean floor to the wreckage, inside and out, as never seen before. Using state of the art technology, Cameron and his crew explore the insides of the wreckage, interspersed with imagery of the ship as it looked like before sinking. It was a site where 1,500 souls perished; the depths of the ocean where you do not want to sink your personal brand.

How low you sink your personal brand determines how people remember you, think of you. As much as Bill Clinton was a great president, he will always be remembered for what he did with one Monica Lewinsky at the Oval office. You may spend years building your personal brand but ruin it overnight with an error of judgment. Thinking in advance about how low you can sink will help you set personal standards and limits on what you can and cannot do.

1. Physical Health and Wellness
2. Work & Career
3. Financial Freedom
4. Home & Family
5. Mind & Emotions
6. Social & Relationships
7. Values & Character

1. Physical Health and Wellness

You may spend time building your personal brand at your place of work and ruin it at an alcohol fueled Christmas Party. Think in advance what you may or may not do. Decide whether or not you will be ruled by the bottle or not. What is your take on taking drugs and alcohol?

Unless you are planning to be a sumo wrestler, you need to watch your weight for health and aesthetic reasons. Overly overweight people do not make brilliant personal brands. How much time are you willing to spend at the TV with a can of beer and pizza? Are you ok with spending a few months without exercise? Are you ok eating junk food instead of healthier choices? Watch your physical health and wellness, it has a big impact on your personal brand my friend.

2. Work & Career

I once met a lady who was working at a job she loathed. She was a talented writer but was stuck in an accounting role that she hated. She did it just for the money. What are you willing to do just for money? Are you willing to sacrifice your passion just to get paid? Are you compromising your career aspirations because of fear? How low will you sink your dreams and hopes?

Some people are so ambitious, they will sleep their way up the ladder. Does it bother you to use your sex appeal to climb up the corporate ladder? What limits have you imposed on yourself to protect your personal brand in the work place? How low can you sink for the sake of expediency?

3. Financial Freedom

There are few things that are more confidence sapping than a mountain of debt. Getting into debt does not happen overnight. It begins with lack of paying attention to the numbers. It grows on ignorance of financial matters. It thrives on consumption without regard for implications. How low are you willing to sink for instant gratification? How much are you willing to compromise your future for the sake of a little fun today?

Bank robbers know where the money is. They go for it and are proud to be bank robbers. But there are other robbers in business suits. There are people willing to embezzle public funds as long as they think they will not be caught. Are you willing to compromise your brand by being caught with your hand in the cookie jar? Set your standards even when you may need the money. The damage to your personal brand may take eternity to recover.

How well do you balance your chasing the mighty dollar with your family life? Do you sink as low as not spending quality time with your family as you chase the dough? Do you find yourself stressing about money when in the bedroom with your lovely wife or husband? Do you find yourself using sex as a weapon when things do not go your way financially? How low can you sink when you do not have money? Does love run out the window when poverty comes through your door?

4. Home & Family

With rampant divorce statistics, I sometimes wonder how low people are willing to sink as far as family life is concerned. Divorce is rarely done on impulse unless you got married drunk in Vegas. What are the signs of relationship trouble? Do you reckon a marriage counselor can help your case? Are you willing to make the relationship work for the sake of your kids?

Are you willing to stay in an abusive relationship for fear of what people will say? What is your standard on home life? What can you do and what can you let  others in your family do to you? Your personal brand is affected by your home and family life. Decide in advance how low you are willing to sink.

5. Mind & Emotions

Your emotions affect your personal brand. Do you let the emotions of rage, jealousy, fear or anxiety control your destiny? Do you take active steps to control your emotions or are you willing to sink to the ocean floor because of your emotions?

What kind of thoughts run through your mind? Do you let crippling negativity rule supreme in your mind? How much airtime do you give to negative imagery and imagination? Do you let negative people influence you? What is your standard, your boundary on what emotions or thoughts you can allow in your mind. Remember success or failure is all in the mind.

6. Social & Relationships

What do you do when everyone around you is hurtling towards self destruction? Do you join the bandwagon or do you protect yourself and jump out? Do you have a tipping point where you say enough is enough of negative influence from friends? How low can you sink if your friends are leading you astray?

Are you loyal to your family and partner? Are you willing to compromise your integrity and betray your partner? You probably have heard of people who seemed to have it all, but could not keep their love on a leash. How low are you willing to sink to have a good time tonight? How low are you willing to sink even when it may cost you your friends or love?

7. Values & Character

I feel like I have been ranting today. We all have our weak moments but some moral decay is inexcusable. My moral compass might be different from yours. But without setting a boundary we are not any different from animals. How low are you willing to sink as far as your morals go?

Do you have self limiting beliefs, taboos or traditions that have no place in your personal branding efforts? Why are you still holding on to them? Why are you not on the look out for empowering personal beliefs?

Character assassination is akin to murder. Are you willing to put others down to get ahead in life? Do you empower others on your journey for success or do you put them down so you can get their faster by stepping on them? How low are you willing to sink to get ahead in life?

Summary

There will be no conclusion today. Make your own. Hehe.

1 – J.K. Rowling – Passion / Rags to Riches

J.K Rowling is a classic rag to riches story. She was on welfare while writing the first Harry Potter book. What many people do not know is that she was really passionate about writing from an early age. She pursued her passion by first starting to write short stories as a young girl.

In a 2001 BBC interview, Rowling denied the rumor that she wrote in local cafés to escape from her unheated flat, remarking, “I am not stupid enough to rent an unheated flat in Edinburgh in midwinter. It had heating.” Instead, as she stated on the American TV program A&E Biography, one of the reasons she wrote in cafés was because taking her baby out for a walk was the best way to make her fall asleep.

Within 5 years, she moved from welfare to multi-million dollar status by following her passion. Her book was first rejected by 13 publishers, before being taken in by Bloomsbury who advised her “to get a day job, since she had little chance of making money in children’s books.”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on 21 July 2007 and broke its predecessor’s record as the fastest-selling book of all time. It sold 11 million copies in the first day of release in the United Kingdom and United States. Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated $15 billion and the last four Harry Potter books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history.

No matter what your talent is, if you follow your passion, you will build an incredible brand. Be passionate about what you do, do what you are passionate about. The results will speak for themselves.

2 – Richard Branson – Leverage

Richard Branson’s first successful business venture was in 1968 at the age 16, when he published a magazine called Student. After the magazine became popular, Branson looked at the demographics of readers and decided to leverage that and start another business.

He started advertising on his magazine for his Mail Order business selling Music. They were toying for ideas on what to call the new company when one of the girls there suggested the name “Virgin”. They were complete virgins in business although another of the girls in the room was quick to remind all that there was no longer a virgin in the room.

In 1970 he opened the first Virgin record shop in Oxford Street. In 1972 he opened a recording studio. In 1973 Virgin Record Label was launched, signing Mike Oldfield whose album Tubular Bells became the best selling album for a decade.

In 1980 he started expanding Virgin to Overseas markets. In 1983 he launched Virgin Vision to distribute films and videos. He has since extended his brand to include Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Group comprising of Music, Retail, Property and Communications divisions.

You may start with a humble venture; a small brand, but look for ways of extending your brand. Look for ways of leveraging your success to provide more value, to reach more people, to solve more problems. And the money will follow.

3 – Winston Churchill – Courage and Leadership

He was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.

Churchill’s speeches were a great inspiration to the embattled British. His first speech as Prime Minister was the famous “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat”.

On another famous speech he said “… we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

He once said “One ought never to turn ones back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half.”

To be able to develop your personal brand, do not shy away from positions of leadership. Do not let fear paralyze you. Take the bull by its horns. Live courageously. Taking action when others are afraid will set you apart and let your personal brand shine.

4 – Sean Connery – Career Choice

Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born August 25, 1930), best known as Sean Connery, is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award winning Scottish actor and producer who is best known as the first actor to portray James Bond in cinema, starring in seven Bond films.

Sean Connery started as a keen footballer. According to reports, he was even offered a football contract worth £25 a week. He admits that he was tempted to accept the offer, but he recalls “I realized that a top-class footballer could be over the hill by the age of 30, and I was already 23. I decided to become an actor and it turned out to be one of my more intelligent moves.”

 Think through your career choice. You may be tempted to take a career because your parents said so, because your friends say so or because you are good in something. Take time to think of where YOU want to be in say 20 years. Plan your career well. This has a big impact on your personal brand. Do you want to be a footballer or James Bond?

6 – Barack Obama – Networking

The Barack Obama Presidential Campaign in the 2008 elections was innovative in the way it allowed grassroots groups to train, organize and mobilize. Each group had unique responsibilities and allowed tapping of unique talents.

They used a website my.barackobama.com to recruit, train and communicate with volunteers. If you want to grow your personal brand, think of using social media such as online forums, blogs, twitter, Facebook, Myspace etc to grow your brand.

7 – Bill Gates – Foresight

William Henry “Bill” Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, philanthropist, author, and chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. He is ranked consistently one of the world’s wealthiest people.

Bill Gates’ foresight and vision for having a personal computer in every home and every office has been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry.

Microsoft became the owner of 86-DOS and adapted it for the PC renaming it as PC-DOS. Microsoft exchanged it for a lowly one-time fee of $50,000 to IBM (read foresight).

Gates did not offer to transfer the copyright on the operating system, because he believed that other hardware vendors would clone IBM’s system. They did, and the sales of MS-DOS made Microsoft a major player in the industry.

Take a moment to think through your future. You cannot drift to success. Find an angle and pursue it ruthlessly. Microsoft took only $50,000 for their operating system when they could have asked for more. But they had a game plan. Eventually their game plan paid off. Do not think of just today and tomorrow. Play your cards well with the future of your personal brand in mind.

8 – Sylvester Stallone – Persistence

One of the most inspiring stories I have ever heard on the topic of persistence is Sylvester Stallone of the Rocky Movies.

Sylvester Stallone is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. One of the biggest box office draws in the world from the 1970s to the 1990s, Sylvester Stallone is an icon of machismo and Hollywood action heroism. He has played two characters that have become a part of the American cultural lexicon: Rocky Balboa, the boxer who overcame all odds to fight for love and glory, and John Rambo, a courageous soldier who specialized in very violent rescue and revenge missions.

It was not an easy climb to the top for Sylvester Stallone. In his early days as an aspiring actor, he was so broke but would not take an average job as it would interfere with his hunger to be an actor. His wife pressurized him to get a job but Stallone would not hear of it. He kept trying to audition for parts but kept being rejected.

Then one day (March 24, 1975), Stallone saw the Muhammad Ali-Chuck Wepner fight which inspired the foundation idea of Rocky. Chuck Wepner was clearly the underdog but he kept on going. He was quite persistent and that impressed Stallone who got busy that night and started writing the script for Rocky. He wrote the script for over 20 hours continuously. After that he tried to sell the script without much initial success.

He kept trying to sell but kept getting rejected. By that time he was so poor that he decided to sell his dog. He was devastated for having to do this but he felt he had no choice. After desperately looking for strangers to buy his dog, he finally found a buyer outside a liquor store and sold it for $25.

After persistently trying to sell his script, someone got interested in buying but only if Stallone did not star in it! Even though he was broke, he knew what he wanted and did not sell out. They had offered to buy the script for $100,000 but they kept upping the offer until they got to $400,000 but Stallone would hear none of it.

Eventually they agreed to have him play the lead role, but only for $25,000. He accepted and as soon as he got his money, he went to buy back his dog. The new owner refused to sell it to him! Again Stallone persisted until the guy sold it back to him for $15,000 and the right to appear in the movie! That guy is in the Rocky movie apparently. But guess what? Stallone and the dog, his best friend, were also in the film.

The film, made for only $1.1 million and shot relatively fast in 28 days, was a sleeper hit; it made over US$117.2 million, and won three Oscars, including Best Picture. The film received many positive reviews and turned Stallone into a major star. It spawned five sequels: Rocky II, III, IV, V, and Rocky Balboa.

Do not give up even when the going gets tough. “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”. Calvin Coolidge

9 – Don Lafontaine - Anonymity

Donald LaFontaine (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008) was an American voiceover artist famous for recording more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers. His nicknames included “Thunder Throat” and “The Voice of God”. He became identified with the phrase “In a world…” which has been used in movie trailers so frequently that it has become a cliché.

See and hear him on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QPMvj_xejg

Though his voice was famous, very few people really cared to find out who the voice belonged to. You may be very good in your job, but have few people ever recognizing you for your work. Say for example you have a cleaning company responsible for cleaning a hospital or a shopping centre. Many people might not notice you or spare a thought about your work. That is ok too.

Don Lafontaine did well for himself. Many people did not spare a thought about him but he was a legend to the people that mattered. The lesson here is to target your personal brand to the people who matter. You may be obscure to everyone else, but make sure you shine to the people who matter. Don Lafontaine shone in the eyes of movie directors, producers and promoters.

10 – Steve Jobs – Bouncing Back

Steven Paul Jobs (born February 24, 1955) is an American businessman and co-founder, and CEO of Apple Inc. Jobs is the former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios.

He co-founded Apple in his parents’ garage when he was 20. He worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just him and his partner in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees.

They had just released their finest creation – the Macintosh – a year earlier, and he had just turned 30. And then he got fired. How does one get fired from a company he started? Well, as Apple grew they hired someone to run the company, but their visions of the future began to diverge and eventually they had a falling out. The Board of Directors sided with the other guy. So at 30 Steve Jobs was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of his entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

It turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to him. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed him to enter one of the most creative periods of his life.

During the next five years, He started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, He returned to Apple, and the technology they developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance.

None of this would have happened if he hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was an awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.

If you ever fall from grace, or find yourself in a tough position, remember Steve Jobs. Do not lose faith. Live to fight another day. Let your personal brand bounce back.

Summary

I hope you gained an insight on the people who inspire me. I hope you have been inspired and will apply some of those lessons to build your personal brand.

Who inspires you? What lessons have you learned from others in regards to building a thriving personal brand? I would love to hear your comments.

Source: Wikipedia Bio Data

P/s – If you have a friend who might be inspired by this article, please it with them.

For your personal brand to shine, you have to SWOT it good. Getting attention is increasingly difficult. You need a powerful brand that lends itself to communication with others. That is the only way to get attention in a busy world. Just like big companies do when faced with competition, you need to do a SWOT analysis of your brand.

• Strengths: helpful attributes that can help you achieve your objectives.
• Weaknesses: harmful attributes that can prevent achievements.
• Opportunities: external conditions that support achieving your objectives.
• Threats: external conditions that could do damage to your personal brand. 

Know Your Strengths

 Take time to reflect on your personal brand. What is your strong side? What do you do that gets others to complement you? Take a blank writing pad and get to work. Write each of your strengths down. Write each of your talent, skill, personality attributes etc. Create a brand statement based on your areas of strength. Use your core strengths to enhance your brand image.

 Use the power of baby steps (Kaizen) to enhance your strengths. For example, if you are good in writing, start off by sending letters to the editor for your local papers. If you are good at organizational skills, start by organizing a retreat for your friends, or start a group with set objective. Do not start climbing Mount Everest from the top. Find a few of your strengths and grow them.

 For effective brand building, look at your strengths with a long term view. Develop your assets and link them to your long term branding efforts. Communicate your strengths with others through application of your strengths. Manage your brand assets well. Your brand assets include your talents, friends, knowledge and motivation.

 Know Your Weaknesses

 We all have weaknesses. Be aware of your own weaknesses before others become aware of them. Take a hard look at your past experiences, be really honest with yourself and identify your weaknesses.

 Look for weaknesses in various areas of life. Do you have a weakness in your thought patterns? Do you have self limiting beliefs? Is your self confidence high or low? How well do you manage your emotional state? Do you get angry, jealous, afraid, anxious etc.

Conduct a thorough skills assessment on yourself. How do you rate your people skills? How do you rate your technical skills? Are you proficient in skills that set you apart from your competition?

 Use the power of Kaizen to improve your weak areas. Do not overly focus on your weaknesses. Identify your weaknesses and develop a plan of improvement.

 Know Your Opportunities

 What stage are you at in life? Are you about to finish your studies? Are you on the verge of starting a business? Are you in a new relationship? Have you made new friends lately? Has something changed in your life that may impact your personal brand?

 The changes in your environment and people around you may present opportunities. What connections have you made? Be on the look out for new opportunities. Do not chase after each and every opportunity, but do not let valid opportunities for enhancing your brand pass you by.

 Know Your Threats

 What external barriers are threats to your brand image? Do you face stiff competition? Is the state of the economy affecting you? Do you have internal barriers such as self sabotage?

 Many people have a problem with balancing work and life issues when pursuing success. Protect your brand by creating balance in your life. Pursue your career but do not neglect your health, friends and family.

 Think of all the external hurdles that you may have to jump before you can propel your brand to success.

 Summary

 You can improve your personal brand by conducting a SWOT analysis of your personal brand just like big companies do. Assess your current brand image; look for your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Use the Kaizen Principle to improve your brand image, step by step.

Here is what Seth Godin wrote:

“While driving through France a few years ago, my family and I were enchanted by the hundreds of storybook cows grazing in lovely pastures right next to the road. For dozens of kilometers, we all gazed out the window, marveling at the beauty. Then, within a few minutes, we started ignoring the cows. The new cows were just like the old cows, and what was once amazing was now common. Worse than common: It was boring.

Cows, after you’ve seen them for a while, are boring. They may be well-bred cows, Six Sigma cows, cows lit by a beautiful light, but they are still boring. A Purple Cow, though: Now, that would really stand out. The essence of the Purple Cow – the reason it would shine among a crowd of perfectly competent, even undeniably excellent cows – is that it would be remarkable. Something remarkable is worth talking about, worth paying attention to. Boring stuff quickly becomes invisible.”

Become Remarkable

You become remarkable by daring to be different. You become remarkable by stepping up your game. If you do things the same as everyone else, you will get the same results. I encourage you to find your angle. Bring something different to the table. Do not conform to what everyone else does, especially in business and careers. Be remarkable. Be different. Be the best you can be.

Yesterday we talked about the benefits of beefing up your personal brand. A good personal brand increases your perceived value and makes people pay a premium to be associated with you. They may not necessarily pay you money, but they will give you the attention, trust, remembrance, forgiveness and opportunities.

A strong personal brand enables you to be confident in your own abilities and person. It helps you become influential in many spheres of life and opens up a world of opportunities. Being a purple cow is one of the quickest and most powerful ways of building a durable personal brand. How do you become a purple cow?

1 – Core Values

Do you have concrete core values or do you go with the flow? Have you defined who you are, what you can and cannot do?

There is nothing that defines a purple cow better than someone with different core values. If everyone around you is corrupt, if that is against your core values and belief, then be different; that will set you apart. Core values influence our actions and habits. Our habits determine our destiny.

Do a quick review of your value system. What guides your behavior? Where did your values come from? Were they instilled by your parents or society? Can you change or add something to your core values?

Personal branding starts from within. Define your core values and you will be on your journey to a consistent personal brand. Personal branding is not about showing a phony side of you, it is about developing a deep understanding of yourself, improving yourself and communicating the better you.

2 – Leadership

Herbert B. Swope said “I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure: which is: Try to please everybody”. Great leaders are purple cows. They do not try to please everyone. I have great respect for Nelson Mandela. He was a great leader that did not always seek to please everyone but pursued what he believed to be right.

Most of the examples you will hear about success, or success quotes are by great leaders. Have you ever asked yourself why? It is because great leaders are purple cows. They were remarkable and stood up above the crowd.

Do not shy away from leadership roles. In fact, seek out leadership roles. It may be as the head of your alumni association or your football team. It may be a political position or an online forum moderator. Leadership skills development helps you rise above the average and gives you a chance to be remarkable.

3 – Peer Pressure

The opposite of leadership is following the crowd. Avoid mob thinking. The quickest way to reduce your personal brand value is to be influenced by others to erode your brand.

You can avoid peer pressure by defining boundaries, by knowing who you are, what you stand for and how far you can go in any situation. Developing self mastery and discipline will help you avoid peer pressure.

Peer pressure is not restricted to kids in schools. Even adults are influenced to do things that they would otherwise not do. That is why you find some people spending to keep up with the Joneses. Many relationships are broken by peer pressure. Invest in developing a personal brand that is devoid of peer pressure.

4 – Dominant Thoughts

You are what you think about. Are you dominant thoughts empowering? Do you think about helping others or do you think only about your own needs? You become whatever you think about.

Thoughts are things. They are tangible. If you can think it then you can do it. You only achieve as much as you think you can, never more. You cannot drift to the top of a mountain. If you want to rise above, to have a powerful brand, then you have to purpose it in your mind. You become a purple cow by making it the dominant thought in your life. Describe in your mind what a purple cow is, and then make that your dominant thought.

Your dominant thoughts end up becoming your pet topics. People think you are what you talk about. If you are always talking about clubbing, people will brand you as a clubber. If you are always talking about immoral subjects, people will brand you as immoral. Be careful about the kind of thoughts you allow into your mind. They define your brand.

5 – Overall Presentation

How you present yourself to the world represents your visible brand. Sometimes all people have to judge you is your presentation. If you are always dressed smartly, people will think of you differently. Pay attention to your wardrobe if you want to be a purple cow.

Where you hang out, who you hang out with gives a picture of who you are. There are many factors that determine your overall presentation. These may include your dressing, your mannerisms, your speech pattern, your written words etc. Be careful of the vibe you give to others through your lifestyle and presentation.

6 – Solutions Provider

Purple cows are solution providers. They identify problems that people have and they seek ways of solving them. You do not have to be a business to be a solution provider. You could be a friend who is good at listening. You could be a family member who is always willing to help. You could be a teacher who takes time to understand her students better.

Whatever your position in life may be, seek to be a solution provider. Identify a need and do your best to fill it. Many people seek ways of meeting their own needs. Turn into a purple cow by focusing on the needs of others. It will be a powerful brand statement.

7 – Reliability

In the movie “Armageddon” the character by the name of Rockhound said “You know we’re sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn’t it?”

That statement served to create doubt on the reliability of their mission. When people doubt your reliability to deliver the goods, it erodes your brand image.

If you want to be a purple cow, you need to be reliable in what you do. You need to keep your promises and deliver the goods. Think about it, your best friends are people you can rely on. If you doubt the reliability of a product you do not buy it. If you doubt the reliability of a partner, you do not go into business with them. Make your personal brand consistent and reliable.

8 – Knowledge & Expertise

Your applicable knowledge and expertise can make you a purple cow when the stars align. In the movie “Snakes on a Plane”, the unlikely happened. There were snakes on a plane and agent Hank Harris ordered his staff to find him the biggest snake expert in their time zone within 20 minutes.

Seek to develop your total expertise in one field and gain as much knowledge as you can. Gain a reputation as the biggest snake expert in your time zone and an opportunity might just present itself. Gain a reputation as the best painter in your locality and business will flow. Develop your expertise in something that gives you an edge. Do not do what everybody else is doing. That is a recipe for mediocrity and invisibility.

9 – Empathy

Empathy helps you connect with people deeply. Empathy helps avoid conflict and increase mutual respect. Empathy helps you succeed with people. If you understand how a person is feeling, you are better able to adjust your words or behavior to avoid confrontation or upsetting that person.

You can apply empathy in relationships, friendships, business, and careers and even in blogging. I have to put myself in your shoes to be able to communicate my ideas clearly and inspire you to be the best you can be. It is not always easy but I hope to become better at it with time.

In your human relationships, work on developing a good emotional barometer of the person or people around you. Without understanding each others’ emotional states, it is hard to communicate and move along in harmony.

In business, you need to be empathetic to the emotional states of your customers. Why do customers buy Harley Davidson motorcycles? It is for the sense of belonging to the club. Understand the motivation behind your customers and stakeholders. Understand your customers’ emotional states in various situations, seasons or state of the economy.

Empathy makes you a purple cow. People think of your personal brand highly if you seek to understand them. Develop empathy as a way of connecting with others, earning their trust and developing long lasting relationships.

10 – Generosity

I found out at an early age the relationship between personal branding and giving. Without even trying, I remember people who give me something. I appreciate receiving gifts. Many people do.

If you are a generous soul, you will get people praising you and having positive feelings towards you. Smart companies give something of value to their customers. Once customers have a taste of the good value, they tend to stick around.

Ask not what others can do for you. Instead ask what you can do for others. Do not be selfish; have a giving spirit. The more you give, the more it will come back to you. Set yourself apart from those who just want to take and take. Be more of a giver than a receiver.

A farmer gets a kilo of beans. If he stores it in his granary, that is the maximum he will ever have. On the other hand, if he plants the seeds, that is, if he lets go of the seeds, then he will get more when they germinate and grow.

It is the same with blessings. If you keep it to yourself that is the maximum you will ever get. But if you share it, bless others, plant the seeds in others, then you will get back more into your life. Designate yourself as a giver. There are two types of people in life; givers and takers. Be a giver more than a taker.

11 – Communication Skills

God gave us two ears and one mouth. Use them in that ratio. Many people do not listen. They wait for their turn to talk without paying attention to what the other party is saying. Dare to be different. Listen to what others have to say. Even the lowly in life have their story.

Now seems to be a good time to copy and paste my all time favorite poem. It is called The Desiderata; written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s.

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Summary

I hope you have been inspired to become a purple cow and to improve your brand image from within. If you have any practical examples of improving your personal brand by being a purple cow, by being remarkable, please share with us.

Black and Gold is a value for money generic brand for hundreds of essential items on supermarket shelves in Australia. Yet few affluent people will be caught with black and gold products on their shopping baskets. It makes me ask myself, why is it that people world over are willing to pay a premium for beefed up brands. How can you beef up your personal brand? Why should you?

1 – Influence

A powerful personal brand can help you get things done. People respond to prestige and powerful personal brands. You will be harder to ignore and your opinions will count. One of the most powerful personal brands is Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah is an American media personality, Academy Award nominated actress, producer, literary critic and magazine publisher, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show.

She is regarded as the most influential woman on earth. She has the power to cause enormous market swings and radical price changes with a single comment. Her endorsement of Barrack Obama is said to have added over 1 million votes to his vote basket. An obscure book quickly moves to best seller status once she reviews it on her book club.

You may not have the influence to rival Oprah, but revving up your personal brand will make you more influential in your area of life. Being influential enables you to get things done seemingly effortless. Developing a powerful personal brand takes time but it is worth it, just on this one count.

Charismatic preachers who start mega-churches first develop a strong personal brand. They plan in detail how their brand is going to be defined, communicated, represented, extended, associated etc. They reap the benefits of having strong brand through loyalty and become very influential on the lives of their congregation.

Pay attention to your brand image and you will increase your influence in your family, career, business and social situations.

2 – Attention

The world has become a busy place. We are constantly interrupted by thousands of advertising messages daily. Many people have a wide selection of things they could be doing at any one time. I feel privileged that you are reading this blog. Attention is scarce and businesses (and blogs) have to constantly work hard for a slice of your attention.

If you have a generic brand you will be ignored; you will be just another commodity. If you want to command attention and remain relevant, develop your personal brand. People with good personal brands are sought highly sought after and given attention.

3 – Trust

A known quantity is easier to trust than a wild card. If people know what you stand for, they are more likely to trust you than an unknown person. When Americans’ travel abroad, many trust McDonald’s food more than local food outlets in foreign countries, even though they might not eat much fast food at home.

People love and trust those they are familiar with. Developing a good brand within your target market helps you gain trust. Without trust it is hard to get business or meaningful relationships.

4 – Opportunities

When people know what you represent, they bring to your attention relevant information, opportunities and contacts. If you are known as a good web designer, people will refer their friends to you when they need websites.

A powerful personal brand helps you interact with valuable contacts that would have perhaps ignored without a strong personal brand. Developing a powerful brand opens a lot of doors and brings opportunities to your door step.

5 – Competition

In a competitive society you need to differentiate yourself to get ahead. A good personal brand helps in your differentiation efforts. You will always win over weaker and inconsistent brands if you take time to nurture your personal brand.

Google developed a powerful brand by focusing on quality search results and a minimalist approach to their page design. Google tops the Brandz list of most powerful brands in the world and is said to be worth $100 billion. Google’s brand image has enabled it to fight off deep pocketed competition such as Microsoft to retain its search business market share.

Investing in a powerful personal brand will be handy for you down the line to keep the competition at bay.

6 – Leverage

Richard Branson has leveraged the Virgin brand highly. The brand name “Virgin” arose when Branson and a partner were starting their first business, a record shop. They considered themselves virgins in business.

According to his book “Losing my Virginity”; Richard Branson is no longer a virgin in business but a successful entrepreneur. He has extended his brand to Virgin Records, Virgin Games, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Holidays, Virgin Trains, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Cosmetics, Virgin Money, and Virgin Mega stores amongst others.

Tiger Woods perfected his brand image as a top golf player and all round good guy. He now has leveraged his brand to get endorsements for many products earning him hundreds of millions of dollars. The sky is the limit once you have a powerful brand.

Once you are known as an authority in one thing, it is easier to leverage your brand to do something else. Do not try to be a jack of all trades at first. Focus on one core area and build your name, then use that to spring on to something else, then something else after that.

7 – Memorability

The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley died in August 1977; he had many admirers and critics. More than 30 years after his death he is still regarded as an icon and his estate is still making money that would put many living artistes to shame.

If you are an average generic brand, people will forget you as soon as you are out of sight. People make an effort to remember those who they perceive as worth the effort; those who represent value.

You may not really care about being remembered after you die, but being forgotten as soon as you walk out the door can cost you opportunities and relationships when you are still here on earth with us. Developing a strong personal brand will make people remember you and perpetuate your legacy.

8 – Perceived Value

Having a strong personal brand will increase people’s perception of what you bring to the table. People are generally self serving and will seek to interact with those they regard as good value. Perception is everything, it is the new reality.

You will be treated as people perceive you. It is therefore imperative that you develop a good brand, and communicate with others, letting them know, perhaps in subtle ways, what your brand is about.

In his book, The Idea Virus, Seth Godin says that “it’s the idea of Air Jordan sneakers, not the shoe that permits Nike to sell them for more than $100. It’s the sizzle, not the fit. The idea makes Nike outsized profits.”

What brand image are you communicating with the world? Are you selling the shoe or the sizzle? Are you perceived as being of high value?

9 – Loyalty

With an array of choice, consumers could pretty much pick a different brand of biscuits or ice cream from supermarkets, but after a while, they settle down on a handful of brands.  It is like that in relationships, people end up being loyal to a select few friends. If you develop a reputation as a good friend, as a good brand, you are more likely to attract loyalty.

Smart companies realize that they get the most value from repeat business than in constantly paying for advertising to get new customers. If you develop a good personal brand, people are more likely to stick with you for the long term. There are life long benefits of building a strong brand.

Many people are not willing to pay the cost of switching. They stick with familiar brands and resent new brands. They would rather stay at their comfort zone. Having a good personal brand will position you in people’s comfort zone.

10 – Forgiveness

Sometimes things do not work out as planned. If something goes wrong or you mess up, you are more likely to be forgiven if you had developed a consistent brand image. People might be more likely to understand, forgive and give you a second chance if you have a good personal brand. But don’t count on it; try not to mess up.

11 – Confidence

You will walk with your head high when people recognize and respect your personal brand. If your brand reputation precedes you, it will open doors and make life easier. A good brand earns respects and does wonders to one’s confidence.

A good personal brand will give you a level of control on outcomes. Knowing what to expect or how people will react to you is confidence inspiring. This confidence is able to manifest itself in other areas of your life, further enhancing your personal brand.

Summary

I hope you have been inspired to beef up your personal brand. A good personal brand increases your perceived value and makes people pay a premium to be associated with you. They may not necessarily pay you money, but they will give you the attention, trust, remembrance, forgiveness and opportunities.

A strong personal brand enables you to be confident in your own abilities and person. It helps you become influential in many spheres of life and opens up a world of opportunities.

I would love to hear from you about how a good personal brand has worked for you or anyone that you know. Thanks in advance.

Whether in business or social situations, people take an average of 3 seconds to evaluate and rank others. If someone perceives you to be of lower status than them, they will treat you with indifference, disdain or outright hostility. If you are perceived to be of higher status, you will be accorded respect, adoration, mild worship and regarded as a valuable contact.

In relationships, people struggle and stress about making a good first impression; and for good reason. The first few seconds of a couple meeting can be the deal maker or deal breaker. It can mean the difference between going north and going south. There are tricks from the seduction community that seem to work like a charm, but long term relationships are by and large determined by those first seconds.

An interview panel is likely to judge a book by its cover as soon as the interviewee walks in. Many people decide at a glance if they are going to do business with you or not. What you say after they see you might not really make them change their mind. It is sad but true. We can sit back and moan this fact or we can rise up and do something about it. Let us look at a few ways of making those 3 seconds count.

1 – Smile

Richard Branson was once called the “grinning pullover”. He is a happy fellow who smiles a lot more than his fellow billionaire Donald Trump.

Smiling quickly puts people at ease. It is an easy way of improving the first impression. Smiling makes one look more attractive. Attractive people have an easier time attracting attention. Smile and make people attentive.

2 – Be Yourself

Have you seen the movie “Meet the Parents”? If you have you probably know how awkward it looks when someone is trying to put on an act when faced by unfamiliar situations.

If you can help it, be yourself. Let people see the real you. If you find yourself trying to change yourself to fit in, ask yourself the following questions.

• Is it worth it for me to put on a front?
• Am I hanging out with the wrong people?
• Is there a better way of reaching my goals without being a fake?
• What do I need to change for me to fit in naturally?
• Who am I? What do I represent?

3 – Always on Time

If you mean business do not be late for meetings. It leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those you keep waiting. Being on time will add a few points and being late will subtract the little goodwill you might have had.

Do your best to respect other people’s time. Plan in advance. Schedule meetings and set reminders. Develop a reputation of being a good time manager. If you are currently not good with time, start small. Be early for your next meeting, then the next, and then the next one. With time, that will become a habit and come to you effortlessly.

4 – Presentation

How you present yourself to others will dramatically influence how they view you. Personal grooming and lifestyle have a big impact on first impressions.

A few years ago, I hailed a taxi on St George’s Terrace in Perth, Western Australia. I was wearing an Italian business suit that would have made tailors in Italy proud of me.

The taxi driver stopped and took me around town as I handled my business. I felt like Tom Cruise in the movie “Collateral”. The only difference was that my weapon of choice was sharp dressing and good presentation.

The taxi driver looked at me for 3 seconds and instantly trusted me. He drove me around and a few times I left his taxi to go to my marathon appointments around town. He patiently waited in the car with nothing more than my promise to be back. I got back and gave him a healthy tip.

The next day was a Friday. I went to Northbridge, Western Australia with a couple of my Kenyan friends. After a few hours of clubbing we got tired and tried to catch a taxi home. All the taxis zoomed past us, completely ignoring us. It sure felt different from the previous day’s treatment.

Finally one taxi drive stopped, looked at us for 3 seconds and demanded money upfront which is not the norm in Western Australia. You see my friend; here we were three black guys dressed in jeans and T-Shirts in Northbridge on a Friday night. We looked “suspicious”. Are you “suspicious” looking? Do you hang out in “suspicious” places?

5 – Preparation

People will brand you with what you present to them the first time you meet. You may have an arsenal of personality traits. What trait do you choose to bring to the table today? Preparation can help you adapt your personality traits for the situation. This does not mean being fake. It means choosing what side of you to emphasize.

If you are going for meetings you need to prepare and do your part. Nothing makes someone look unprofessional like lack of preparation. You have been warned.

6 – Confidence

The way you walk, the way you talk and present yourself is impacted by your level of confidence. Seek to develop your self confidence. It will make a big difference in how you interact with others and how they perceive you.

 Even the way you shake people’s hands or address them can reveal how confident you are. Confidence is a first impression masterstroke.

Summary

First impressions are very hard to erase. If making a lousy first impression is going to cost you relationships and opportunities, then you need to change how you approach this issue.

The first impression is the first point of interaction with your personal brand and you should do your utmost best to make it the best.

I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts about first impressions. Your comments are most welcome.

Cheers.