Who am I? – My idiosyncrasy

Did you ever wake up in the morning, or may be in the middle of your sleep, and wondered, “WHO AM I”? It does happen to me quite often, sitting up on the bed, sleepy-eyed, pillow-kissed hair and glancing at the bedside dressing table. “Hey! Is this the real me, or the one that I will be in the next couple of hours? What is that one word or words that define me for the world? How do I want people to remember me, think of me, talk about me or perceive me? ‘ME’ – the person, ‘ME’ – the woman, ‘ME’ – the daughter, the wife, the sister, the employee, co-worker and every other relationship that binds me to the society. What is my personal brand?”

During my growing years, I remember being very fond of a few names, which, though mere products and commodities, were taken by my young mind to be essential to my being. My world almost seemed incomplete without them. I had a strange sense of belonging by having these names in my life – being able to talk about them with my peers, experiencing them every other day. Life almost seemed impossible without them. Some of those names I fondly remember – Barbie, Maggie, Dairy Milk chocolate, Bournvita, Bata, Enid Blyton, DC Comics – to name the most significant ones in my life. For my granny, going back further, I remember it used to be Lux, Pond’s, Surf and Nivea – a few of her favourite names that were intertwined in her daily life. Little did either of us know where these names came from, who brought them into our lives, what goes behind bringing them into our lives and why does life seem so difficult without them. Were we in love? Yes, in our subconscious minds we loved these names, they had a certain image, personality, identity in our minds to which we could relate to and felt protected. They gave us a strange sense of comfort, security, care, trust and above all love. We could feel these deep down within.

Then, I knew them by their names, now I know them as brands – brands that had such strong lovable personalities that they were no less important than a human being in my life. If commodities could be so lovable, unique and special, then why can’t we humans be the same or even better? We made these brands – why not build one for ourselves?

As human beings we are all exceptional, we are born with unique traits, personalities, features and, with time, we create and hone our aptitudes. We grow up in different environments, we absorb our understanding of the society and other human beings, the good from the bad, the practical from the impractical, the superficial from the genuine and these shape our understanding of basic human nature. These are the rudimentary ingredients that can help us develop our personal brand and create a space for ourselves in the society. I often hear people erroneously mention their professional resume as their brand story. Your professional resume is just an advertisement of the product features of the brand YOU, it does not make you memorable, enduring, remarkable, lovable, irreplaceable and exclusive. Working for a big brand doesn’t either. You are your own brand. There is always a real person behind that resume, showcase that real person, bring that person alive, hold that person in front of the world, tell your own story, be your own ambassador, be your own advertisement, be your unique self, be original, be the person who will be known for being only you. Let people need you for being you, let people desire you for your own traits, let people value you for your own qualities, let people appreciate that you are the only one because you are simply you, the best you can offer.

Great things don’t happen overnight, great brands are not built in a day. We need to cultivate ourselves – our passions, skills and talents – with sheer perseverance, honesty and discipline. Start by asking yourself, “what makes you unique, what is that you have which others do not, what makes you happy, what gives you that push to make things happen, how far can you stretch yourself, how well can you contribute to the society and to the lives of other people, how can you add value – value which only you are capable of adding and no one else? What will make people remember you fondly, what will make people say – only you can do this job the best? How can you make that emotional connection where your name itself will produce a sense of trust, security, care and love?”  People will come to you for YOU, they will want to be with you for YOU, they will need you for YOU, they will hire you for YOU, they will work with you for YOU, they will know it is YOU who is inimitable and matchless.

Be different, be yourself, be your own brand.