Personal branding is mostly about staying relevant (to your preferred audience) and being unique. So let’s focus on your uniqueness this week.
‘I’m free to be the greatest, I’m alive
I’m free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest
The greatest, the greatest alive’
Who better to use as a great example than the great Sia. These are lyrics from her hit “The Greatest” and I will explain to you why focusing on your unique qualities is really important and how it will be your road to authentic personal branding.
I truly believe that everyone has a unique something that is just very much “you” and is precisely useful to those around you.
But so often I hear:
1. ‘I am not special and have nothing to offer.
2. ‘I don’t know what my uniqueness is.’
3. ‘Huh, I should focus on being unique?’
Yasss girl, because fitting in is overrated! You have to determine what makes you unique.
So what can we learn from Sia?
1. Do it your way, don’t be a copycat.
Sia refuses to show her face. On TV, in magazines and even in her live performances. She always sings with her back to the audience, accepts her awards through someone else wearing her signature wig, hides her face in the photoshoots she appears in. She does not want to be seen. That is kinda not how a lot of popstars act, right? But we have come to know this as her unique thing.
2. Tell the world where to look.
Her signature haircut is at the center of her personal brand. About this she said: ‘I thought, well, what about my blonde bob? If Amy Winehouse was the beehive…’. That is how she is known to the world.
3. Do what you enjoy doing the most and what comes easily.
Sia isn’t only a singer, but also a very successful songwriter. In the past few years, she has written numerous hits for Rihanna (Diamonds), Beyonce (Pretty Hurts), Britney Spears (Perfume) or Ne-Yo (Let Me Love You). Other credits include Christina Aguilera, Lea Michele, Katy Perry, Rita Ora and even this year’s Worldcup song! About songwriting she says: ‘I really feel like I’ve nailed songwriting, it’s my specialty, it’s what I’m good at. It’s my special skill. It’s what I got when God was handing out things. I feel lucky about it, it comes really easily to me’.
4. Be clear on what matters to you, what you think is important.
She doesn’t want to be famous. She is very clear about that. That is also why she does not show her face. ‘I’ve been writing pop songs for pop stars for a couple years and see what their lives are like and that’s just not something I want.’
5. Embrace your eccentricities (things you find weird or strange about yourself).
The fact that she never does interviews or promotion has been weird, but now has worked for her because now her brand is a mystery brand. We all like the fact that she is a weird artist. She build her brand her way.
‘Don’t give up, I won’t give up
Don’t give up, no no no
Don’t give up, I won’t give up
Don’t give up, no no no’
If you want to find out more about personal branding, come to my free personal branding masterclass on Sunday. I will explain to you how this will not only further your career, but also give you more confidence!
XOXO,
Nancy
Flawless
So I went to see Beyoncé again for the 6th time on Tuesday! Remember her song Flawless?
‘We teach girls to shrink themselves
To make themselves smaller
We say to girls,
“You can have ambition
But not too much
You should aim to be successful
But not too successful
Otherwise you will threaten the man”’
Did you know that the voice that says this in the song is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie? You should check out her TED Talk from which this was taken. I love how it works in that song, especially this part:
‘We raise girls to see each other as competitors
Not for jobs or for accomplishments
Which I think can be a good thing
But for the attention of men
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings
In the way that boys are
Feminist: the person who believes in the social
Political, and economic equality of the sexes’
Yes, it is all about creating a balance. That balance comes from equality and that comes from more women in leadership roles. And that is why I started BrandedU.
Now, women find it hard to network which is something you need to do if you want to have a successful career. I call it having a tribe!
So how do you build your tribe?
1. Be around women who you admire.
2. Look at what you have in common.
3. Be loyal and give.
4. Stay connected, don’t just call when you need something.
And remember this: the best networkers connect with others for long-term relationship-building, without knowledge of what, specifically, that relationship will ultimately bring to their lives.
Now, you already know what to do, so what are you waiting for? I have 2 great opportunities for you to get to know other fabulous likeminded women.
– Join our High Tea this Sunday and start building your tribe.
– If you can’t join me on Sunday, don’t worry! I got you. On Tuesday the 3rd of July I will be giving a free personal branding masterclass. If you are serious about your personal branding, you should join this free session in the evening.
Hope to see you then!
XOXO,
Nancy
It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing
‘It don’t mean a thing
If it ain’t got that swing
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)’
This song was made famous by the most delightful voice and extraordinary singer that ever existed in jazz: Ella Fitzgerald. Like the famous hit from the eighties: ‘Ella elle l’a’. This translates to Ella she’s got it! And girllll did she have it!
She is known for hits such as:
So let’s talk about Ella this week and what personal branding lesson we can learn from her. Because her story is very special and inspirational and needs to be told!
Ella was a jazz enthusiast from a very young age. She was a fan of Connee Boswell of The Boswell Sisters. ‘I was attracted to her immediately. My mother brought home one of her records and I fell in love with it. I tried so hard to sound just like her.’ Ella once said.
In 1934 she took part in an Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in NYC. She was only 17 and won! Here’s the interesting part: she entered the competition as a dancer. But when she saw that she had some stiff competition in that department, she opted to sing instead. It was the first big step toward a career in music. She joined a band, but even then she was very shy. She kept to herself and dedicated herself to her craft. This worked to her advantage. She became known in the thirties as The First Lady of Song.
Later on she would also act in movies and even became friends with Marilyn Monroe. Of their friendship she said: ‘It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the ’50s. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him — and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status — that the press would go wild. The owner said yes and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard… After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again.’
In 1958 Fitzgerald became the first African American woman to win a Grammy Award. After that she became a legend and was known as a great singer because of her diverse range. She began as a swing singer, moved to bebop, she sang perfect scat, was an extraordinary jazz vocalist, but also moved along with modern times.
In 1991, Ella who once said: ‘the only thing better than singing is more singing’. Ella passed away in 1996 leaving the world with her beautiful voice as a gift.
What I love about Ella’s story is that it was all about one thing: PASSION.
‘It makes no diff’rence
If it’s sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Ev’rything you got
Without passion it doesn’t mean a thing. You have to give all you got! You won’t have a personal brand working for your career if you don’t share it with passion!
XOXO,
Nancy
The Greatest
Personal branding is mostly about staying relevant (to your preferred audience) and being unique. So let’s focus on your uniqueness this week.
‘I’m free to be the greatest, I’m alive
I’m free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest
The greatest, the greatest alive’
Who better to use as a great example than the great Sia. These are lyrics from her hit “The Greatest” and I will explain to you why focusing on your unique qualities is really important and how it will be your road to authentic personal branding.
I truly believe that everyone has a unique something that is just very much “you” and is precisely useful to those around you.
But so often I hear:
1. ‘I am not special and have nothing to offer.
2. ‘I don’t know what my uniqueness is.’
3. ‘Huh, I should focus on being unique?’
Yasss girl, because fitting in is overrated! You have to determine what makes you unique.
So what can we learn from Sia?
1. Do it your way, don’t be a copycat.
Sia refuses to show her face. On TV, in magazines and even in her live performances. She always sings with her back to the audience, accepts her awards through someone else wearing her signature wig, hides her face in the photoshoots she appears in. She does not want to be seen. That is kinda not how a lot of popstars act, right? But we have come to know this as her unique thing.
2. Tell the world where to look.
Her signature haircut is at the center of her personal brand. About this she said: ‘I thought, well, what about my blonde bob? If Amy Winehouse was the beehive…’. That is how she is known to the world.
3. Do what you enjoy doing the most and what comes easily.
Sia isn’t only a singer, but also a very successful songwriter. In the past few years, she has written numerous hits for Rihanna (Diamonds), Beyonce (Pretty Hurts), Britney Spears (Perfume) or Ne-Yo (Let Me Love You). Other credits include Christina Aguilera, Lea Michele, Katy Perry, Rita Ora and even this year’s Worldcup song! About songwriting she says: ‘I really feel like I’ve nailed songwriting, it’s my specialty, it’s what I’m good at. It’s my special skill. It’s what I got when God was handing out things. I feel lucky about it, it comes really easily to me’.
4. Be clear on what matters to you, what you think is important.
She doesn’t want to be famous. She is very clear about that. That is also why she does not show her face. ‘I’ve been writing pop songs for pop stars for a couple years and see what their lives are like and that’s just not something I want.’
5. Embrace your eccentricities (things you find weird or strange about yourself).
The fact that she never does interviews or promotion has been weird, but now has worked for her because now her brand is a mystery brand. We all like the fact that she is a weird artist. She build her brand her way.
‘Don’t give up, I won’t give up
Don’t give up, no no no
Don’t give up, I won’t give up
Don’t give up, no no no’
If you want to find out more about personal branding, come to my free personal branding masterclass on Sunday. I will explain to you how this will not only further your career, but also give you more confidence!
XOXO,
Nancy
Sound of Silence
‘Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again’
This song (written by Paul Simon) is about our inability to communicate effectively with one another and about how we easily accept the opinions of the media.
The song reminds me of this saying by the spiritual teacher Ram Dass:
‘The quieter you become, the more you can hear.’
Ram Dass wrote a book called ‘Be Here Now.’ It is a book on spirituality, yoga and meditation. Three things I have incorporated in my personal branding method. Because I truly believe branding comes from the inside out and not from the outside in. You have to feel good about yourself to show the world the best of yourself.
So do what feels good I say.
But how do you find out what feels good?
You have to go back to your inner workings. And yoga and meditation help you to get on the right path. It makes it easier to discover what you really want, instead of being influenced by the outside world. My dear friend Cammy Mai Lombardi has taught me about the 7 chakra’s and especially for Renew Yourself Week she developed a 5-step yoga program based on this. The yoga that Cammy taught us is slow, painfully slow. You cannot stretch your muscles for 5 seconds, she lets you do each stretch for almost a minute. We did this every morning waking up and it is the best way to start the day. We then continued after breakfast with meditation and to me that is just the process of becoming aware. Aware of your environment and your breath. It is not about pushing thoughts away. So when your awareness is heightened, you can truly feel what you want to do.
And knowing what you want to do is step 1 when it comes to defining your personal brand.
What do you want to achieve in your career?
I remember reading about Tina Turner and how meditation helped her. She used a buddhist mantra for her meditation : ‘Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.’ This means: ‘I honor the Universal Mystical Law of Cause and Effect.’
Tina said “What the practice does—it helps me to not be upset easily… It helps you to think different. If you think different, you think correctly….so it can help you get the things you really want…”
Hope this helps you to find out what you really want. If you need more help register here for my free personal branding masterclass where you can find out how I can help you build your brand.
XOXO,
Nancy