“Brand Yourself” was a session organized with the intention of providing its participants the knowledge of how important it is to know and build themselves as a brand. Organized with the tagline “You Are Your Brand”, it was aimed towards an upcoming and highly important aspect of the professional world, Personal-Branding.
The session was open to both employed and unemployed participants. The facilitator of the session was an expert of the topic, Mr. Chetaka Gunawardena who conducted the session in an interesting manner, making sure to engage and interact with all participants individually.
He made sure to understand the stage at which each participants were at their respective lives and careers, and he also asked them to speak about their dreams and goals. He then educated us on how to align personal branding with their goals, both in their careers and personal lives, while giving them useful tips and tricks on the subject.
He made sure to understand the stage at which each participants were at their respective lives and careers, and he also asked them to speak about their dreams and goals. He then educated us on how to align personal branding with their goals, both in their careers and personal lives, while giving them useful tips and tricks on the subject.
A very important aspect of branding yourself is understanding your purpose in life. The facilitator taught us on the importance of this, and guided us towards creating a Purpose Statement for ourselves. At the end of the session, each participant came up with a Purpose Statement that defined their personality.
Another important aspect in branding yourself is finding your spark, and to help us in doing so, we were shown a video, in which Author and Motivational Speaker Mr. Simon Sinek, describes his 5 rules to follow as you find your spark, which was highly inspirational. Here are these rules in brief;
There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who see what they want, and those who only see what’s preventing them from getting what they want. You can go after whatever you want, you don’t have to do things the way everyone else has done it, you can do it your way and break the norm, BUT, you can’t get in the way of someone else getting what they want.
You may not realize it, or you might be ignoring it, but sometimes, you are the problem, and you have to be humble enough to except that. You can take all the credit in the world for what you have done right, as long as you also take responsibility for the things that you do wrong. It must be a balanced equation. You get to take credit, when you also take accountability.
If you want to be a great leader, it’s not about how good you are, it’s not about how tough you are or about how smart you are. It’s about your willingness to help people around you. That’s how people advance in the world. Learn to ask for help when you need it, and give help to others when they need it. Learn by practicing helping each other. It will be the single most valuable lesson you’ll learn in your life. People will show up to help you if you show that you need it, but only if you have helped them too.
The skill the to hold your opinion to yourself until everyone has spoken gives everybody else the feeling that they have been heard and they have contributed, and you get the benefit of hearing what everyone else has to think before you give your opinion. While listening, don’t show your opinion even through your actions (don’t nod “yes” or “no”), but do ask questions and try to understand their point of view. At the end, you will get your turn to speak.
When you are given a certain position in life, it will come with its own set of benefits, but ONLY until the position lasts. As you gain fame, as you gain fortune, as you gain position and seniority, people will treat you better. But none of that treatment is meant for you. Remember the art of having humility and gratitude. You can enjoy all the benefits and perks when they are given, but just be grateful for them and know that they are not for you, they are just for the position.
He ended the session post speaking about growth, and to give an eye opening example for that, all participants were asked to send their first ever Facebook profile picture. These pictures were then displayed on screen. This was a refreshing example on growth for the participants, as they got to compare themselves from then to now and how much they’ve evolved as individuals, leaving them with the message that they could and should keep growing from who they are now.
The video by Simon Sinek:
