PERSONAL BRANDING:
The Whats & The Whys
You're not going to be the best option there is – but with a strong personal brand, some people will definitely put their faith in you.
My sisters used to tell me that we don’t have to compromise our looks just because we don’t have enough money to buy new clothes. They never taught me how to excel academically, but they trained me to be practical (and vain). We used to get backlashed because we didn’t dress up like the peasants that we are. Or how I prefer to call it now—we always dress to impress.I am very particular with how I look because, even if we admit it or not, the first impression matters. How you present yourself: the way you look, the way you talk, and what you say-contributes to the first impression.I remember once, a friendtrepreneur was so convinced that I was a secret millionaire-so secret that even I didn't know it. I just manifest who I want to be. Is it pretentious? Maybe. Am I hurting anyone? Yes, but not for this reason, for sure.Honestly, I don’t have the appeal that captures people's attention when I walk into a room. I remotely radiate society’s definition of beauty, so I am banking on my communication skills. It used to(more likely still does) annoy one of my best friends, CJ, with how I tell stories in a very dramatic way. I don’t just talk for the sake of talking; I command attention and I know exactly how to grab it. How you communicate is just as important as what you are communicating.That is my identity. In marketing, it's called a personal brand. Your brand helps you control the narrative about you and introduces you (your business) in the best possible version. With the extensive presence of digital media, branding is more important now than ever before. It is what connects you to your audience; may it be your customer, an employer, an organization or community that you want to be part of or even that one person who is hate-following you on Instagram.Everyone is replaceable. Whatever you think you are capable of doing, hundreds of people or companies can do the same, or even better. Do you want to be ahead in this cut-throat market? Maybe it’s time you consider building your brand.Here are some of my favorite benefits of building a strong personal brand:1. Highlights your competitive advantageIn this highly competitive market, your brand helps you stand out from the crowd. Something that sets you apart from the competition and makes you memorable.2. You are in control of your careerPersonal branding builds your reputation- you will be known as an expert in your field. With it, you have leverage in negotiations and you have a say in how work is done.3. Increase your market valueIt adds value to your overall persona as you start to have an impact on an emotional level. My iPhone is about 25% more expensive than my last smartphone. I paid not just to have a phone, the price includes the experience and the feels. The same case with people- this means you have the liberty to set fees as per your standards or ask for a higher salary than the market price.4. Creates more opportunitiesWhen you have an identity, you become magnetic. You start being seen as an expert in your field and you’ll attract more opportunities for collaboration. Companies will connect with you because they understand the why and the how of what you do.5. Build trust with your audiencePersonal branding is like building a relationship- it fosters trust, thus, makes people feel better about making you in charge of their needs.
At the end of the day, you're not going to be the best option there is – but with a strong personal brand, some people will definitely put their faith in you.
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Getting to know the self-sabotaging version of you
*I'm still scared of failure, but I have enough faith in my capacity to dive in head-first to the unknown. *
Have you ever been presented with an opportunity and declined it because you thought you were not good enough for it? Or have you been doing something great and miserably failed because you did something stupid?For years, I have been telling myself that I prefer to "play it safe" because I’d rather do a great job doing something small than take responsibility for something big and fail miserably. Every time I take a step toward doing something great, I take two steps backward because I doubt myself. Then eventually, I stopped trying.These are the signs of self-sabotaging behavior. It is when we do (or don’t do) things that block our success or prevent us from accomplishing our goals. It can happen consciously or unconsciously.Here are the most common signs of my self-sabotaging behavior:1. Rejects constructive criticism. **
~It can be disappointing when you make an effort to do something and someone is dissatisfied with your output. Believe it or not, part of being insecure is not being able to accept criticism. Instead of using it to improve myself, I used it to feed my self-doubting behavior and insecurity. Later on, I realized that I tend to see things as per my own biases and that if I were more open to criticism, I’d end up refining my output and/or realizing that I did create something amazing. It is always good to see things from a different perspective.~2. Running away from things when it gets tough.
I’m not sure if I don’t trust myself, the process, the external factors, or a combination of either or all. When things start to go wrong, I usually switch to a different set of projects that I believe are a safer bet. These experiences stopped me from reaching my full potential and squandered the time and effort I put into turning an excellent idea I once had into reality.3. Procrastination.
For someone who used to stupidly believe that time is an unlimited resource, it can be easy to lose focus, especially in this sea full of captivating distractions. I was so proud that I could work under (time)pressure and was still able to accomplish things even at the last minute. But when I started scheduling things and following them closely, I noticed a huge improvement in my output and my mental stability.4. Toxic relationship.
~People are the biggest influence on how you see yourself. As a person who needs validation, especially from those individuals that are close to me, I tend to bend over and accommodate the differences just to keep the relationship going. I am a sucker for long-term connections, and I’d literally be willing to sell my soul for the people I care about. ~Taking into consideration that I am surrounded by an extremely diverse community with different origins, cultures, religions, norms, languages, educational backgrounds, experiences, social status, etc. It can be a lot of work to close those gaps. My intentions are usually being questioned because the majority of us interpret things based on our own understanding and not from where the actions came from.Relationships, irrespective of the type, have to be maintained, and some of them are just not worth it. Learning to let go is my biggest struggle. But at the end of the day, it was liberating.The process of overcoming the above behavior includes long steps of self-actualization. Here’s what I believe leads me to my self-sabotaging behavior:A. My fear of failure.
~I was struggling growing up. I don’t have a safety net and I have to rely on my own to survive. For every risk that I take, I have to consider all the consequences. That contributed so much to my fear of failure. But I’m a big girl now and the world has bigger things to offer. I’ve failed multiple times and I’m still standing. So instead of not trying, I learned to take calculated risks. ~B. The need to be in control.
To play it safe means barely taking any risks. It’s been a good run, but it was more of a walk. I’m getting somewhere but in a very slow phase. It’s good until you realize you are not living according to your maximum potential. There’s this great quote by Ried Hoffman that says, "An entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff and builds a plane on the way down." I would say, life is the same. Some things are to be figured out in the process.C. It’s too good to be true (My past trauma).
STRUGGLE is my middle name. So if something amazing happens, then it's not my reality. The universe is conspiring against me, and I will fail miserably, so I will stop pursuing greatness. It may sound so dumb, but I really used to get anxious when everything was running smoothly.D. Trust issues (My past relationships).
Everyone who gives me an opportunity has hidden intentions. Maybe it’s just me victimizing myself or some people are actually monsters, but I’ve been in different situations where people that I trusted actually took advantage of me. When I started believing in myself, I learned how to assess every relationship I had. I realized that opportunities are given to me because I deserve them.I’m not sure if the process of overcoming my self-sabotaging behavior is a straight line that will actually lead to an end. But the fact that I’m already aware of those things makes a huge difference in my actions and choices.I push beyond my boundaries, one baby step at a time. I celebrate all my wins, no matter how small they are. And the best thing I have done so far is cut off or at least limit my interaction with those individuals who are toxic to me.I'm still scared of failure, but I have enough faith in my capacity to dive in head-first to the unknown. I guess the secret to realizing your self-worth lies in RuPaul’s famous line, "If you don't love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody(something) else?"To that, I say “AMEN!”
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The Art of Effective Communication
*Communication costs nothing except patience, faith, persistence, understanding, and a desire to communicate. *
Dubai is a hub of diversity. The best part of living here is the possibility of meeting different kinds of people daily. And when you get exposed to this kind of divergence, traveling to another part of the world will be a walk in the park. You will be less likely to feel culture shock because somehow, somewhere, you have already met someone who is originally from that country and you already know how to communicate with them.In six years of living here, the most important skill I developed is effective communication. With a different kind of audience, there’s a higher probability of misunderstanding. Grasping the real meaning of what is being communicated and being able to respond accordingly helped me improve my personal and professional relationships.Effective communication is more than just an exchange of information. You have to consider where the information came from—the intention and the emotion surrounding it. To avoid conflict, I used to say, "I am responsible for what I say; you are responsible for what you understand." But honestly, that doesn't really work like that. It is your responsibility as a sender to make sure that your message is being received accordingly. In other words, you should tailor your message according to the receiver and vice versa.That makes it sound very complicated and a lot of work. But honestly, in my own experience, most conflicts, both personally and at work, are merely because of miscommunication. Learning the skill of effective communication can improve your relationships with others. It will promote trust and respect and enhance your overall social and emotional health.So yes, to effectively communicate, you have to put in an effort. How do we do it?
-Be an active listener.
-Pay attention to non-verbal signals.
-Learn to control your emotions.
-Understand the differences of everyone.1. Be an active listener. Many of us take our listening skills for granted. We often assume it’s obvious that we’re practicing active listening by simply nodding and making eye contact. But as a listener, your role is not just to respond accordingly. You have to be able to reflect and retain the information that is being conveyed. Don’t assume that you understand the message correctly; always clarify to make sure you are on the same page.2. Pay attention to non-verbal signals. In some cases, what comes out of our mouths and what we communicate through our body language may be two totally different things. There are common cues that we can pay attention to, in order to understand the other person’s feelings and intentions. These include facial expressions, body movement and posture, gestures, eye contact, and tone of voice.3. Learn to control your emotions. I’ve been in a lot of instances where my emotions got the best of me. It can be difficult to control our emotions, especially when we have a strong opinion about a certain topic. But emotions can cause us to say things that we don’t mean, hurt someone’s feelings, and/or offend them. As Taylor Swift said in one of her songs, "You need to calm down."4. Understand the differences of everyone. Who we are and what we’ve experienced play a big role in how we perceive information. Our past experiences, personal beliefs, and behavior shape our expectations of every interaction. It is vital to consider that most of us are built to process new information in a way that is familiar to us, making every conversation we have with different people unique.Effective communication helps us nurture our personal and professional relationships. Napoleon Hill said in his book, Think and Grow Rich, "Communication costs nothing except patience, faith, persistence, understanding, and a desire to communicate." With good and effective communication skills, we’ll be able to build strong connections with others, mitigate conflicts, catalyze change, and increase productivity.
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Professional Development Through Innovation: A Takeaway from User-Friendly Technologies
One new perception, one fresh thought, one act of surrender, one change of heart, one leap of faith, can change your life forever.
When we stop questioning and accept everything as it is, we miss out on the chance to create something new. Being complacent kills curiosity. Without curiosity, we stop challenging the existing status quo. Finding different approaches and solutions that we have not tried before is the best way to improve personally and professionally. And life is a never-ending adventure of advancing and evolving, and with that comes innovation.Innovation, in its modern meaning, is "a new idea, creative thoughts, new imaginations in the form of device or method." - Wikipedia, 2020We don’t have to be Thomas Edison to be innovative. By simply improving any of your existing processes, we can become one. Technology is a great tool to implement innovation. Maximizing the use of technology helps us be more efficient and productive.I love exploring new technologies. In the past 7 years, I have come across different platforms that have helped me improve my professional and personal productivity, from creating a database to developing my own website.As the spirit of gift-giving is in the air, I will be sharing some of the technologies that I fell in love with (not in particular order):- Hubspot CRM. I spent a good amount of time assisting account managers and managing accounts myself, so I really appreciate a centralized customer database. This platform enables teams to manage contacts, track deals, view the sales pipeline in real time, identify high-quality leads to go after, and automate email marketing.-Canva. A free online design platform that allows you to create professional designs for your website, social media, marketing materials, and more.-Carrd. I’m not a developer or a graphic designer, but I was able to build my own responsive website using this platform, and it looks sick!-Microsoft Excel. I love a data-driven approach. More often than not, analyzing data can be tricky and time-consuming. Microsoft Excel helps me format, organize, and calculate data in a spreadsheet.-Smart business card. Imagine taping your business card to a smartphone and your contact details will automatically be registered to that device. It uses a Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to store and share contact details. A very timely must-have business accessory since exhibitions and networking events are starting again.-Grammarly and QuillBot. Trying to improve my writing skills, these platforms help me refine my contents by finding grammatical errors, removing unnecessary words, and increasing the clarity of my message.-LinkedIn Sales Navigator. To be able to accurately filter leads using the biggest professional hub according to your target persona makes proactive prospecting easier. It helps in establishing a more effective go-to-market strategy.-Zoominfo and Apollo. Getting access to the contact details of your target audience is now made easier by these two platforms.-Calendly. It makes it easy and seamless to schedule appointments with everyone's different schedules, while also saving time by eliminating a bunch of back and forth scheduling emails as it can can be integrated with different calling platforms (like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet).-Quickbooks. This platform enables you to manage your financial monitoring needs with tools for accounting, payroll, invoicing, bank account tracking, and much more!With the presence of technology, you can do anything you want, challenge your creativity and test your limitations from time to time. Learning new skills adds to your professional value. For every credential earned, you offer additional incentives. Moreover, the feeling of fullfillment everytime you accomplish something that you never imagined you can do is enough reason to do it.
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