Branding helps you stand out from your competitors.

Branding is the way you establish a perceived image of your product and person.

Personal branding will bring you closer to your goals.
Branding makes you the CEO of you.

You've heard all of this before and they are nice things to hear, but I have a problem. I believe personal branding has become a commodity that values superficiality over substance, especially with the advent of social media.

The overall purpose of branding is to look good before other people, so they would want to be affiliated with you and in truth, you might have genuine reasons for wanting this.

showing quote; do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise seek what they sought

The problem for me is that, if you want to look good before other people you'll need to study what they consider to be 'good' and fit yourself right into it, ignoring what you already are.

If you are doing this for a product I have no problem with that, but if you are slicing and chopping your person to meet up an image that you are not. Isn't that too much a price?

Sheryl Sandberg noted author and Facebook chief officer was asked how people should manage their personal brands. Her answer was:

I get this question a lot, and I shudder every time. Crest has a brand, Perrier has a brand. People are not that simple. When we are packaged, we're ineffective and inauthentic

Sheryl Sandberg

What we each have is a voice, she added which can be complex, contradictory and sometimes wrong. Her advice was don't package yourself, just speak honestly, factually and from your own experience.

Think of it, why should you study other people so you could become more of yourself?

In your bid for personal branding you'll eventually bury your uniqueness, chasing other people's version of who a successful person is, but do you really want to be clothed in a success you do not recognize?

Don't get me wrong, I do not have an issue with personal branding, I just think that throughout the years it has taken up a lot of baggage as humanity tried to find a singular pathway to success for over 7billion unique individuals.

The futility of that task is loud enough but still, we ignore it.

It must be said though that personal branding may be unavoidable for some persons, especially entrepreneurs because "People don't just buy your product they buy why you do it"

simon sineks quote: People don't buy what you do they buy why you do it.

So it's important to have answers to questions like "what do you do" "why do you do it" "what motivates you", but instead of trying to shape yourself into the image of a successful person or somebody everybody loves. You can ask yourself "what brand am I already?"

Don't expect to have a personality that everyone would love, instead focus on your authenticity. Also don't go overboard with it, if you do that it ceases to be worthwhile.

Remember your objective is to sell your product; don't sell your life as well. You are priceless.

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