'Personal Branding'

[RandallHare]

I just attended a seminar on financial freedom, and one of the pieces of advice they gave is that you have to work on your "personal branding."

"Personal Branding" is how people remember you. It's your goodwill, your reputation to the society, especially in business and professional circles.

I don't know where else to post this but I want to try Love Shack. This thread is basically all about my personal branding and whether it's going good or bad in the coming years.

This will have some main character energy, which is what I'm trying to avoid, but it's for my own good so I might as well try.

I'll start first with my SITUATIONER, which are a set of circumstances I have now that doesn't have anything to do with my character or reputation. After that, I will reveal all the BAD THINGS they say about me, before revealing all the GOOD SIDE about me.

Everybody is encouraged to give advice, or if not, some comments perhaps... but please avoid bullying. If you have nothing nice to say, maybe just avoid making comments altogether. 

Anyway, here it goes...

 

SITUATIONER

I am 36 years old cpa lawyer who works at my father's 33-year-old law firm in the provincial side of the Philippines. I like it here. Not much traffic, and it's my home. People say I should be grateful because I basically have a father for a mentor. Yes, it's true, I am grateful, but sometimes we clash so it's not a fairy-tale end of story (lawyer version whatsoever). 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

BAD THINGS

1. Temperamental - this is probably due to my bipolar disorder... but over the last few years (beginning Dec 2022), I'm able to contain wrath more effectively. I have stopped taking gym supplements, which was what actually contributed to this pattern greatly. I also learned not to say anything when you're mad. Just keep it in and let the feelings subside, and find humorous ways to express it when people around you would laugh with you instead of getting into unnecessary fights/quarrels.

2. Tactless - yep, also probably related to bipolar disorder. People have avoided me because I don't have brakes in the things that I say. But I'm getting better in quelling this since December 2023, after learning the adage that if you have nothing nice to say, just keep mum. What a liberating change, I must say!

3. Lacking in Social Skills - Hmmm... I don't have long-lasting friends so I'm posting this here, but it might be due to my tactlessness. Maybe if I remove that from my system, I will gain more friends and regain the ones that I have already lost.

 

GOOD SIDE

1. Principled - despite my shortcomings as moody and tactless person with poor social skills, I was voted as a director in a company 5 years ago. Last year, people still want me to run, but I basically avoided it like a plague as I didn't want more responsibilities. I guess having principles as one's guiding force can still land you opportunities despite all the bad things they say about you.

2. Intelligence - people say this about me all my life. It's something that I basically just got from the start. But I coupled this with hard work so it landed me opportunities that the ordinary Filipino do not usually have

3. Good looks - my clients, my former lovers (I'm bi), say this stuff about me so many times. It's a good thing to have good looks. It's an advantage, because the first thing they'll see in you are the physical attributes. Thank God, I have this. But I also work out to complement what I already have, plus for better health.

4. Generosity - even when I didn't have much, I still gave up some of what I had. But for now, I need to focus on myself first because financials are not so good at the moment. But I'll be back to this habit when things have gotten better. :)

 

I'll be looking back on this post as the months and years progress. I welcome comments, remarks, and suggestions on how to improve one's personal brand, but please avoid insults, disparaging remarks, etc. Thank you!

[Wiseman2]

28 minutes ago, RandallHare said:

I am 36 years old cpa lawyer who works at my father's 33-year-old law firm in the provincial side of the Philippines. 

 Temperamental - this is probably due to my bipolar disorder... but over the last few years (beginning Dec 2022), I'm able to contain wrath more effectively. 

It seems like you have an excellent background and career.  Especially the family business opportunity. Do you have your own place or live with family? Bipolar disorder is difficult but treatable are you seeing a physician and therapist for help keeping it under control? 

[RandallHare]

4 minutes ago, Wiseman2 said:

It seems like you have an excellent background and career.  Especially the family business opportunity. Do you have your own place or live with family? Bipolar disorder is difficult but treatable are you seeing a physician and therapist for help keeping it under control? 

Thank you for the kind words/compliment.

I still live with my family, as I'm not yet married. It's in the Filipino culture to live on your own when you get married. I subscribe to that belief because renting out is unnecessarily expensive and the only impetus for leaving your family is that you can raise your family without much parental interference. When I go out to live on my own, my family has already set aside a property for my future family. My mother told me to invest first in commercial property, rather than the residential type.

I regularly visit my physician once every two months. The meds perfectly work, but the lessons that I learned from elsewhere also helped greatly in keeping it under control. Mindset makes wonders too.

[Els]

I don't think this is how personal branding works... Branding is based on the impression people have of you, and that's not something that you can convey in a post.

Edited January 13 by Els

[Alpacalia]

I admit when I first read the title of this thread I thought it was a subject about branding your, like a tattoo.... But on a serious note, you are wise to try to understand how people perceive you and to try to improve yourself.

But one small suggestion, improve yourself comes 1st before you address the opinions of others about you. By that I mean before anything else, you should decide how you want to see yourself and the qualities you want to possess.

Then do self evaluation, as if you were looking in a mirror, that is really tough.🙂

[Wiseman2]

2 hours ago, RandallHare said:

Im 36 years old cpa lawyer who works at my father's 33-year-old law firm in the provincial side of the Philippines. 

Especially if you have your own practice in a staid profession, it's important that your online persona as well as local and real life persona is representative of a professional image.

Start by googling yourself and making sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and represents you well. Also make sure other social media is cleancut.

For example even if your business website and LinkedIn looks professional, you don't want your other social media to be littered with partying pics, bikini girls and other questionable associations or content.

Edited January 13 by Wiseman2

[RandallHare]

On 1/13/2024 at 10:37 PM, Els said:

I don't think this is how personal branding works... Branding is based on the impression people have of you, and that's not something that you can convey in a post.

Yes, that's exactly what they told us at the seminar. I fully agree, but I can only guess because people here don't say bad things directly in your face, so I'm just making a guess. Having said that, I don't think I should avoid it altogether because the point of "personal branding" is to help your career in the long run. It's your goodwill, your trademark, your emblem, so I needed to make this exercise for my own good.

[RandallHare]

On 1/13/2024 at 10:49 PM, Alpacalia said:

I admit when I first read the title of this thread I thought it was a subject about branding your, like a tattoo.... But on a serious note, you are wise to try to understand how people perceive you and to try to improve yourself.

But one small suggestion, improve yourself comes 1st before you address the opinions of others about you. By that I mean before anything else, you should decide how you want to see yourself and the qualities you want to possess.

Then do self evaluation, as if you were looking in a mirror, that is really tough.🙂

I never thought of that! Honestly, I never cared about personal branding! I was just being authentic all the time. LOL. I watched reality shows way too much and listened to grunge like crazy. I craved for realism too much, that I forgot about the kind of image I needed to protect!

But I'm 36 now. Getting wealthy is more my priority. I guess I am such a fool but I know I can make it through this part of my life and power through.

So what do I want to be in the future?

I want to be someone known for competence and integrity in the professional circles. I want to be someone people can count on, someone dependable, someone they could trust. I have a strong desire to uphold justice and peace, and bring my clients happiness and contentment, and I want it to translate on the ground, and be known for that by the rest of the community.

I also want to be known for my artistic flair in writing and poetry, which is something I want to be known for, outside my professional circles.

[Els]

50 minutes ago, RandallHare said:

Yes, that's exactly what they told us at the seminar. I fully agree, but I can only guess because people here don't say bad things directly in your face, so I'm just making a guess. Having said that, I don't think I should avoid it altogether because the point of "personal branding" is to help your career in the long run. It's your goodwill, your trademark, your emblem, so I needed to make this exercise for my own good.

What I meant is that there's no point in telling people that you're intelligent, principled, etc. It's something that you have to show them, through your behaviour and communication. People will make up their own minds about whether they think you're intelligent/principled/etc or not, and the purpose of personal branding is influencing the way you come across to those people.

[RandallHare]

4 minutes ago, Els said:

What I meant is that there's no point in telling people that you're intelligent, principled, etc. It's something that you have to show them, through your behaviour and communication. People will make up their own minds about whether they think you're intelligent/principled/etc or not, and the purpose of personal branding is influencing the way you come across to those people.

This is a thread I wrote for me to look back on in the future and see whether I have changed or not. True, I can write this elsewhere where nobody can read and see, but I needed advice, comments, and remarks. So far, it has been useful to me, and I am grateful to the commenters who have given me advice I need.

[Alpacalia]

Agree with @Els.

I find that when people constantly describe how they are to others, it sometimes comes across as a lack of confidence or insecurity, rather than a reflection of their actual intelligence or principles. It's better to focus on demonstrating those qualities through your actions, rather than outright stating them. Let others make their own judgments about your character and abilities, and your personal brand will form naturally as a result.

Edited January 21 by Alpacalia

[mark clemson]

On 1/16/2024 at 2:28 AM, RandallHare said:

I want to be someone known for competence and integrity in the professional circles. I want to be someone people can count on, someone dependable, someone they could trust. I have a strong desire to uphold justice and peace, and bring my clients happiness and contentment, and I want it to translate on the ground, and be known for that by the rest of the community.

There are probably methods to "convey" this like wearing expensive suits and so forth, but essentially everyone does them. The way you'll distinguish yourself from the fly-by-nighters is to ACTUALLY do these things as part of your practice and general principles that you apply to your decision making.

Settle in for the long term as great reputations aren't built in a day.

[RandallHare]

On 1/21/2024 at 10:23 AM, Alpacalia said:

Agree with @Els.

I find that when people constantly describe how they are to others, it sometimes comes across as a lack of confidence or insecurity, rather than a reflection of their actual intelligence or principles. It's better to focus on demonstrating those qualities through your actions, rather than outright stating them. Let others make their own judgments about your character and abilities, and your personal brand will form naturally as a result.

I posted this thread at a very low point in my life... so, yes, I was lacking in confidence (though gained a bit of it in the last few weeks)... so I do need to remember the good stuff people say about me to remind myself of who I am in the opinion of others... so I just listed the good stuff they tell me about myself. But I do not constantly describe myself that way. Only this time, because I needed it.

[RandallHare]

On 1/23/2024 at 2:41 AM, mark clemson said:

There are probably methods to "convey" this like wearing expensive suits and so forth, but essentially everyone does them. The way you'll distinguish yourself from the fly-by-nighters is to ACTUALLY do these things as part of your practice and general principles that you apply to your decision making.

Settle in for the long term as great reputations aren't built in a day.

After learning about personal branding, I changed some of my behaviors inside our office. I have become more helpful and attentive to our client's needs by basically prioritizing them over and above deadlines and goals. I think this has helped me in a great way. It gave me happy hormones and made me more contented with the kind and quality of service I am rendering.

[RandallHare]

Resuscitating this thread on Black Saturday, a day before Easter.

There was one guy I saw at the resort just yesterday who caught my interests. Well, first, he walked over the restaurant in but shorts and slippers, and proudly displayed his physique. 

I wanted to get to know him, but he was elusive all throughout. I just learned that his the son of the resort owner, which led me from one google search to the next.

All these massive curiosity made me ask myself, if people search for my name, what will they see?

Oh my goodness. I was floored. I need a massive revamp.

It's not that I'm embarrassing myself on the cyberworld. It's just that, my online persona is completely different from who I am as a person! Like there's so many things left out! I need to do something about this. I'll give myself a year, maybe, or end of 2024, to change whatever I could change! @_@