In today's world, personal branding is essential. The job market is crowded and competitive. To make your mark and have an edge over others you need to have a clear idea of what you have and what you have to offer (and to whom)? What makes you different from other players in the same field? What do you have to offer that is demonstrably different, better, cooler?

Think hard and Dig deep inside yourself and find out. Once you have your message down, clear and concise, make the opportunities to communicate and market your self and how you can help.

Developing your brand

During the development of "BrandYou" you need to ask yourself some basic questions.

What are my skills , knowledge and talent.

Skills are something which you can do. It is how to do certain things. The accountant knows how to prepare a balance sheet, the surgeon knows how to operate, the software programmer knows how to write a piece of software.

Knowledge is awareness for example
Factual knowledge- which is fact based fro example you know the industry, each player, strengths and weakness , product line, manufacturing, …
Experiential knowledge - The knowledge which comes with the experience.

Talent is something which you do exceedingly well. It is because of certain thoughts and feeling repeatedly there is a route created in your brain.

The best part is knowledge and skills can be taught but the talent is in born.
It is the inner nature. You should brand yourself by your talent and have the knowledge and skills as the tool to polish and position this talent. It is easier to draw what is in rather than trying to put what is not there. Select your niche depending on your talent.

Let us take an example of Dhoni - a person who has risen in less than three years to super stardom. Today his popularity is even greater than Tendulkar - another person who has talent in truck loads.

Look how he has positioned himself. Is he a better cricketer in terms of skill than Dravid, Ganguly or Tendulkar . The answer is No. Is he more knowledgeable than the so many other cricketers both Indian and foreigners. Again the answer is No.
What is his talent ?

1) He is cool under pressure, he does not get panicky . Remember three finals -20-20 world cup, Indo Australia tri series and IPL, two he won and the last one he lost but he was cool and calm whilemaking his moveS. In fact the IPL final when he lost the match on the last ball, he with his team went into the huddle and said we played good cricket and we would celebrate it. There was no shame and sadness.. He commented that his team has admitted that they made mistakes as a team - the team made fielding and bowling and batting errors.
2) He backs his people and instills passion in his players. You could see the players ready to die for him.

Packaging your brand

A lot of money is spent on the packaging of the brands. The packaging is as critical as the product. As it is the first interface or touch point between the brand and the consumer Companies spend tons of money on the packaging of their goods and services. As an individual , the packaging of self on a basic level is the way one dresses, speaks , have likes and dislikes, spends his /her leisure time.
On an advanced level -your team, your vision, how you come across in your interaction constitutes the packaging.

Let us take the example of two of the most successful skippers in IPL - Shane Warne and Dhoni. As far as packaging is concerned - you cannot have two people who are more different from each other .

In todays world of noise and limited attention span the packaging sometimes is as important as the brand especially. in the initial phase.

One word of caution do not mistake packaging for brand or try to bluff people by copying packaging for a brand which you are not.

Treat mistakes as experience

In the quest for the mastery, you will fall , you need to get up and walk . Wipro founder- Azim Premji has said if you are meeting 80% of your goal you are doing fine but if you are achieving 100 % of your goal then you are not trying enough, the standards are too low. Raise your bar and stretch your goals..

When Dhoni was asked, how he plans to maintain his position of India's captain, he said, "We will win more matches than we lose." He didn't say that he will win them all, because he knows that losing is a lesson towards winning. A lot of us drive ourselves crazy by expecting to win every time we get on with our work. There will be good deals and bad deals, good days and bad days; success is about creating the good ones more often than the bad ones.

Never Be Satisfied

Branding self is not a onetime activity. We need to constantly reinvent pick up new skills, exposure into the sunrise industries, regions or functions. There is a need to revolutionize the portfolio of skills every five years. This is a minimum survival necessity. Changing may be painful, but we need to get out of our comfort zone. Remember : be distinct ... or be extinct. So sharpen you saw. As Stephen Covey says in the book -Seven Habits of Highly effective people.

Let us see some of the celebrity to see how consciously they have branded themselves. We can also become a brand and a celebrity in our own narrow chosen field.

Amir Khan -
Brand- perfectionist, only does good work , serious about his work , focused., different..
In a world occupied by the entertainers, gloss and glamour Amir Khan has differentiated himself by his becoming very selective and focused. His packaging- reflects his way of dressing, taking the personality of the character. It is so successful that Shahrukh Khan has to copy the same strategy for Om Shanti Om- by keeping long hairs and having six packs.

Vijay Mallya -
Brand -Ostentatious, Show man, Live life Kingsize.-
Through his parties, hobnobbing with celebrities, kingfisher calendar, yacht, Formula 1 team, IPL team, aircraft. He has build the aura of hedonism.

Sania Mirza-
Brand-Aggressive, in your face, fun loving., making a statement.

Sania Mirza - very aggressive in the matches , wearing T-shirts with provocative messages and wearing ornaments like prominent nose ring.

God-Shiva-Mahadeva
Shiva is the god of the yogis, self-controlled and celibate, Devoid of any desires is clothed only with deer skin and has no comforts, pleasures… residing in a cave . It represents positive sense of the shedding of old habits. He is the destroyer or transformer.

God Vishnu
Vishnu is often represented resting on the coiled serpent Shesha, with Vishnu's consort Lakshmi massaging his feet. He is a protector and preserver . He has four hands and he is wearing lots of ornaments . Resting in luxury and comfort .

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