Brand Yourself..because YOU are Your Most Valuable Asset!

Brand Yourself! This concept is one that I’ve been pondering at great length these past few weeks. What does it mean to “Brand Yourself?” What is the best way to create the Brand that is “Me”? What does “Brand Myself” mean for me personally? How do I promote my personal brand? There are so many questions and factors that go into this concept that you could write an entire book about it – and people have. I plan to dedicate an entire blog series to look at many detailed aspects of what this very concept means to YOU personally because I feel that its that important.

With the economy the way that it is lately, it has become quite clear that one of the only real assets that is guaranteed in life is the one that we create within ourselves because it is the only one that you truly posses and can take with you. The news and personal stories of friends and loved ones are just filled with those who have tragically lost their life savings in the blink of an eye, lost their job, lost their home to foreclosure or all of the above after years of dedication and memories built. Whether you’re just starting out in life and graduating from college in hopes of getting your career of the ground or have found yourself wondering what do I do now that my position no longer exists…the one thing that you have to build on and take with you… is YOU! You are your most valuable asset!

As I’ve said, I’ve been giving much thought to my own personal brand and what that looks like for me. Who is Amy E Stroud? What makes me, me? What is my special gift or gifts that I personally bring to the world? Sometimes it takes others to show you what exactly that is and its true value.

As I’ve been working on developing the “Brand” that is “Amy E Stroud”, I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching, self-education and reaching out to others. In this process, I’ve come to realize that one of my greatest strengths and gifts to the world is my ability to make connections that add value to others. For instance, while networking recently on facebook with my ever expanding circle of influence of truly amazing people, I had the pleasure and honor of “getting to know” a phenomenal woman named Bela who has published her first book called “A Bella Life – Create the Beautiful Life of Your Dreams.“ She is an author whose passion is “to inspire and empower people to create the beautiful lives of their dreams – passionate lives full of love, laughter, fun, happiness, peace and abundance!”

While getting to know Bela, she shared with me that “I am an awesome referrer” and was thanking me profusely for connecting her with my new dear friend and mentor David Foster who has recently started doing an open and free live online TV show on Thursdays dedicated to educating any entrepreneur who wants to learn about his effective online marketing strategies and techniques which have been phenomenal and can be found by clicking here. I knew that David’s class was exactly what Bela needed to further advance her “personal brand” as it has already greatly helped me and she wrote on my facebook wall that “I am listening to David now. You’re so great for sharing this with me!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Just what I need! :-)”

My immediate reward in connecting Bela with David professionally is the satisfaction in knowing that I’ve just added a tremendous amount of value to Bela’s personal journey in marketing and promoting the amazing and beautiful “brand” that is “Bella”. From what I know of Bela, I know that at some point she will add value in someway to David’s life and only serve to further advance the “brand” that is “David Foster.”

I’ve ordered an advanced copy of Bela’s book, as I know that it will add great value to my life and help me to further develop personally and professionally. Not only did Bela respond to me with such great gratitude for connecting her to David, she also was grateful for me personally taking an interest in learning more about her life’s work and was kind enough to post yet another comment on my wall inviting my feedback on her book as well as stating “…and I look forward to us growing our businesses together – let’s have fun with it!” How awesome is that???

I share these series of personal interactions with you because it demonstrates the power of simply getting to “know, like, and trust” people as I discussed in my previous blog “Can I buy you a virtual drink”, and in the words of Bob Burg, we have become each other’s “personal walking ambassadors”. Who knows where this powerful connection and alliance will lead in the future for me personally, but I can tell you in the present, it has helped me to further define the “brand of Amy E Stroud” as a connector who adds value to those around me, so thank you Bela and David!

So what is your personal brand? What defines you? If you haven’t already given this great thought, I encourage you to do so. Once you’ve further defined the answer to this all important question, promote your brand because it is your greatest asset…and who knows where it will lead you???

To Our Success!

Amy E Stroud

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