By Steve Beseke, beseke1@earthlink.net
Performing a job to make enough money to buy a house that is too big, a car that is too fancy, or just to truly enjoy that much-deserved vacation. All of us make money for different reasons. What many of us also have in common is that making money is sometimes more important than the passion we have for our current job or career. We have all been there.
I’ve always wondered: Why can’t we have a job that we love and make the amount money we need at the same time. Well, you know what: We can.
It takes the confidence, determination and passion to understand your personal brand and how to use it to your advantage. I am the first one to admit that my life confidence wavers sometimes. As a person who grew up with a physical disability (Cerebral Palsy) I was relentlessly teased by kids because of my differences. Even at nearly age 50, some of those scars can still rear their ugly marks and cause me to periodically lose my confidence in some situations.
No matter my issues, though, I always have to take hold of my career confidently or I will not succeed. Whether I am passive or proactive, I do my best to find work that I can be truly passionate.
Sometimes, it is easier said than done. As you assess your personal brand, please think through the following suggestions and try to apply each to your work (or even personal) situation.
Having Confidence To Do You Really Want?
- Personal Branding truly means having consistent confidence in yourself. In my 25+ year work career, I’ve had countless successes and a few challenges along the way. When I’ve had challenges with my physical disability, career and/or life, I have found the most important key is to have trust in myself. This unyielding confidence to successfully pull through any situation has been important for me – whether I have smacked my head against a granite floor after tripping, or had a huge success with a work situation.
- As I said, maintaining at least a baseline of confidence in good and not so good times is THE most most important resiliency/adaptability factor that allows me to continue my work and life everyday.
- As I reach a half century this year, life has had its moments where I’ve wanted to shut the world out because I’ve momentarily lacked the confidence in myself. This may have been because I had just tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and fallen. (My balance is sometimes affected by my physical disability – Cerebral Palsy.) Or, I just had a conversation with my daughter that I knew could have gone better. Or, I had just recently been laid of from a wonderful job I truly loved.
- All of us have such issues – great and small – we face everyday. They can truly affect the confidence in ourselves. To help maintain resilience, I have highlighted below a few of my successful confidence strategies that you may want to apply to your everyday needs.
I’d suggest you think about the following, and try at least one strategy soon to help stay resilient and confident. Because remember: Your most important personal brand asset is you.
- Finding one positive about yourself each day. O.K., I am not positive about myself all the time. I’d almost have to be robotic and be programmed. But, every day, I try to find at least one thing I did very well the previous day. This may be helping a colleague network to find a better job, knowing I treated my daughter fairly in a conversation about improving her grades, or (simply) that I exercised and liked the way my body reacted.What is one simple or complex action yesterday that you felt confident about in your life?
- Stop sweating the small stuff. I try to avoid sweating the daily small stuff that may lead me to lose a bit of confidence in myself. Whether that may be not worrying I am a couple minutes late for a meeting because I hurt my back getting out of the car, not getting one of my Top Five list of things done I promised myself, or forgetting to pet my wonderful dogs as I leave for work. Developing an effective personal brand also means knowing what you can truly control. Without this understanding, you will not get mission-critical items accomplished and people will see you in a lesser light. What small stuff will you try to avoid to keep your confidence on the right level each day?
- Liking Yourself. I am the first one to admit that I don’t always like myself every minute of every day. I make mistakes I regret, I don’t always see possibilities when they are in front of my face, or I am just having a bad hair day. Maintaining a consistent personal brand does not mean that we need to be perfect.
- No matter what happens, though, I always remember what is truly important in my life – loving my beautiful wife, teaching my wonderful daughter the values she will carry throughout her life, or talking with the great friends I have had for so many years. Such examples are keys to being happy with myself and successfully getting past certain times where I don’t always see myself in the best light. Thus, I am building and maintaining the inner workings of my individual resiliency and personal brand.
§ What do you like about yourself? I suggest thinking through such questions, and trying to maintain the right amount of confidence in all parts of your life. There will always be days where your confidence wanes and your resiliency disappears. But just remember the love and emotional value of your family and friends, and the good that you do at work and throughout your life. Your personal brand depends on it!
A famous philosopher once said: “Maintaining one’s confidence and finding your true passions are ultimately the gift of liking yourself no matter what external factors get in the way.”
Especially at work, finding your niche or passion may mean staying happy and successful in a job while making enough money to enjoy the important things life. Knowing this will help you define your “spot on” personal brand that can increase your resiliency in so many positive ways.
So, what is your passion or niche?
Look forward to visiting with you again next week…
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