My ‘One Word’ this week is: NOT

Personal branding is NOT what you think it is.

It’s NOT about toiling away until you find the perfect color scheme and logo to sell “You.” Those elements are essential, but they’re just wrapping paper on the real gift.

Discovering and refining your personal brand is about stepping into your identity – who you are.

It’s that one core value that drives everything you do. It’s what you give away to the world—most importantly those in your life—that makes them better. Discovering this can, of course, help you in your career. But it’s also personally transformative.

I’ve spent so much of my life not knowing who I am. It was like going on a road trip without a GPS—maybe you find your way, but it definitely takes much longer than needed. By identifying your personal brand, the core value that drives you, you’ll be able to navigate more confidently through your life.

You’ll understand why you do what you do—or maybe why you hate what you’re doing right now! Finding my ‘One Word’ core value, CATALYST, helped me make sense of my life and the angst and anxiety that had been driving it.

Discovering I was a CATALYST finally gave me the clarity to see that the corporate world  wasn’t made for me. I couldn’t ignite the change I wanted to see or explore the out-of-the-box ideas I truly believed in.

Now, I feel resolved in my mission to catalyze others to discover their ‘One Word’ core value. It took me 50 years to step into who I truly am, which feels long. But the truth is—it’s never too late to learn who you really are.

When it comes to understanding yourself, the only wrong choice is making none at all.

Have you ever considered discovering your own personal brand…in ‘One Word’?

It’s a game-changer!