Personal Branding
This is a collection of resources about Personal Branding I’ve gathered over time. In no particular order…
This is a collection of resources about Personal Branding I’ve gathered over time. In no particular order…
How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
I’ve meditated everyday for the last two years. And this year alone, everyday, I did yoga, wrote, drank 80 ounces of…medium.com
6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person
2017, motherfuckers. Yeah! LET'S DO THIS. "Do what?" you ask. I DON'T KNOW. LET'S FIGURE THAT OUT TOGETHER…www.cracked.com
Probably the best column I’ve ever read.
Saatchi & Saatchi (the great branding agency)
SOUL: The Enduring Core — Soul is the one element of the brand’s personality that sets it apart from all others. It distills this one element into a single word or, at most, a phrase. Defining “soul” can be particularly useful for helping to identify an individual’s overall brand equity.
PERSONALITY: What kind of person would the Brand be? Personality is the kind of person a product brand would be. For individuals, this is best thought of as the person’s brand character. An individual’s personality traits might include approachable, hip, respectful, or relaxed.
VALUES: What does the Brand mean to me? Values are the emotions a purchaser or target audience experiences when using or interacting with the brand. An automotive brand such as BMW or Toyota might evoke feelings like confidence, driving pleasure, peer group acceptance, or status. An individual might inspire confidence, inspiration, trust, or passion.
BENEFITS: What will the Brand do for me? Benefits are the tangible benefits the brand provides to its users. For product brands, benefits could include value for money, reliability, or safety. For an individual, benefits might include clarity, personal development, or setting priorities. (Benefits will often be related to attributes, but not necessarily.)
ATTRIBUTES: What is the Brand? Attributes are the physical properties of the product or brand. For a car, it could be fuel economy, acceleration, or price. For an individual, attributes may include being focused, decisive, or strategic.
Branding Questions
I use “I” and “you” interchangeably.
What’s my story? If you wrote one out for yourself, finish this: “This is a story of a boy/girl who…”
What are my strengths and weaknesses? What would people say they are?
What gives me an immediate energy boost?
How am I different from the average person?
What do I love to do? When do I feel most alive? Per Peter Gibbons in Office Space… If I had a million dollars, what would I do all day?
In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray has to live the same day over and over. He fantasizes about a great day he once had. If you had to pick one day (or moment) in your own life to live over and over, what would it be? What is your Groundhog Day?
What pisses me off? What makes me mad? What do I hate? “I can’t stand it when people…”
What’s your greatest accomplishment?
Have you made it? If so, describe the moment right before you did.
What is it that I can’t help but do?
What did I love doing in childhood?
Which issues do I care deeply about?
What problem do I believe I was placed here to help solve? (Rick Warren.)
What business am I in?
Ask a family member, coworker, friend, and stranger: What did you notice about me? What makes me memorable? What are three words to describe me?
Examine the gap between the three words you use to describe yourself and the words others used.
Write your retirement speech.
Write your tombstone… “Here lies…” (With Honors has a great one — it’s a spoiler, though, so skip this part if you don’t want to know):
Simon B. Wilder bit it on Wednesday. He saw the world out of the porthole of a leaky freighter, was a collector of memories, and interrupted a lecture at Harvard. In 50 years on earth, he did only one thing he regretted. He is survived by [Monty’s friends] and by Montgomery Kessler, who will graduate life with honor and without regret.
Are there any superlatives to describe me?
“I’m one of those guys/girls who…”
“I’m the person in the bar/club/coffee shop/classroom who…”
You’re on a date. It’s a tough door. How are you getting in?
What’s my Myers-Briggs?
Have I taken any courses like Managing Personal Growth or Landmark Forum? What did they tell me?
What do my college/grad essays tell me?
Why am I here? What’s my gift? What’s my destiny?
A long time ago I told my friend Jon that I wanted to change the world. He asked the simplest question: “What needs to be changed?” It was a stumper. It shouldn’t be.
What would you change about yourself?
Vision: “I imagine a world where…”
Write down all the words and phrases I received from people and developed yourself. Also ask, “What are some words that DON’T describe me?”
Rank-order the words/traits that people tell you. Your Points-of-Difference should bubble to the surface. Be sure to also define yourself vs. your competitive set. A lot of people told me I’m funny, but I can’t be the funny comedian. I can be the logical comedian.
Apply the test from It’s a Wonderful Life: What are some examples of things I’ve done that, had I not been there, would’ve turned out completely differently?
Hold a focus group with friends (but don’t be there) — have ’em help you develop your Brand.
What do my friends think my calling is? What do they think I should do?
Write down my instrinsic/demographic traits, e.g, “Indian, from the Midwest…”
Develop some taglines/mottos for yourself that showcase your points-of-difference and/or benefits.
What’s your “look”? Like do you often roll your eyes or smile or something people know you by?
What do I know a lot about? If I could pick out the categories on Jeopardy!, what would I choose?
What’s my POV on the world?
What’s my 30-sec elevator pitch?
Fill this in: “I’m pretty ___ for a ___.” Contradictions reveal character. I discovered that I was pretty funny for a corporate guy and pretty serious for a comedian.
What are my few favorite quotes? Are there any that sum up life?
Which quote do you really just not agree with? “Everyone’s winging it all the time” and “The worst thing you can do is nothing” are mine.
Which movies and books do I love/hate?
Do I believe anything that just seems out-of-step with society?
What are my craziest idiosyncrasies?
Whose approval do I seek? Is that healthy?
Who has it figured out?
Where do you really go when you die? What’s your spiritual belief system?
What’s your favorite time of day?
When did you become you?
A world full of Rajivs would be like…
The world would be a better place if only…
To pull a “Rajiv” is to ___.
Who do you want to be like? Whose career do you want to emulate? Do you have a short-term target (Mine was Mo Rocca) and a long-term (Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais, Jerry Seinfeld).
What do I need to start doing? Stop doing? Continue doing?
What do you want to shake the planet and just yell at everybody? What do you wish people would realize?
If you were a musician, who would you be?
Persona Request
From: Rajiv Satyal <rajiv@funnyindian.com>
Date: July 18, 2005 8:00:28 PM EDT
To: ‘Rajiv Satyal’
Subject: Rajiv’s Persona Request
All — I have an unusual request and I hope that you’ll respond and help me. My development as a comic has come a long way in the last year — the material and delivery are both improving. However, there is one aspect that is missing from my performance and this is known as a “persona.” The best performers are not the same people they are when they’re off-stage. The best personas are actually amplified, exaggerated versions of the person himself.
So, what I am requesting from you is what you think about when you think of me in everyday life. It can be ANYTHING — it can be good or bad, it can be overwhelmingly obvious or unbelievably nitpicking, it’s preferably a superlative, as in “Rajiv is the BEST this or the WORST that or the FIRST whatever.” (Superlatives tend to be the most “ownable” attributes — something that I can be that few others can. Marketers often refer to this as “brand equity.”) Or it can be “Rajiv is one of those guys who…” or “Rajiv is the guy in the bar/club/coffee shop/classroom who…” It can be a story or three words that describe me or something that reminds you of me or something or someone that I remind you of. What am I known for? Who am I?
Answer as you wish — practically, philosophically, existentially, physically, mentally, emotionally, etc. Please do not pull any punches — I need to know so that I can create this character. I don’t want to give you any examples or I’ll bias you but seriously, you won’t hurt my feelings and you won’t inflate my ego any more than it already is.
I have been meaning to ask everyone I know this for about a year now but have been putting it off — this same request went out through my funnyindian newsletter (to which you should subscribe by putting your email in on my website!) and so you might see this request twice.
Everybody’s perspective will be helpful here — from people who have known me my entire life to those of you who have never even met me — so don’t let that stop you. Answer through any medium in which you feel comfortable — email, phone, my website, text messaging,Friendster/MySpace, fax, in-person, IM, smoke signals, telepathy, podcast, blog, telegram, stool pigeon, a really loud megaphone, renting one of those airplanes with a long banner behind it, whatever.
Also, this can be something that you put off indefinitely because it’s kind of cumbersome. So, instead of waiting till you have an hour to sit down and think about me (terrifying thought), please just feel free to send multiple emails to me as you think of stuff. Drown my inbox. Give it to me! Think for one minute and send me whatever comes to your mind — more often than not, the most spontaneous and top-of-mind stuff is the best. And sure, I’ll also take the emails that took you an hour. ☺
Thanks in advance! By giving me even a moment of your time, you’ll help me tremendously. — Rajiv
“They like me; I want ’em to love me like they love ‘Pac.” — 50
Contact me with any questions — rajiv@funnyindian.com. Good luck finding yourself!