Dial In Your Direction
“Never follow a man, he will let you down. Follow principles, they tend to stick around.”
Worrying about how you’ll be remembered is pointless if nobody knows you exist.
And people will only care if you exist if you make a meaningful difference in their lives.
You already have this compounding asset, but defining it in will help you:
- be more like the people you like
- repel the people you don’t like
- and demonstrate your value to the marketplace
It’s your brand.
Your brand is ultimately your reputation
— what others say about you when you’re not in the room.
Marketing yourself (online or in person) is the extension of your reputation.
To figure out what your brand is:
1. List people you admire
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What are their names?
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What did/do they do — titles, occupation, field of study?
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Describe them in one word.
2. List people you’re repelled by
(Maybe they’re even people in the same industry as the former).
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What are their names?
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What did/do they do — titles, occupation, field of study?
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Describe them in one word.
3. Play “Would they do that?” with each list
Run a thought experiment of the different types of content they would create or participate in.
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What type of online presence would/do they have — are they active or non active?
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What types of people/accounts would they associate with?
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What types of platforms would they be on?
4. Ask, “What would they not do?”
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Would type of online presence would they not have — memes, serious quotes?
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What types of people/accounts would they not associate with?
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What types of platforms would they not be on?
The more people (reference points) you have on your lists,
the better you’ll get at recognizing patterns between the people you admire,
and the people you’re repelled by.
Stress-testing my brand decisions against these reference points has helped me delay, delegate, or drop distractions to focus on what I value as I begin to build and cultivate my brand.
There isn’t a “right” answer for your reference points, just plenty of answers that won’t feel right to you … until they do.
— And if you want more reference points, head over to readar.ai to find your next book that’s right for you.
Keep seeking,
Michael
readar.ai
