Tag: Being You

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5 Life transforming Quotes

Sharing with all of you another set of powerful quotes that helped me sail through life and transformed the way I look at life. The words are few but the impact they had on me was life transforming. So here are some powerful insights that will shake up your life.“Why do you stay in prison when the door is wide open?”~ Rumi

We always see this world as restrictive, always finding ourselves being stopped and suppressed by this world and what we do is putting the blame on poverty,unemployment and what not . We think that world is stopping us but most of us don’t think that it is we stopping ourselves” I cant do that”, ” That’s not possible for me”, ” How can I do it?”, does’nt all this sounds familiar. The reality is that we are afraid of the vast possibilities waiting for us out there and find comfort in something comfortable. Whatever we wish to do, if we start for it today , if we dare to think about it, dare to live in it, there is nothing we cant achieve. So, stop being afraid of your dreams. Every person is capable of everything. Don’t let your mind blur your vision of life.

“I Stopped explaining myself when I realized people only understand from their level of perception” We always keep explaining ourselves to others but we must know this that we wont be able to please everybody, however hard we may try, we wont be able to live upto anybody’s expectation, the only one we can please is ourselves. Everyone will see you from their eyes, their prejudices and their attitude. So, stop justifying your actions to others. I have heard people saying ” I could’nt sleep yesterday so I am sleeping now”, why I mean why do we need to justify everything that we do, cant we simply say that I want to sleep and that is why I am sleeping. So, stop explaining yourself to others but do what you feel like, even if you make a mistake, say sorry but don’t justify for we all are humans and evey time you make a mistake, you justify the divine plan which made us imperfect, so stop pleasing others, just be yourself because no one will ever see you as you see yourself.

The more I feel imperfect, the more I feel alive”¬ Jhumpa lahiri

It saddens me to see that so much life is wasted in trying to prove that we are perfect. The world never designed us for perfection. Yes we can always strive for it but in that process we must never lose the essence of being a human being. We are so full of light and darkness but all the time we try to prove that there is only light within us. Our rejecting the dark side which is very much a part of us is the leading cause of all unhappiness. Why cant we say that I did a mistake because I am human and why cant we get rid of those silly excuses that we make to show that we are epitome of perfection.

All creative heads were successful because they never strive to become ‘normal’, they never thought of themselves as the perfect person. As a famous man once said that without a tinge of madness, there can be no creativity. So, don’t try to become perfect because imperfection is the new perfection. ”You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens”¬ Rumi

Every relationship, every struggle and every pain in life has a purpose. Till the time we don’t understand the essence of pain, we wont be able to understand the nature of happiness. In our life we encounter love, hate, jealousy and all other emotions, our heart breaks so many times but just as diamond gets polished by rubbing it against stone. Similarly ,the more we are rubbed by life, the more pain we see, the more we know the worth of happiness. Heartbreaks and loss may jam us for a while but when the heart opens again, it opens much wider than before. So, be great full to all the dark events of your life because more than anything else, these dark moments made you seek true happiness, it made you seek life, it made you seek love more than anything else. Without tasting false love, we would never realize the true one! ”Don’t wait. The time will never be just right”¬ Mark Twain

We always keep waiting for that moment which would change our lives forever because we value one moment over other but what we forget is that all moments are same, each one capable of changing our lives in a second. I wanted to write a book but this dilemma did’nt spare me too, I was always searching for that one moment. It was not under that unusual light or divine guidance that I wrote but it was just a moment which I grabbed and that made all the difference. Time will always be same, each second going by is a chance to live your dream life. The only difference between those who succeed and those who not is that the former make every moment special and the latter leave all moments to search for the special. We must know that all these moments are just made for me.

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5 Life transforming Quotes

All of us are looking for the best philosophy which could transform our lives and lead us to the path of success and happiness. The philosophies are many but they are complex and hard to understand. To say a lot in few words is what creativity is all about. People who have tasted success know that in order to understand life, one must always return to the basic principles which govern this world. Our questions may vary in nature but whether we are seeking success or an astounding career or the perfect relationship, all we desire is a happy and fulfilling life. Today I would like to share with all of you these powerful quotes that helped me sail through life and transformed the way I look at life. The words are few but the impact they had on me was life transforming. So hold on to your seat belt because here comes some powerful insight that will shake up your life.“What you seek is seeking you”~ Rumi

We always think that what we desire to become is out of reach and feel fearful of following our dreams because we think that it is only we who have to find our way towards that desired job or relationship but very few of us know that when we identify ourselves with a job, we find us sharing something common with it and we imagine ourselves a part of it. Similarly, the desired job is also having a space which is just meant for us. What we know is that we are moving towards it but what we don’t know is that job or that relationship is moving towards us with the same speed because we complete each other .

I complete that job and the job completes me. So, we must never doubt our dreams and desires because it is not just us who are moving towards it. Remember the dialogue “Tum jis cheez ko shiddat se paana chahte ho, kayanaat usse tumse milane ki saajish krti hai” “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why?”~Mark Twain

We clearly remember the day we are born but the sad part is that we forget why? The moment we are born, the society throws us into a bind chaotic valley and all we know about ourselves at the end is that we were born on this day and died on other day.This is all we know about ourselves, we never question that why am I here? What is the part that I can play? Why the world needs me? It is not what we do but in what we put our life that matters. I remember a mystic saying that when a cricketer plays a shot, he just puts the ball in a specific direction, it may seem petty but imagine how he puts his entire life into that single ball and that’s what makes him a master of the game.No work is small or big, do whatever you do but put your life into it. Know what is needed or what you desire to do and just get involved into it and that day you will know why are you here. “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong”~ Yogi Rao Sahab

Creativity needs courage because it brings to life something which was’nt there before and what is new will never be understood so easily, people will doubt us, they may disapprove of our new ideas . Its not what people think of us but it is what we think of ourselves that determines our success, if we stop being creative just because it is not conforming to the society, then we can never make a unique space for ourselves. Michael Jackson is a legend not because he did what society wanted him to do but he did leave a mark because he never gave his way to fear and did what he wanted to do. He never judged his creativity, so he was never wrong.So, don’t judge your capability on the faulty scale of societal expectations. ”Whenever you find yourself on the side of majority, it is time to pause and reflect”¬Mark Twain

It is a trend to follow the common path because we feel secure but what we lose in the process is our uniqueness. All of us are irreplaceable because each one of us have a unique purpose whether big or small, if our purpose is unique so is our DNA and so are we then how is it possible that a bunch of people are doing the same thing again and again. So, the next time you find yourself doing something which many have done before, then try to reflect that is it the thing that you were really meant for you. In a world like ours where life has so much to offer, why pick the same cup again and again and if that is the thing you wish to do, then why do the same thing in the same way? “The only thing worse than being blind is to have sight and no vision”¬ Helen Keler

Those who are physically blind feel that they are restricted but those like us who have sight are no better because our sight is so limited that we are no better than blind. All we think about is what I need now, we never dare to go beyond our physical needs. I have seen people who are ready to bargain their talents with a glittery opportunity because it pays them well because all we think about is today. How many of us think that what it is that I want to be remembered for? How many of us see what others dont see about us? How many of us actually believe that we are as good as those who are successful? The reason why dreams appear unreal to us is because we are afraid of the distance between reality and vision and like scared children we just look at what is just present around us.

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Self love- the most underrated love!

As a child, I used to think that scoring good grades will make me happy, then in my teens, I thought that board examination was a way of finding happiness, in my youth days, the definition of happiness changed to having a successful career and finding the perfect spouse. Is it not something that we all share? We keep on growing our material rewards, attaining the best job, the most handsome husband or the most beautiful wife, we do become happy for sometime but that joy never lasts long, isn’t that so? We keep on attaching our joy to the outside world and self love becomes a mere choice, if I do good in my career, I would love myself and if I fail, I would hate myself to the extent of destroying myself by engaging in drinking, smoking and now we have a better escape, the great drug therapy. After a deep introspection I have realized that the cause of our unhappiness is that we have failed to love ourselves unconditionally. Why do we have to do something or prove anything in order to love ourselves? I have realized that the most toxic feeling one can ever cater is that of guilt, because when it occupies your soul, there is definitely no space for self love.

You wont believe me, let me provide you some instances where you will see how we people are suffering each day due to lack of self love. The moment you wake up and plunge into your social media sites, you find a thousand posts of people who are seeking your approval on a picture of them. There are of course those who love to share their experiences with us and that is something appreciable but a big number of them are doing it because they want one reason to love themselves. On the other hand we have those who engage themselves in flaunting, they may seem irritable but they are actually ones who by speaking high of themselves are reminding their own selves that they are capable of love.

Lets shift our focus to movies, the character KABIR SINGH, who has been the centre of a great controversy is also one of our victims of self sabotaging .He is great doctor and has a promising future but that is not enough to make him fall in love with himself. He drinks uncontrollably, abuses unapologetically not because he wishes to be like that but because he has given up on himself and thinks that he deserves nothing but hatred. Another instance we find in Sanju, who is not able to see himself as a match to his father and drowns himself in drugs and filling the bucket of his soul with overflowing guilt.

Self love is not a desire but a need. We don’t question ourselves when we feel hungry or are thirsty, that why do we need to eat or drink? We just do it, am I right? Same goes the story of self love, we don’t need a reason to love ourselves, you don’t have to be a great student or an amazing son or daughter or an excellent businessman to love yourself. I know that we all have darkness inside of us, none of us are black or white, grey has always been the colour of life, we embrace only the light in us and what happens to the darkness, we hide it under the covers and pretension comes into play. 90% of all mental illnesses have their root cause in not embracing our dark side. Self love has nothing to do with our profession or the amount of money we have in our bank accounts, a poor farmer is sometimes capable of loving himself which even the millionaires fail to do. We must understand this that self love is not an option, whether we are doing good in life or not, self love is a must. You may say that how can we expect a villain to love himself, but let me tell you, if there is self love then there is no villainy. We cannot harm ourselves when we are in love with ourselves.

Recently I was going through a beautiful interview given by KATRINA KAIF which beautifully explains the concept of self love. When asked by a reporter, what difference she finds in her old and new self, she beautifully replied that she has started feeling comfortable in uncomfortable moments of life because she knows that not all things outside her shall go her way, she might or might not receive appreciation by her fans but what makes her feel great is her own voice which speaks of her transition as a beautiful girl to a fine actress. It is when we love ourselves, we remain untouched by outside circumstances and that kind of love is never situational and remains unchanged.

The movie KABIR SINGH is making an appeal to us that self love does’nt come from material success or having good values but it comes from embracing your light and dark side as well, of not pleasing others to receive approval, loving yourself as the way you are. When a mother or a father loves her or his child, they don’t attach ‘IF’ to their love, that is the kind of love we must nurture ourselves with. It is not selfish to love our self but this kind of love is empowering.

Self love has the potential to transform our lives, just like Sanju did after he had spent time in rehabilitation center. It makes us see the same world with different glasses, boosting our confidence and making us feeling comfortable in our own skin.

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‘AUTHENTICITY’ – The Skeleton Of Personal Branding

I would like to start this blog by asking you all to close your eyes and imagine the taste of ‘Pepsi’ and try to differentiate it from ‘Coca cola’, what do you feel? Both look alike but are they really same? Does it takes a lot of time for us to differentiate between the two? I don’t think so, it is just a matter of time! Now what we see is that two so similar looking brands differ so greatly that with just a sip of it, we know what is it! We with our strong perception of things are able to distinguish the more sweeter and less fizzy ‘Pepsi’ from the more tangy and fizzier ‘Coca cola’! This is because when we see an object, the moment we experience it, we associate it with certain features and this is how branding happens.

Branding as I have said before is not just limited to things alone but humans do fall under its clutches. Lets go in for another example, for instance, if I ask you to imagine MR Mahendra Singh Dhoni, what all comes to your mind? A calm, cool and an experienced young man with extraordinary genius and profound wisdom! Am I right? So, what did you do? You just branded the ex captain of team India. Just like MS Dhoni, we too are micro celebrities of our lives and we too are branded all the time.

Personal Branding is to actively and consciously associate yourself with certain qualities that precede your name and becomes ‘YOU’. Just like Business Branding, Personal Branding too fetches us some benefits like we are able to define ourselves which is the first step in building a strong personality and opens the gateway for opportunities and professional invites. The statement we make about ourselves enables us to find a unique place for us in the world of duplicates.

The only path to PERSONAL BRANDING is authenticity and uniqueness which are the fundamental basis of it and determine the quality of brand called YOU.

WHAT IS ‘ AUTHENTICITY’?

The word stands for being true to yourself. Authenticity is searching the real you beneath the heap of characteristics people throw at us freely, it is the mild boundary between what we know about ourselves and what the world wants us to know about ourselves. It is the distinction between what we wish to do and what world wants us to do! All the success stories across the globe shout that when we know ourselves, what we really are and what we intend to do, there is absolutely no force stronger than this that can make a person successful! The moment we decide to be our true self, we automatically come in sync with our unique self and we become one of a kind!

ACHIEVING ‘ AUTHENTICITY’ OFFLINE

Branding happens both in offline and online space. To become our authentic self is not an easy job as we are often affected by the world we live in but it is the only way to success if we wish to create a powerful brand. Here are a few tips which might help us in achieving authenticity in our offline space:

1 . Ask yourself what you really wished to do if there were no social obligations that now decide the course of your life

2 . Ask yourself what is your vision even if it sounds unrealistic

3 . Ask yourself what unique skills you possess

4 . If the skills you possess are not unique, ask yourself that how can you use them differently

5 . Form a philosophy for life and define your values and ideals and believe in them wholeheartedly

6 . Reflect your values in your action, behaviour and gestures

7 . Define your goal and try achieving it with values you have based your life on

8 . Form genuine relationships with people and maintain consistency

9 . Maintain consistency of behaviour, action and thought

10 . Keep your eyes firm on the destination but don’t question the various paths that lead to it, learn about each , change directions but not the destination

11 . Do the same thing but in your own unique way

12 . Do or say things which are needed

ACHIEVING ‘AUTHENTICITY’ ONLINE

When you are creating an authentic version of you, then you cannot afford to be two different people at two different times or in two different spaces, so its very necessary for us that our professional and personal life must reflect the same ‘YOU’. Authenticity on Social Media is when your profile wall reflects your life as closely as possible. Here are a few tips one can adopt to create an authentic image on social media:

1 . Use your authentic name, place and date of birth while making a profile

2 . Create a unique and authentic profile name which must be logical, short and in some way connected with your idea

3. Share your likes and dislikes openly and the movements or events you support

4 . Say things you actually believe in and support those things which you associate with and not just supporting it just because others did so

5 . Have an authentic profile picture

6. Have a say on things you have an expertise in! Also go for blogging or other form of expression like making videos and so on

7 . Be consistent in your expression and differentiate your work from others

8 . Improve your visibility by expressing your genuine and new ideas on platforms like LINKEDIn which provides ample of opportunities for us to grow

Whether it be online or offline branding, personal branding cannot be achieved without the framework of authenticity because authenticity brings us in sync with our unique mission and label us with immortal and perennial characteristics which are totally ours and no one shares with us. Our visions vary drastically and so are ideas and we. So the strategy used by one is not a sure path to success, if it suits one it doesnt mean that it might suit all. If our dreams are not alike then why should our actions be? If we are not alike then why should our ideas be? The only road that guarantee you success is the path of authenticity and also the most fundamental process when it comes to Personal Branding.

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Branding is in the air, beware!!

Personal Branding is everyone’s cup of tea and is not just about Actors or Politicians or Businessmen. It is more common than we think. You know what is the difference between a doctor and a patient? both have a fine body system, both pump blood but one takes a breath without being conscious of it and the other knows the process by heart. Now who is at the advantage? Or who can do self care? We all know the answer well, its the doctor! And now answer me that who will run for help in all directions? Yes, ofcourse, its the patient. That is exactly the difference between a person who is ignorant of Branding and a person who knows it well.
Branding happens with each one of us, some remain ignorant towards it while others are much aware of it and become masters of their lives. ‘Branding’ appears to be a commercial term and is like an iceberg, what appears on the surface appears light and superficial but it is deep as hell. I realised lately that ‘branding’ is not just a part of our life but is deep rooted phenomenon and comes out in each word that pours down from your mouth.

Lets take a drive towards ‘Astrology’, the moment we were born, do you remember we being handed over a character certificate by the universe which we call the ‘Janampatri’, just kidding! It makes our life so easy, all steps laid down for us, “at 3 you will walk, at 5 you will talk, at 7 you will dance and at 21 this and at 22 that.” Does it sounds familiar? Jokes apart, it is a valid, authentic and scientific piece of information which at the end of the day might fetch a husband or a wife for you! Are you with me on this? Now lets take a step back, just relax yourself and think about it, what exactly happened with you? The shocking truth is that universe just branded you! Oh my gosh, if universe is doing this to you then spare us guys, for we are just humans!

Lets spare ‘Personal Branding’ for a while because till the time we haven’t tasted branding, we can never understand the true essence of Personal Branding. A large number of us are alien to this process and we are dealing with it, each day and that too ignorantly. The moment we start talking about branding, people start coming up with things like “spare this talk for professionals for we are common people who have nothing to do with brand”  and they put a full stop before things actually begin. The truth is that Branding is shaping our destiny, every single day and we are nodding in ignorance!

When I started becoming conscious of ‘Branding’, I felt transformed and I realized how it was controlling my life up till now. My face, my choices and even my goals were branded by others! The other day I was talking about the increasing number of molestation cases against women and the high vulnerability of women in India, when suddenly out of no where, I heard these words “You are a feminist, don’t you see bad things happening with men out there”. The moment I heard this, I knew I was being branded, everyone would view me in the sane light because that day that girl was painting a false image of mine for other people to see, I sprung up and told her that I was just a common person with a fine sense of judgement who with help of stats could easily weigh the difference in abuse rate of men and women. I told her that I don’t have to be a feminist to see the difference that was obvious. You may wonder what this has to do with personal branding? Wait for a while and you will know what I am talking about. The moment I realized that I was being branded, I decided to refuse the tags which people were throwing at me passively and all of them were going unchecked. That day I decided that I will create my own tags for others to see! I wanted to put out my authentic self and from then, I took charge of my branding by becoming conscious of it and this is my friend, the very moment I met ‘Personal Branding’ face to face.

Branding can control your life to the extent of suffocation. Never underestimate its power. On the other hand, Personal Branding can transform your life in unexpected ways. The other day I was listening to a mystic who beautifully explained the science of Astrology which though authentic is a default map of our lives. It is just like those passive tags people throw at us. If we don’t change the system or put our own program into it, we would be governed by the planet system. The default branding of the universe will carry us throughout our lives. The idea is to take the drivers seat and since branding can never stop, so keep on being branded but doing it actively by throwing out what you wish to take in! If you are satisfied with the passive branding whose victim you already are, then your life will be in hands of people who brand you but the moment you take charge of your own personal branding, then you will make other people see what you want them to see! Don’t let branding control you, be the boss of your own life and make people see or hear what you wish them to see or hear!

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‘8’ fold path to Online Branding!

Social Media has brought about a paradigm shift in the way we see the world, however it faces more criticism than appreciation and negative connotations are attached to it. Many of us till date have not realised its true potential and we call it as waste of time or a pompous show of wealth and beauty. Do you really believe that a virtual thing is capable enough of creating such atmosphere or is it the actions of human which is bringing defame to it? The truth is that we have failed to tap the power of social media. When we talk of ‘ PERSONAL BRANDING’, there can be no better platform than social media. In my previous blog, I have dealt in length with the nature and functions of ‘Personal Branding’ and how it can be summarized in 3 key words, AUTHENTICITY (In Action, Words and Behaviour), UNIQUENESS and VISIBILITY (Both Online and Offline). The best place to start your branding is social media.

If we go back by 50 years from now, let us imagine a situation that there is a person who possess some unique skills but how will he promote himself? By running behind the successful connoisseurs of that field or being at the mercy of his fate? That was the only option at that time but now with social media firming its foot, with one click you can make yourself visible to the entire world.

Whether we love posting for fun or for something serious in nature, we are branding ourselves and people out there are branding us too! With social media, we are always visible to the world and our walls are always making a statement about our lives. In quest of visibility, some people tend to overdo things which create the opposite effect. Just like in our day to day lives, branding also happens online. The world that we occupy will first check our profile before engaging in a dialogue with us.

If Branding is always going to happen, then why not become conscious of what information we are projecting out there?The problem is that we all use social media but very few of us know the correct way of using it. In this blog I would like to provide the viewers with a handful of tips on branding ourselves on social media.

CREATING A PROFILE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The first step to brand ourselves online is by creating accounts on all social media sites like TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN etc. The more sites you are active on, more is your visibility and more is your exposure to the world. One must be well versed with the kind of social media site we are using, for instance, if we are using LinkedIn, it has its own way of expression where we usually share blogs on business strategies and the expression is more intellectual while if we are using Snapchat, then the expression becomes more personal and colloquial. Your profile can be used to promote both personal and professional ideas.

CREATING AN AUTHENTIC PROFILE NAME AND PICTURE

The next step is to create a profile name which must be unique and short but not pompous or vague, it must be easy to pronounce. The name must be close to your original name or it can be even your name or close to the idea you are promoting and must not be easily available specially in your area of expertise. Same must go for profile picture which first of all should be yours and not any fake image copied from Google. Your picture need not to be a formal one but can be casual but decent and your face must be clearly visible.

SHARING YOUR AUTHENTIC INFORMATION

While sharing your information, one must share authentic details including your date of birth, your qualifications, experiences and your personal likes and dislikes. For instance, while creating a profile on LinkedIn, we must give certain keywords like the area of our expertise, our accomplishments and if not then our aspirations and also our experiences which might inspire others.

SHARING IDEAS AND BLOGGING

We must select our area of expertise and must share new ideas on food or business strategies or even spirituality. Whatever we may share, it must be unique and not merely a repetition of what others have already said. We must differentiate our work from others and our ideas must not be contradictory. If possible, then we must take on weekly blogging as a regular intellectual exercise.

BLOGGING CONSISTENTLY

Social Media poses a lot of competition and if we are not consistent in our say then people wont follow us and we will be projected as a erratic person. It must be not like we are posting a dozen ideas in one day followed by a long absence. Also too much variety of thoughts also confuse the viewers, so we must go for limited but impactful ideas.

POSTING AUTHENTIC PHOTOGRAPHS

The pictures you post must be true to life and filter free. Unnecessary pouting must be avoided and one must keep pictures as natural as possible. However there is nothing wrong in knowing the science behind capturing captivating photographs but they must not be too pompous.

MAINTAINING GENUINE RELATIONSHIPS

Your friend list must include people who are genuinely connected to you in some way or who follow you diligently. Social Media is a scanner, it reflects your life better than anything else. The more consistent your relationships with friends and family, the more impact you create on others. Ofcourse you must form new relationships but there can be nothing more mesmerizing than the set of those special people always being present on your walls.

SHARING YOUR PERSONAL MOMENTS, BOTH GOOD AND BAD

Your profile becomes rich when your personal and professional life reflects you in the same way, for instance, Deepika Padukone not only shares her professional life but also also some moments from her personal life which makes the process so real and beautiful. She recently shared a video of her mother imitating some cousin of her. She is also proactive in sharing some sad moments of her life like how she fought against depression. The true essence of using social media is not to show how flawless your life is but also to share the dull moments and hardships of your life so that others can learn from it. Your profile walls say a lot about you, whatever you are sending out there is becoming you, you are making a powerful statement about your life. The next time you post something, then do remember that it is becoming you!

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Brand the life called ‘You’!!

When it comes to ‘Personal Branding’, all we talk about is making Branding a conscious and living process. It is creating our authentic self and finding that unique space in the world of copies. ‘Personal Branding‘ means that we get to decide how people must see us or what we hear about ourselves. It is the process of making others see what we wish to make them see about ourselves. But the only way one can tap this power is by nurturing Authenticity and Uniqueness. Now the question comes up that ‘Why’ is it important? and ‘How’ to go about it?

There are 4 Ws’ of Personal Branding which I would love to discuss one at a time.

Why go for Personal Branding?

You may be an artist or an ambitious entrepreneur but in a world so full of talented people out there, do you find yourself standing out in some aspect? The question is who knows you? Or, if they do know you then what is that they know about you? In most of the cases, we may be known to a group of friends or our next door neighbours or to the people of our colony we live in. Then think about it when no one knows anything about us, how are they going to approach us? People perceive us on the basis of information they receive about us from various sources. So, the only way to show yourself out there is to become visible. To gain success, your reputation must precede your name. These words like ‘Reputation’ or ‘Fame’ are nothing but the quality of information circulating about you!
If you aspire to become an entrepreneur, then till the time your ideas reach out to others, no one will spot you and we shall remain a wasted talent all our lives. Do you want this for yourself? No employer shall hire you without knowing about you. Not just this even for finding a suitable spouse today, one does a lot of research. Everything comes back to your visibility.
For instance, you are going on vacation to a new place and you have no idea about the place, its hotels or other tourist spots. So what will you do? Most of us go to the official webpage of that hotel and learn about its rating, the facilities available and the reviews and then you make a judgement. What they show you online, you believe it with all your heart. Am I right or am I not? This is exactly what we do. Branding in simple terms mean making a statement “This is who I am” , laying down a set of your characteristics and projecting it with conviction.

What to do?

To become a brand, there are two things that need to be taken care of, first we need to be Authentic and secondly we have to identify our Uniqueness.
Authenticity means that we are what we actually are. You cant be two different people when it comes to your professional or personal life. When you have no faces to hide and when you are yourself, you earn trust from people which is the basis of all personal and professional relationships. What is your reaction when you are fooled by the pictures of a beautiful hotel which in reality turns out to be a disaster! Do you find it pleasant? Of course not! Then if you are trying to show something which you are not, then sooner or later you will be caught. Authenticity can never be replaced.

I love Ranvir Singh for the reason that wherever you find him whether on a film screen or a social event or at his home, he is just the same and that’s what make him a great person. Authenticity empowers you because it means you are not afraid to be yourself. Your relationships, your words and even your pictures must be an extension of your personality and not something that you take from outside.
Uniqueness is another dimension that we need to work on. Most of us exist as photocopies. If a person is doing great in something, we blindly follow it without thinking for a second that do I as a person relate to it, is it my extension? Is it really me? I have seen people doing food blogging, if one starts, others follow. There is nothing wrong in it but where is the variety. Thousands of people going to the same place, posting the same kind of food and expecting attention. This is not how things will work. We need to pick just one thing but do it with all the passion that is inside of us. Not even one DNA matches another, then it is for sure that at our fundamental level, we all are unique. We can’t last long in this race of life till we have something which no one has! Write a blog, use the same ideas but do it in way that is only yours. If you promote business ideas, think out of the box, don’t just repeat what other person said. There is a possibility that initially you may not receive the desired appreciation but in the long run, you will win because you are not a copy.

Where?

Be active on Social Media
Its time now to remove the negative connotation from the word ‘Social Media’, I m not judging whether it is good or bad but all I know is that it is our current reality and if we use it to our advantage, then there is nothing better than that. Go for Instagram, Facebook or Twitter or say even Snapchat. There is nothing wrong in it . Say something which you relate to say for instance, fashion, business or anything. Your say counts! What you say becomes ‘You’, so be cautious of what you say. Write a blog or share a picture that you associate with. Never forget you are branding yourself, your words are becoming you! Make a profile, choose a name which is unique and get started right away.

What to write and When to write?

Sometimes on Facebook or Instagram we do get these friend requests with weird names which we often reject. So the next important thing is that we need to create a profile with a unique name which is not shared by anyone, so that when people search you, there must be less number of people competing with you. The name of your profile must be attractive and easy to pronounce.
After making a profile, you need to decide an area of your expertise or even for your personal life, the pictures you select must have some meaning for you. The relationships you form must be genuine. Consistent relationships which decorate your profile walls attract people and make you a loyal and trustworthy person.

Whatever you post must have relevance to you irrespective of what the world demands. Whatever you write or say must be consistent with your daily actions and you must regularize your writing or blogging and must be done on weekly or monthly basis which is even true for your personal life. There are people out there whose personality gets reflected with a single post, one day you get a subliminal post on spirituality and the other day they come with some practical and materialistic tips. Are we trying to fool ourselves or others? What we are doing is purely contradicting ourselves, if you are spiritual then you have nothing to do with the practality of life! That’s the only rule! I am not saying that being practical is something bad but if you just accept it and don’t go on contradicting yourself on social media. That wall is a scanner, if you are not authentic, your name won’t last long!

Offline Branding

Branding is not to be limited to Social Media but it must be an integral part of our existence. We say we are creating our authentic self which means that what we are online we must be offline as well. So what we say or do in our personal lives is very much a part of personal branding. For instance you are in a party, surrounded by people of all kinds who have little or no information about you, so in order to create a unique space for yourself where people remember you in a certain desired way when they leave the party, you need to adopt principles of personal branding like you must be the same person in front of all people out there, you must say things which really matter to you and are consistent with your own life, you must know well the direction you are heading in and you must have impressive communication skills and just by being your true self, you will attract people who admire you and you shall show them what you want to make them see. Everything you say or do in real life, the relationships you hold and your unique personality is exactly what you need to pay attention to in order to create the brand called you. Here too you need to focus on two things, your authentic personality, authentic relationships and authentic style of living and also nurturing your uniqueness as a person.
Making yourself a brand is not something bad but it means that you are the driver of your own life. Somehow life will always brand you but the moment you decide for yourself what you wish to make others see what they want to see in you or hear what you wish to hear about yourself, then you become your destiny!

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Era of Personal Branding

I shall begin with a simple question, ”What comes in your mind when I ask you to think about a KFC burger?” Apart from that drooling, does anything else strikes your mind? I will tell you what goes inside your mind, you visualize a “crunchy” bite with minimum spice. Am I right or am I not? You know what we call it, we call it “Branding”. It is not at all uncommon, its very natural to us that we link specific features to certain objects and when their names come up before us, we are suddenly reminded of its qualities.
Branding is a usual phenomenon in business world. It is also there in our personal lives but it is that we are just not aware of it. From getting up in the morning till late at night, we surround ourselves with all sort of ‘Brands’. Let us go for another example, I usually prefer eating ‘Parle – G’ along with tea. You may find it absurd to talk about Parle – G and what connection does it have with the topic of discussion. But believe me, it does have! When I hear the word Parle – G, I associate it with some qualities like ‘light’, ‘soft’ and tastes like baby food. You may say that there are a good number of mouth melting cookies out there like ‘Bourbon’ or ‘Hide & Seek’ and who can forget everyone’s favourite ‘Oreo’. But in spite of so many mouth watering cookies available in the market, no cookie can ever match the ‘baby food’ taste of Parle – G. I am not against other cookies but every cookie has its uniqueness which can never be replaced by another.
Now the question is that if we are so willing in creating a space for the products we create, then why should we spare ourselves? Are we not important as Parle – G or Bourbon? Do we not deserve a uniqueness like that? Why should we limit ourselves as a ‘Brand’ of some company, sharing its ideals and principles and why not becoming a Brand of life? Why should we live two different lives at the same time? Why can’t we celebrate our uniqueness both at home and office? This is where the concept of ‘Personal Branding’ steps in.

Branding happens everyday!

Remember the time your maternal or paternal uncle or aunt came to see you and what they said, “You look just like your mother, or your nose is like your father, or you have such a bad handwriting, you would surely become a doctor” Does all this sounds familiar? It happens with each one of us, everyday of our lives. We are branded to that extent that somebody else tells us what we must do in life.
Just like the products around us, we too are ‘Branded’ every single day of our lives. When our name comes up, people who know us, associate us with some characteristics which may be good or not, depending upon what we project outside. People mostly brand us when we are not around. There are multitudes of brands out there, some stay for long while others fade away soon, for some their features are so attractive that their fame comes before their name while for others, we need to do a lot of research. Same goes for us, if we are unique and attractive, then our fame comes before our name.

What is Personal Branding?

Branding was initially a common trend among Celebrities, Sports people, Businessmen and Politicians. Like we all know who is ‘Ambani’ or ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ or ‘Amitabh Bachhan’. We don’t need to do a lot of research about them, though distant from us but we know much about them. Personal branding means to create an authentic true copy of our self in front of others, promote it and make our presence feel in the world. It also means to create the ‘Unique You’ which never dies and is never out of trend. In other words when we consciously brand ourselves, we call it Personal Branding. We are not products, but we are no less than products if we allow others to brand us from their perspective. What makes us human is making the process of branding a living and conscious process and living it each day of our lives.

Personal Branding comes from ‘Authenticity’

We see M.S Dhoni choosing advertisements which promote his real life tag line as ‘Captain Cool’, he does so because it matches with his real self, with who he actually is! He is not pretending in front of cameras and when we see him, we know before hand that he is a man of patience and extraordinary calm. He is not leading two lives but what we see on the screen is actually close to what we are told about him. Similarly, Akshay Kumar promotes healthy lifestyle because it is something which really matters to him in his real life.

With Authenticity comes Uniqueness

Like it is said that no two DNA’s match each other, so is true when comes to Authenticity. When we are Ourselves, then we can never be a ‘Copy’, and when we are ‘Unique’, our place can never be replaced. Can this world have another Rajnikant? Of course not, there can be no replica of him, because he is one of a kind. We see that no two brands are absolutely alike, they are all different in different ways and exist side by side in the same market of life.

To become a Brand, Reputation must precede name

For instance, I need help from ‘Sadh Guru’, then do I need to enquire about him?. ‘No’! because his reputation is widespread and comes before his name. But how was it possible? Because with one tap of phone, I can know his entire world but if I need some spiritual advice from a less known mystic, then I would have to do a thorough research and there are chances that I wont trust him in the same way as I put trust in ‘Sadh Guru’. Though he may have all abilities which ‘Sadh Guru’ is blessed with, but just because there is no information about him nor anyone has heard him, he may tend to go unnoticed.

Reputation comes with a sense of Purpose

In order to show yourself and to create an indestructible space for yourself, you need to have a strong sense of purpose behind everything you say or do. There are people who post most carelessly on social media, their posts are so haphazard that one cannot make out who actually they are. This happens when we post things without a true sense of purpose.

Digital Presence makes you visible

Many people blame Social Media and think about it as waste of time. They take excessive pride in staying away from Social Media. But we don’t realize that today it is the perfect platform where our voice could be heard by using it wisely, we surely can create space in this world. Recently I was inspired by a dance team called ‘Team Naach’, a group of girls who reached to such height not solely by their hard work but by consistently sharing their videos on YouTube. They attracted a good number of opportunities by making a strong digital presence.

Say what you want to hear back and show what you actually do!

Whatever we may post on Instagram or Facebook or LinkedIn, it must be in sync with our attitude. We are free to choose what we wish to share but there must be a ‘Why’, ‘What’ and ‘To Whom’, behind our each word. Also, what we show out there, must not be different from whom we actually are. Our relationships must be genuine and there is no room for pretension in world of Personal Branding even if you are the CEO of a great company!  You must be what you actually are!

To conclude, I would simply say that now we have entered an era where ‘Personal branding’ must not be limited to just Celebrities or Businessmen, but it must be a universal phenomenon and each one of us deserves to use it to the best of our ability, because at the end of the day, we all wish to be heard and seen. We must always remember that the only thing which differentiates us from inanimate objects is our consciousness which no product has. We can be a piece of block hit by tags from all sides or I can jump to the drivers seat of my life and redefine the tags which I want to hear for myself. That is what makes us human. The ability to change and to create is what makes us human. Branding is passive but Personal Branding is pure creativity.

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Powerful mantra, To path of Immortal Fame!!!

Why it happens that only few of us are able to leave a never dying imprint while others go unnoticed ? Why only some flowers receive our attention while others bloom and die in silence? Why only few of us are celebrated while others ignored? Are such people different from us. Names like ‘Albert Einstein’ resounds till today, their glory never fade. Let’s take our celebrities like ‘Sachin Tendulkar’, ‘Amitabh Bachhan‘, ‘Lata Mangeshkar’ or even ‘Michael Jackson’, what led to their immortal fame ? Whether you are a businessman or a celebrity, fame is not an easy thing to attain. People have always misunderstood the term ‘Fame’, for they think of it as thousands of people running after them but fame is something which goes much beyond time and space. Fame in real essence is to create a unique space for yourself which is yours forever.. It is not transient. Just because we interpreted the term in a wrong way, the fame we obtain is temporary and is always prone to decay.

Today I will share with you a mantra which will, if followed, will undoubtedly provide us an immortality of fame. These 8 beads of mantras is the key to perpetual fame and success. If you ever wish to be like one of them, then what you are looking for is right here. These 8 aspects of your life can give you immortality of fame. If you ever wish to know what great people do, then just scroll down because here lies the mantra for absolute victory.

1 . Have a Vision

People who enjoy perennial fame are those who have a vision. Vision is not a ‘Plan’. Plans are short lived, they may go well or not depending upon what universe has planned for us but vision is something which is the purpose of your life. In order to attain a unique space, you need to create a unique colour and for that we need a vision. Vision is a long term dream which at first seems impossible and people might doubt you but believe in yourself. Recently, the relativity theory of Albert Einstein got proven after so many years of his existence. A man who laid a theory which had no physical evidence received his honour this year when the first picture of black hole was captured. At one time he was criticized but today everyone believes in him. What he thought was not relevant at that time but today it does.

2 . Change Strategies but not purpose

Life will not go in the way you decide it to go. It will change your direction again and again but whichever direction you take, you must reach the desired spot. Your destination must not change even if the direction changes. Our honourable prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi started his career as a tea seller, he switched professions but his strong sense of purpose made him reach the best place.

3 . Have a higher purpose

A few days back I was going through a famous business story which states that in business world, the most successful people are those who rate purpose over profit. Sublimity in purpose is a must in creating a unique space for us. If our purpose is to attain a lot of money or attention, then the kind of fame we will get will also be materialistic and is bound to decay. Whether in business or any other walk of life, our purpose must be of higher order which serves humanity in some way or is contributing to the world in some way. Mother Teresa attained an immortal fame because her purpose was sublime and was not limited to physical achievements.

4 . Have a Vein for Creativity

As I already said that in order to make a never diminishing imprint in heart of others, you have to create an image which has no copy, which is unique and only yours. It is not a photocopy. We must tap our creative power and nurture our creativity. Rajnikant created an immortal space in history of Indian Cinema not because he was an extraordinary human but because he nurtured his creativity. Acting was not a part of his life but his breath. He lived his creativity and that made the difference. We love Michael Jackson not because he was an exceptional dancer but because he created dance. There will be no other like him because the space he created for himself is unique. He added a shade to the world of dance.

5 . Value Relationships

Our family is the basic unit of existence in society, it is the base of all social interactions, if one is not able to establish a profound relationship with them, we won’t be able to establish any professional relationship ever. So, in order to become a man of substance, it is vital that we must prioritize our family. Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are often seen spending quality time with their daughters. Virat Kohli is not only an excellent cricketer but a caring husband too. Mahatma Gandhi had stopped eating salt for his wife. Beautiful relationship with family manifests in our professional lives as well.

6 .Self Care

In order to provide fuel to others, your own tank must be filled completely. To become successful in life, it is vital that we must give ourselves the ‘Me Time’. When we introspect, take proper rest, take refreshing trips or just back off from all the work for a day or two. Detaching ourselves from our work freshens us up and refresh our motivation. Self care also include working out on daily basis, talking to a psychologist occasionally, nurturing our talents etc. Madhuri Dixit often takes out time for her dancing in spite of being a well established actress. Give yourself a break!!

7 . Competence and self discipline

Competence is the ability to learn new things which broadens our horizon, adds depth to our personality and improve our language disciplines. Also, self discipline is the art of control where we challenge ourselves on a daily basis. With self discipline, we become our best competitor. Sharukh Khan loves reading on a daily basis and Akshay Kumar has a habit of getting up by 5 in the morning .

8 . Growing spiritually and changing poison into medicine

We all are spiritual beings and our soul is the constant source of energy. So to replenish our inner being, one must put faith in divine power because when we are one with the spirit, we are never out of fuel, we can never be defeated. It makes us grounded and fearless.

It is truly said that. ‘If a thing does’nt kill you, it makes you stronger’. So the more number of challenges you face, the more brightly your life would shine. Difficulties are to carve you in a shape you desire to be in, so whatever poison you may encounter in your life, consume it like a medicine. Every hurt you face in life comes with a lesson, forget the pain, learn the lesson and move on. One day all of those poisons shall transform into a healing medicine and all those broken lines will join together to make a beautiful curve of success. The perspective you hold when you encounter a difficulty makes all the difference.

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My Body, My Rules!

Life is such an ironical tale that the subtle things we tend to ignore are the ones which weigh the most. A few days back, a similar incident transformed into a big issue which is troubling my heart for past two weeks. I was doing my work and there was someone talking of some girl. I was not a part of the conversation but the voices coming up weren’t able to escape my ears. I was not totally attentive and rather I was passively listening to the conversation. I heard that the girl was beautiful and had fairy like eyes. From the description, I was able to sum her up as a fair, independent and charismatic young lady. Then suddenly there was an obstruction, the tone of the voice changed and it was like a speedy vehicle was suddenly given a powerful brake. The word ‘but’ hit my ear and after that what I heard was no longer some ordinary discussion, not even a national issue but something of a vast magnitude. I heard that the girl was ‘fat’, I know you would say that now I am being over – dramatic but if you continue listening to me, you will realize that we had actually underestimated the harm it poses to humanity. The girl was rejected by him because she was overweight. The boy demanded photographs one after another in different poses and considered her not suitable for a wife because her contour was not confirming to the set standard.

I realized the illusion we all are living in. Just imagine a fine talented and educated woman was rejected just because of her body contour. Just imagine the impact of those words on the mind of that innocent girl. If we put ourselves in that place then we would realize that how painful a process it is when a person feels ashamed of their own body. Thousands of good virtues faded in front of the artificial light of the body.

Another day while I was strolling in the park, I heard a child sobbing all by himself. I asked him gently, “what happened to you child?”  he replied back, “I left my football team because they all teased me that I was too thin and that I dont have the strength to even lift a football”. The words coming from his immature mouth pierced my heart and suddenly the terms ‘fat’ and ‘thin’ started appearing more obnoxious than they ever sounded. I felt disgusted that the size of our body is deciding the course of our life!
These subtle stories though simple in appearance are raising heavy questions. Why is a fat person assumed to be a poor dancer? Why is an over weight girl rejected for marriage? Why a malnourished and skinny model is admired? Why does the sweet post maternal fat keeps the young mothers awake? In fact, why does the word ‘fat’ or ‘thin’ exist at all?
Does all these things appear insignificant? Am I truly being hyperbolic? I don’t think so! These questions further are raising a more fundamental question, ‘are we reducing weight to get ‘healthy’, or to ‘please the society’?’ Many of us didn’t even know that the two things are different from each other.

Let us consider an example, suppose there is a girl who is overweight and there are two friends namely ‘A’ and ‘B’. One day ‘A’ said “Tina you must lose weight otherwise you will become susceptible to other diseases”. Following her, ‘B’ said, ”Tina you must lose weight otherwise you will not be selected in the dance competition”. Both the questions aim at encouraging Tina to lose weight but don’t you think they are poles apart from each other when it comes to their approach. After experiencing these hurtful incidents, I realized that the boundary between what is healthy and what is socially acceptable is getting merged. What we are doing today is not for ourselves but because we wish to confirm to the set standards of society.

It pains me that how carelessly we dart such insensitive remarks with so much ease without realizing that these words which are insignificant to us may actually mean a world to others. The worst thing in life is to make someone feel less of themselves. Just imagine the pain in the eyes of that girl who is not accepted because she is not as society wants her to be. One day these stereotypes shall grow into poor self esteem, lack of confidence and other psychological disturbances which will affect our lives every single day.

The demarcation between ‘healthy advice’ and ‘body shaming’ is hazy and many innocent people are suffering from it . Health has nothing to do with fat or thin. For me, health is when you are happy with your life.
People won’t stop saying things and we cannot stop them as well. All I believe is in loving your body unconditionally because only you should be the critic of your life and your body is not out of proportion but a variation which is like a new shade. For others to love you, first dare to love yourself.