Why You Need A Strong Personal Brand

Today on the podcast, I want to take a few moments and talk about why you need a strong personal brand. And I’m doing this because I have gotten a few text messages from people asking me if I’m going to be doing a carrier workshop anytime soon. And these are the people who were in my last Korean workshop, which happened in 2017. And haven’t done one for five years. And I distinctly remember back then, I was insisting upon how personal brands are important how the Internet, the social media are going to be more micro influencer centric, and how they need to get started in this very quickly. And when I look back at my own advice, five years later, as I’m recording this podcast, and prior to this episode, just thinking about that. It’s amazing what has happened and the whole personal influencer micro-influencer economy, this is becoming bigger by the day. It’s crazy. It’s crazy.

So and of, one of the resistance points in the workshop. And one of the objections in the workshop at the time was, my work is my PR. And I do not need to talk about this anywhere else. I’m doing my job. And my management sees it, my coworkers, see that my manager sees that. So I want my work to speak. And I made a point then, and I’m also making the point now on this podcast if you don’t tell people what you do. And if you don’t tell people what you have done, then I don’t think you are going to get ahead, at least in the context of opportunities in the context of the job, I don’t think you will get ahead. We are in a very complicated world. We are in an overstimulated world, there are so many messages, and there is so much coming and going. With so much happening around, it’s very difficult for people to spot you and know you, and decide to work with you and pay you. It’s hard, it’s difficult. So you need to tell people what you have done, you need to tell people what you’re going to do. And you need to have dedicated communication, at least mindset, dedicate dedicated communication mindset. So we’re not talking about what to do.

That’s not what I’m going to do here today. Because what to do you already know, there is there are enough platforms where you can go and talk about everything that you are, and everything that you have done. I’ve been listening for a professional LinkedIn is there. If you are a business owner, Facebook is there a tick-tock is there YouTube is there and YouTube is also there. If you’re a professional, I mean, there are a ton of platforms that you can use to convey who you are and what you do. But the key is to have that mindset. And to have that mindset, you need to understand why you have to do it. It’s not about what. So why a personal brand? And listen, I want you to explain this concept, I want you to imagine a triangle in your mind, you’re listening to this, I want you to imagine a triangle, an equilateral triangle. In an equilateral triangle, there are three sides, and they all are equal. So case in point, this concept that I’m trying to convey through this podcast, all three elements of this are equally important. So one cannot sustain without the other. That’s the point. So I want you to imagine the left side of the triangle. The left one is reputation. The right one is recognition. So I’ll stay with those two for now. And I want to come back and talk about the bottom side of the triangle of reputation recognition.

So let’s talk about reputation for a second. You need reputation because you want employment opportunities, you want business opportunities, you want to network, you want to be known as an expert. So for all that reputation is important because reputation conveys who you are and also creates a perception in the minds of people who you want. So, it will help you attract what you want, rather than you going after what you want. So what you do has to be conveyed and written rotation plays a huge role in it. Now, let’s talk about recognition for a second recognition is getting attribution for what you have done. Society, the people around you, are recognizing you for what you have done. And to a large extent, what you are. So you see the difference between these two things. And, when we talk about personal branding, these two things are necessary. So if you’re young, and you have a career trajectory, when I, when say young, I mean nothing called Young or old, it’s not about the timeline, it’s about the mindset. So you have a young mindset in the sense that you are pursuing employment, you are starting businesses, you want networking, you want to be known as an expert, and you want to be known as the best in what you do. So reputation recognition, all these things do play a role. Now, let’s say you don’t subscribe to this mindset. Like you don’t want to do you don’t want to network, you don’t want to, you’re not changing any business opportunities, you’re not in the job market. But, how does a personal brand apply to you? Well, if you have, a different mindset Other than this, where you want to leave a legacy, you want to have the freedom to do what you want to do. In this situation, in this scenario, also, it’s important that your reputation is intact. And your recognition is also is intact. Because without these two things, you can’t build a legacy, you can’t leave a legacy, forget about building one, and you cannot have the freedom to do what you want to do. So doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do, that’s the point you need, you need a personal brand. Now, let’s talk about a third of the base of the triangle, which is representation.

You see, you shouldn’t be building a brand because you want to inflate your ego. And you don’t want to build a brand in Vanity, either. You should build a brand because you truly believe in it. A brand that should convey your real values. And the real values are where the representation aspect comes in. You got to truly represent who you are. And given the world we are in, you cannot fake it for a long time. And if anybody said that, fake it till you make it, they’re completely incorrect. That advice, maybe it may have worked in the 90s or 80s, whatever, but it doesn’t work now, and flawed is given that advice is wrong. See, we can, thanks to the awareness we have today. And thanks to social media, and thanks to all kinds of media, we can, we don’t, we don’t need to be told anything anymore. We don’t need to look for proof anymore, we can sniff it, you know, sniff it, that’s how powerful this is. So a true representation of your skills, your experience your no house. That’s why it is possible only when, when. And then that’s the only way out a true representation of your skills, talents, experiences, you cannot, you can’t I mean, you can’t lie about them for sure. But even if we inflate them, there is an issue with it. So real values have to be conveyed as a part of your representation.

Now, your reputation your recognition will not stand unless you represent them the right way. It starts with you. It’s not it’s not starting with them starts with you. The whole exercise is that you need to be identified in a noisy world. And you cannot be identified unless you have an identity. You want others to identify you in the crowd, you need to have an identity. So what about a shirt on when you know everybody else is dressed in black? Pretty simple, pretty simple. So a strong personal by not just a personal brand. So it’s very important. You know how, again, if you’re going on, people asked me what should I do? What are things I do, you don’t need to do a lot. So what to do is already there you can On LinkedIn, you can go on YouTube. I mean, there’s all kinds of media available for you. But the key is once you are there, okay? Once you are there, everything that you say is a reflection of your core values, everything that you say, is going to build your reputation or destroy your reputation. Everything that you say, is going to build that recognition that you’re seeking. Everything, literally everything. I mean, you can write an incredible post and you punch you punctuate it incorrectly, that also contributes.

So 2023 is coming up, and we are exactly 16 days away. And I’m 2023 is going to be even much bigger in terms of everything because we are still coming out of COVID Still 2022 Still coming out of it. I’m hoping that only three is when we really come back and personal brand, micro-influencer. All these things are going to play a big role. And I want you to prepare for it. I want you to be accused of it. And that is why took some time today and recorded this podcast episode. It’s not that I can cover everything here. It’s very difficult if I sit in a room for two days and just teach personal branding. The way I have learned through my experiences my misfortunes through my failures, today won’t be enough. That’s how much there is to this. Anyway, I’m gonna stop here. And hopefully, this is helpful. If it is do let me know. And before you know it, I’ll be with you as early as tomorrow with another maybe an answer to a question or something that is dominant on my mind. Keep listening. Stay tuned.

How To Know How Good You Are

Here is the complete transcript of the podcast

Welcome back to Success with Srini. Today on the podcast, we are talking about how to know how good you are. Is there a measure for whatever you do? And whoever you are? This is a question that should be in your mind somewhere. If you are a student of self-improvement, you are practicing self-improvement, and you believe in personal development. And you listen to this podcast, let’s say and you read books and you listen to other podcasts also. And this should be on top of your mind this should come at some point it has in my life, many times. And it comes from a very good place that is not from a place where you are asking that question because you may be developing an imposter syndrome.

What if you are an imposter that this is I’m not approaching? That’s not where we are going with this, this discussion today on this podcast. And people do ask that question. Because sometimes they feel like they’re doing something they truly do not represent that they don’t have in them. It happens. And I hear people telling me that I’m doing the wrong job, I’m doing a wrong job, I don’t belong to this job. I don’t see myself it’s not valuable to me. And because I’m not really feeling it within the inside of me, I think by telling what I’m telling others and doing what I’m doing. I think I’m misguiding others. That’s all a different discussion. But is there a way to measure who you are? Is there a measure? Is there a metric that you need to work towards? The answer is no. There is no measure. And there will never be a point where you will come to know how good you are at doing what you do. Because if you go for externally validating this, there are people who do things much better than you do. That’s the truth. There is talent there, there are gifts that people have that are much bigger than you. So there is no way to measure this. And there is no data to prove anything, not because somebody does something better than you doesn’t mean that you’re doing any worse. That’s the point here. So I’ve been through this myself, and I came up with three things that you need to really watch out for. And those three things will ensure that at least you’re on the track, at least you have the confidence, and at least you have the self-esteem. So the question of whether you can compete and win doesn’t arise because you are living these three things. So let’s get into this. I’m sure you’re going to find some value in this today.

That’s why I’m hoping that’s why I’m recording this. The first thing is practice. If you practice what you do, then there shouldn’t be any doubt in your mind about whether you’re good or you’re not good. All that so you should, you shouldn’t have that confusion at all, as long as you’re practicing. Practice means you’re devoting a certain amount of time every day, every hour, or every week to an activity that you think is important to you. I’ll give you an example. This podcast. This for me is practice. I’m doing this every day. So I shouldn’t be questioning whether this is good, or is this something that I should I’m not doing to the right levels, or none of that stuff that there shouldn’t be any confusion and confusion could be in different shapes and forms. But there shouldn’t be any doubt that’s the right word. There shouldn’t be any doubt. Because I do this every day.

Now, can I do it better? The answer is yes. Can this be done? can I improve it? Yes. Can I bring some elements of change? Yes. But at the bare minimum level, I’m doing this every day. So if I’m practicing them, I’m okay. So if you’re practicing what you’re doing, let’s say you’re a programmer, you’re a coder. If you’re not coding every day, then there is a problem. Because that’s what you do for a living. You should be doing that. You shouldn’t be at a point where Oh, I was good. And all I have to do is brush up a little bit and I should be okay. No, you’re not going to be okay because you’re not practicing. Let’s say you’re a musician. So you’re a singer. You were singing well, but you do not sing anymore. And every time you tell yourself that, oh, I need to just practice for a week and I’ll be back. No, you want. You cannot. Because practice means that you are in it. You’re living it. And every time you stop practicing something, it goes away. It goes away. Sit here So let you see, I was thinking of turning this podcast into a weekly podcast, I’m working through it. Because if I have a week’s time to come up with one podcast, this one is a daily podcast now. But starting in 2023, we want to turn this into a weekly podcast, this is something that I’m discussing, and it’s very dominant on my mind. But the risk that I run is, if I do that, I’m gonna lose my practice, I’m so good at doing this, that if I do not, I can do it once a week or once a month, that’s not the point. In terms of value. That’s not the point in terms of content, I don’t think it’s an issue for the listener at least. But then from my side, I’m going to drop my practice. If I drop my practice, I cannot come back into it. That’s the risk. The second one is patterns. You see, a part of your evolution is you should be able to recognize things not only in you, but in others, and everywhere, every time you see something that is working seamlessly, you should be able to spot it, we spot it day and night, we spot the traffic seamlessly. It’s very hard to spot something that is happening inside of us. So there are things that are happening automatically within you, your skills, your talents, that they’re they are happening. And working towards making you successful, you got to spot them. And once you spot them, you got to turn them into practice.

So you got to look for patterns. And if you can’t find and people back in the day, when I used to do seminars, people used to come into the seminars and sit there and like, I’m going to go through this self-exploration exercise, because I want to discover myself, you cannot discover yourself in a room through a worksheet. But that is a start, it’s a good start to have. But that is not where the change happens. Or that is not where the realization of change happens. Or you recognize change, you start the change. So the best way to understand patterns is obviously to engage in a long-drawn self-exploration process, which I think you’re doing anyway. Because you listen to this podcast, and every other podcast, and read books and all that. But then you got to ask around, you got to talk to people who know you more than you think you know yourself. It’s not that they know more. It’s just that they see things in you that you cannot see. Because our eyes are always outward, not inward, mostly. And to see inward, we need to use the brain sign, not the eye. It’s hard, it’s difficult. So ask around, and find out what people see in you that you don’t see. And then sometimes you got to remind yourself that this goes back into the self-exploration part, you got to remind yourself to see things that you already have done. But somehow things are showing up in your life again, as you’ve done you. I’ll give an example. I was watching a webinar, and somebody was talking about this technique. And at some point, I said, Wow, okay, this is amazing. This is incredible. And I let it go like it was amazing. So I took some notes. And then And recently, I was going through some of my old recordings on a hard drive. And one of the recordings was from the year 2007. And the same thing I was talking about in 2007. In one of my presentations in one of my recordings, a live event, I completely forgot about it. And again, this goes back to the original point, if you don’t practice it goes away.

So I was like, oh my god, I take this back in 2007. And here I am in 2022. Listening to this again as if it’s new. It’s funny, Life is funny. So God sometimes rewinds, and I go back and listen to some of my old recordings. And I learned from my old recordings, at least have started doing that now. And the third one is your personality, your persona is something that you got to keep on developing and there is no measure for this. And as long as you’re somehow developing your personality, then I think there is nothing to measure. There is nothing that you need to get worried about. So what is personality? There are two parts to it. One is the Be your dress. And the second is how you address it. So let’s talk about the dress part. The dressing is not impressed someone, you could be in any dress, I dress up in a certain way, you may dress up in a certain way, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter what you put on your, on your body, that’s not the discussion here. Dressing means a smile, and small, little ornamentations, that reflected values. That’s the key here, lot of small little ornaments or whatever you call them, small little things, a smile, a gesture, things like that, in a good way. Of course, the addressing part has to do with the words that you say, because personality in general is your values. And in the way you dress and the way you address the reflected value. So you’re angry, unhappy, dejected, worried, over overwhelmed, all will show up in the way you show up, they will, and those things will reflect in you. So clearly, your mannerisms. And the most important part is your personality is conveying your self-worth.

So there has to be a set of activities that you need to engage them to refine your personality, constantly thinking about you know, what to do, what not to do, how to do this, how to do that? Is it right? Is it wrong? You got to be questioning that and the choice of words. And again, here here is where reading and learning all that comes in because you cannot have the right words come out of your mouth unless you have the right words in your mind. And the right words in the mind come from programming. And programming means reading books, attending seminars, learning, acknowledging and processing, and also unlearning a lot of things. So there’s a lot to this. But the true measure of a life, a true measure of a life is practice patterns and personality, at least according to me. And again, there are different true meanings of life in different contexts. But if you do these three things in my understanding, then you are you’re good. And you don’t need to measure yourself. You don’t need to compete. You don’t need to put yourself in front of someone and say, hey, look, I look much taller than you. Or I’m much heavier than you. I’m better built than you.

None of these things matter because you are your own reflection at that point. Hey, that’s all for now. I hope this is helpful. If it is let me know. And before you know it, I’ll be with you as early as tomorrow with another podcast. So keep listening. Stay tuned.

5 Things To Do Before You Die

Here is the complete transcript of the podcast

Today’s podcast episode is for you. If you have a list of bucket items that you want to do or accomplish, before your time is done here, welcome, or welcome back to Success with Srini. Happy Tuesday morning to you, I get this comment. Every time somebody hears that I went to Basecamp, I was attempting to get to Mount Everest, I got up to camp to became say came down. So there are a few podcast episodes I did on that whole journey that I took in 2019. And whenever somebody listens to the podcast, I get a message. And I’m thankful I’m always happy to get that message Srini you are inspiring me. And Everest base camp is on my bucket list now. And it had been on my bucket list for a long time. So I was never aware of this thing called a bucket list. Delight came to America.

Growing up, I never knew it. Over the years, I don’t have a bucket list either. So there are a few goals I have, and a few dreams, and those dreams are written down. And those dreams with time have turned into goals. But I don’t have a bucket list. But I do meet a lot of people who tell me that they have a bucket list. So when I started researching what a bucket list is, then I found a bunch of blog posts. This was years ago, with people saying 100 things to do before you die and 1000 things to do before you die. Some people came up with some incredible headlines like 23 things to do before you die and 67 things to do before on your bucket list that you have to accomplish. And there are some sub-variations to that, like 25 places to visit 30 different songs to listen to, all that stuff. So in my quest, over the years, by the way, all of them are good. There’s nothing incorrect about them. I understand the motion, I understand the message in all these posts. But then today on the podcast, I want to share with you an incredible book that completely shifted my understanding of bucket lists, and eventually toned it down to only five things, five things to do before you die. And ever since I read this book, I have been practicing this, and turns out that I’ve been practicing this anyway. But then this book gave me validation. And it also innovates and told me that yes, whatever you’re doing is right, whatever you’re doing is correct. This book is called five things to do before you die. And it is written by an incredible speaker, preacher, Bo Sanchez, and how to follow your bliss. And live a life of no regrets. The reason why you have a bucket list is that you don’t want to have regrets. When the curtain closes. That’s it, there’s nothing else to this.

So the lesser the bucket list is, the better it is. So the five things this book highlights. The first one is to celebrate who you are. And if you are a listener of this podcast, I have been big in a very big and very loud here on this whole on this concept. You’ve got to celebrate who you are, you are unique, and you are different. You have skills, talents, and experiences that are unique to you, nobody else is made like you. So you should be taking time and thinking about yourself and really appreciating yourself. When you do that you become internally happy, and your happiness is what creates success. And a long time ago also I said follow your happiness. Don’t just be happy. Following happiness means using your happiness to create outcomes using your happiness to create success. Most people live in this illusion that success creates happiness. It doesn’t. It doesn’t happiness is very momentary. It comes it goes. So while it is with you at this moment, you are better off doing things that you want to do. And because you are in a happy state, you can do it much, effortlessly. Whatever it is. So celebrate who you are, you are precious, and you are unique. You are different. You have a role to play, you have a contribution to make, and your time is limited. So celebrate yourself. There’s no need to be unhappy. There is no need to be depressed. There is no need to stay anxious. That’s the point. You got to live in your career zone. And for this explanation, Of course, I want you to read this book. But these are the high points. And the way I’m explaining these points is the way I have implemented it in my life. This is not what this book is saying, though, these are the pointers, these are the five things on which the book is based. But then you got to read the book to get the message and make that message your own. And this is what I made my own. So you got to live in your career zone. See, this means you got to follow your values, you got to follow your beliefs, you got to follow your convictions, you got to follow whatever you think is right, and you got to do it. And no matter how hard, the resistance says, You got to fight it. That’s the message. And the more you do it, the more easier it becomes, the more resilient you become, the stronger you become, and the more invaluable you become. That’s the point.

Put people before things. How many times you’ve met people who want to, well, just listening to somebody said, say this, you know, I have a 6000 square foot house, but I only live in the 500 feet, that’s all I need. The other 5500 feet is my ego. So you know, people go buy things, they want to possess things. And I did, again, multiple podcasts on this talking about, you know, when you can’t give away that which you possess, it possesses you. And that’s the truth. Eventually, this is going to end with emptiness, the more we love emptiness, because sooner or later, we all are going to be in emptiness. So it’s better to acknowledge the emptiness or to not get attached to all these material things and start valuing people, every year that I grow. And the older I grow, the deeper I miss people. And I run the risk of losing more people, the longer I live. Seeing this the other day I was on my radio show, and I said this, over 20 people in my life or no more, all come to COVID. And I’m sure you lost some of your friends, and family, God forbid to COVID and COVID did the damage. So people are important. Everything that you have in your life is because of people everything that you will have is because of people everything that you’re doing, obviously for people, by people, I mean, your children, your family, whoever it is for you. That is what it is for you. So this is not a singular game as much as some people think it is. I have said this also, the next point here is live in the present moment. Or enjoy life in the present moment. That’s right. Right statement. That’s the way Bo Sanchez said it. You got to live life in the present moment. What it means is obvious, it means what it means and what it clearly says. But the point here is that there is this thing that we have been programmed to believe let me fix all my problems now.

So that I will have happiness later. And this is something this was a moment for me when I Heard Warren Buffett say this as a part of an interview, or as a part of a stage appearance. He made it along with Bill Gates, I believe at Wharton, or maybe one of the universities I do not know and there was, I believe this was either a live broadcast on TV or this was a recording that I saw possibly recording because I don’t have a TV in which he says you know, waiting to become rich, and then becoming happier. And working all your life for it is like deferring sex for a later date. It’s like perfectly said and perfectly conveyed by Warren Buffett. So there’s no point in deferring happiness that’s the thing. And every moment whether it is bad for you or this is good for you is also going to pass by you know, there is some bad phase you’re going through right now good will come good is gonna happen. I’ve seen the Titan multiple times and the tide has turned multiple times and everything’s going well for you. It’s just a matter of time before the tide turns also. So it’s cyclical, that’s what it is, life is cyclical. So the bottom line is you got to stay happy regardless. And you got to pursue happiness. So enjoy this moment. Whatever it is, there is a message there. There is a lesson there. There is everything there. And your job is to acknowledge that and live through this. Because you can’t undo life, you know, life clock, you can’t undo your time, time is gone. That said, you’re listening to this podcast three weeks from today, then you could have listened to this three weeks ago. And you didn’t. So you can’t undo the clock.

The last one is the fifth one. And this is an amazing sacrifice for something that’s bigger than yourself. And this goal, this, this is an incredible point in this book. You know, I’ve always, you know, growing up, I’ve seen people who commit themselves to big things, big things and relentlessly work. And as if there is no tomorrow, and they give up their life for that one cause.

And I was like, what drives these people? Is it passion is its fame name turns out that none of these things were the real drivers. It may seem to an uninformed, or ill-informed individual who is looking from the outside, it seems these are drivers, he’s doing all this because he wants to make money or he’s doing all this because he wants to become famous. But someone who is relentlessly pursuing a bigger thing. Turns out that they’re sacrificing themselves for something that is bigger than them. So they cannot become bigger than what they’re pursuing. And that is why they’re not going to become bigger and more famous than the thing that they are trying to pursue. You see, there is one in doing this. There is a sense of fulfillment in doing that. And I don’t have words to express it.

Get this book, read this book, it will change your life five things to do before you die, how to follow your bliss, and live a life of no regrets. Bo Sanchez, is an incredible speaker, an incredible man, an incredible entrepreneur, incredible book. And I’m gonna be planning to read more of his books. And that’s all today on this podcast. And before you know it, I’ll be with you as early as tomorrow, but in the meantime, please listen to other episodes here. Please subscribe if you like what you’re listening to. If you know someone who you think will benefit from this, by all means, send them a link. That’s all you have to do. Okay, that’s it for now. Take care.