What’s your personal brand?

There’s so much talk these days about personal branding and how important it is to shaping a successful career. But exactly what is a “personal brand” and where does it come from?

I’m concerned that personal branding is about packaging – sizzle more than steak, more hat than cattle. If so, it’s destined to pass like a fleeting fashion. That would be ashame, for one’s personal brand has the real possibility of capturing the truest, most valuable aspects of one’s self – the stuff that accounts for career success like nothing else can.

If there is one statement that,for me, frames the challenge of creating a powerful personal brand, it is The Identity Credo, which is the backbone of both of my books – Identity Is Destiny and The Identity Code. Should you decide to craft a personal brand, do so in ways that will help you live up to the Credo. It will help you become a leader and achieve the success you deserve.

I am alive, I am unique, and I am immutable
Even as I grow and evolve.
To truly live, however, I must express myself fully
And in this regard, have much to give.
But to do so, I need others and am most productive with those
Who need me in return.
To establish these relationships, I must first be recognized for who I am
And it follows, then, that I will receive in accordance with what I give.

How would you describe your personal brand?