This is being republished from A First Taste of Law.

“I want to separate out the word personal from branding. I think a personal brand is a moment when you start to lie. Focus first on the personal and you beat up all the competition instantly. Just being honest, being yourself, doing the work, applying the daily practice for just a few months, and your personal self will come to life more than it ever has before. You’ll be honest with the people around you and that automatically beats all the competition because they’re too slick, too dishonest, too focused on their brands. You’re not focused on that anymore. When you come up with honest, sincere ideas for people, and you give rather than expecting to take, then you suddenly have separated yourself out from 99 percent of the competition. You win. And it’s that easy to do it.”

Recently, I came across this quote of James Altucher and got really impressed by it for some counted number of minutes.But then I wondered is this what personal branding is all about.

Wikipedia, though not a reliable source, suggest that the notion of personal branding is based on self-packaging. Further defined as the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual; this includes but is not limited to the body, clothing, appearance and knowledge contained within, leading to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable.

So, can we say that personal branding is about being ostentatious? I hope not.

My perception of personal branding makes me think that it is more about building an image, or may be looking at yourself from a third person’s perspective and figuring out who would you like that XYZ to see you as and then strive to be what you want to look like.

But if, in the process, you realize that this is not what you are, chuck it immediately.

But if it’s working well for you, stick to it, act accordingly. Personal Brand is like a basic set of principles you live with, and may a tornado try to titillate you from your position, you just don’t move! Or maybe you can see it as a skeleton around which you build the flesh of your social/ profession/ personal life and until and unless you don’t fracture the skeleton, you can’t possibly do much about it.

Personal branding helps people in recognizing you with a particular set of characteristics.

Let people know you that way.

But then, is there a way where you can build yourself but not brand yourself?

The other way is to sway like the whiff of air, do whatever, and just be. And maybe, that would define you. And that would become you. You can be uncertain. You can change your ways anytime you please. You need not care about people’s perception about you is or will be.

People would then recognize you with your maverick ways. But then isn’t it again a way to brand?