In 2019, I published an article on LinkedIn that went viral.
It was viewed well over a million times, and I received messages from all over the world. I was even invited to join several religions (true story)! The title of the article was, ‘Beware of these 3 thoughts on the path to putting yourself out there’. I am not surprised it went viral. It had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the fact, so many people struggle in this area. Myself included.
Up until that point, I was a world leading expert at NOT putting myself out there. Fear, self-doubt, and insecurity always held me back. The irony was that my career centred on shaping, managing, and elevating the personal brands of high-profile individuals. I was exceptional at putting others out there, I just struggled to apply the thinking and methodologies to myself. I genuinely didn’t think my personal brand mattered until there was no denying that it did.
When I first started in public relations, over two decades ago, the idea of ‘personal branding’ only applied to those in the public eye. With the advent of social media, that now applies to everyone.
It has been heralded as the ‘Age of the Influencer’ and it has opened a world of new opportunities. Whether you work for yourself or someone else, your greatest point of difference is you and if people can’t see you, hear you, and know nothing about you, then how can they decide if they want to work, partner, collaborate, invest, or even befriend you.
I learned that the hard way.
After going on extended maternity leave, I felt invisible and my career long obsession with wanting to stay ‘behind the scenes’ was paying off in all the worst ways possible. I was terrified about putting myself out there and yet at the same time wondering why I was not attracting new opportunities into my life.
It took the unexpected loss of a best friend to realise life was too short to play small. I invested in a profile shot, updated my LinkedIn profile, created a personal website on Squarespace and started sharing my thought leadership. With each step new opportunities propelled me further forward and today I have the privilege of travelling all over the world (literally and virtually) to speak to the teams of iconic brands about personal branding and the power of putting yourself out there. Who would have ever thought!
So, for all the women ready to put themselves out there, here are my 5 tips to help you be seen, heard, and remembered so you can attract the right people, places, and opportunities into your life.
1. The perfect time to start is when you don’t feel ready. If you are waiting for that elusive moment when you will feel ready to launch your personal brand or put yourself out there in a more significant way, you will be waiting forever. Best time to start was yesterday, second best is today.
2. Real frauds don’t suffer from Imposter Syndrome. No matter what you look like, what you have achieved, how many degrees you have accumulated and the accolades you have received, there will always be a part of you questioning whether you are good enough. Accept this as a sign you are human and not a fraud.
3. Your personal brand will always be a work in progress. You are an ever evolving, multi-dimensional creative being. To think you would ever create a personal brand that remains unchanged for a long period of time is futile. Your personal brand will evolve as you do. If anything, sharing the changes you are going through honestly will only help to create a better bond with your audience. The market no longer wants perfectly scripted sound bites, it wants honest, authentic even at times confronting communication. It is what makes us human.
4. Have the courage to be disliked. Not everyone is going to like your personal brand and those closest to you are likely to be the harshest critics. All that matters is that you are happy, authentically engaged in life and feeling a sense of purpose. Your personal brand is just that, personal, so honour yourself enough to back yourself.
5. Have patience and trust the timing of your life. Personal brand building takes time, persistence, and repetition. As they say, we often over-estimate what we can achieve in a year and underestimate what we can achieve in 5 years. Being visible is a decision not a given and just like compound interest, the more time you invest in showing up, the greater the returns over time will be.
You are always one decision away from a completely different life and career. I hope you make the decision to take ownership of your personal brand and open yourself up to all the opportunities out there waiting for you to meet them.
Carlii Lyon is a personal branding coach and speaker. She is running a free 45-minute masterclass titled ‘Put Yourself Out There’ on Wednesday 8th May at 7.30pm (AEDT).
