Finding the right people to help you live out your dreams is key to living life rich. These people become our tribe and carry us through the transitions we each experience.
One of those people in my life is my dear friend Mike Kim. Mike has mentored me, served me, and blown my professional world up over the last year.
Mike works with countless other personal brand owners in the same way. Every day, he helps them clarify who they are, what they do, and what they want. He gives these people hope that they can become better versions of themselves.
When Mike starts working with someone, he clarifies a few things before doing anything else: their story and the story they are telling themselves.
People are drawn to stories, so it is important to include the context of who we are in all of our marketing. However, as business owners, we also need to make sure that we are telling ourselves a good story. This will empower us to go out and make a difference in the world through our personal brand.
To develop our stories, we also need to develop a point of view. Here are some questions to ask when trying to figure that out:
1. What pisses you off?
This speaks to what you believe is the core injustice in the world. Get to the core emotion here as that is what speaks to people.
2. What breaks your heart?
This points to the kind of compassion you have for people.
3. What problem are you trying to solve?
Business is solving a problem for a profit, so figure out what that problem is for your personal brand.
After going through these processes, we need to get clear about our messaging. Slogans are extremely overrated. They sound great but make no sense without context.
Rather, we need to distill our message into a very simple point. It should be something that sums up our point of view in a clear way.
This is a point that is backed up with context. It is simple and cuts through to the consumer. Simple messaging opens up that relationship and it’s marketable and repeatable.
If you want to learn more about practicing self-expression to develop your personal brand, check out Episode 044: How To Build A Personal Brand Through Storytelling with Mike Kim.
