Are You Branded? Well, are you? I’m not. Not yet at least. I’m reading this book written by T.D. Jakes, called Reposition Yourself, in which T.D asks the very real and in some ways uncomfortable question of  “What is your brand?” I thought that since we’re in the business of branding and re-branding business, this passage seems pertinent to us all. So here’s where I stop writing, and begin sharing T.D. Jakes’ words of wisdom: 

Identity (who you are and what you’re all about) +

Expectations (what others associate with your presence and gifting) =

Your Personal Brand (what you consistently contribute by your presence and gifting)

 “You advertise yourself every day to those around you in how you present, carry, and conduct yourself. Whether you’re aware of it and own it or not, you are already forming a brand in the eyes of others because the more time they’re around, the more they come to form certain expectations about what you bring. The more you get to know someone, the more consistent their personality seems to become in most all arenas of life. How would you describe your brand? You should be able to identify three key attributes that your offer in any meeting with colleagues and friends, or any virtues that you bring to a relationship or to a social encounter. I like to call these as ‘deliverables’. Deliverables are not aspects of our personality that we have to contrive or work at producing. No, in most high achievers, they are natural characteristics and produce the outcome of who they are and what they are about. You arrive at the answer to the question ‘What is your brand?’ by answering other questions: What do you want to be about? What is your vision, your purpose, your mission? Are you demonstrating or rather delivering who you really are and what you really care about? Are you trapped in circumstances? When we grow into ourselves, learning from our mistakes, becoming a student of our deliverables, then we relax and enjoy a level of confident authenticity that naturally sheds limitations and embraces positions in which we prosper, not just financially but holistically, as whole persons at peace with ourselves, content to be who we really are. Once you articulate your mission statement and develop your brand, don’t waver. Commit to it and don’t settle for a standard that is less. If you are truly going to know peace and fulfillment, you must honor your brand.”  - T.D. Jakes