Even in his flawless disguise, every Twitterer at the party knew that he wasn’t one of them; his inability to state what he was doing―in 140 characters or less―was a dead giveaway.
It can be tempting, especially when you’re just starting out, to pretend to be someone or something that you’re not.
Often and when there’s something business related to be gained, we doubt ourselves and our ability. We replace self-belief with the belief that becoming someone or something―other than who we are―will (in given circumstances) result in more business. But in reality, attempting to become someone that you are not won’t result in more business and it certainly won’t result in the right type of business.
Your brand is as much about who you are as it is about who you’re not. Be yourself and leverage that brand to its fullest potential.
It is so important when you focus on personal branding that you don’t betray who you are and what you stand for, as your branding would be superficial and flimsy without these values (which serve as a kind of backbone). This is especially significant when you consider how many self-proclaimed “successful” people we meet every day, and as a result, how we’ve developed the inherit ability to spot a potential fake.
Your “truth” in your personal branding is relative to your honesty, transparency and willingness to admit that you’re not as perfect as your branding could falsely suggest. So whilst you’re not going to trumpet your imperfections, you can still just be normal and just be yourself.
