Paul Renaud taught us something very interesting yesterday about the importance of having that something that has you remembered to other people and gets them attracted to you. This is of course a marketing concept that can be applied to any type of branding, including personal branding, that very popular thing nowadays, with all the freelancers "running" around. That special power is nothing more than a shtick.
The easiest road to success once you identify your special power is to "listen to the music". Pay attention to everything around you and of course give your best shot everytime. Music is after all an international language...so do not worry about barriers...they are all in your head.
Not very long ago, I joined the world of recruiters....in a modest way. I love research and I love talking to people, so the job is nothing but a pleasure for me. During Paul's presentation yesterday I realized that I always ask my candidates to identify their shtick. I usually ask for qualities other people find in them and then qualities they find in themselves. Surprisingly, or not, these don't match. For me this is surprising because people are clearly aware of their shtick (the qualities seen by others), but would rather define themselves differently and aim for something else. Weird...
I remember I was once in this situation when I did my 360 degrees LSI and realized that I see my self as a very red aggressive person, with not so much empathy to share, while people were seeing me as a very blue helpful individual. I did not go through with the test until the end and didn't try to understand what I should change (tests are stupid right?! especially when the result is not exactly what you would have liked to hear :P). Now this got me thinking...There are though many other feelings that change our normal state of mind in various moments, and for me injustice is the worse. Every time I get the slightest feeling of betrayal I flip...sometime I can just smell it around me...and not always, but most of the time, I get to be proven right...which is very heartbreaking for me and it totally ruins my balance.
So, in the end, I guess it is not that easy to carry the shtick. The burden of being as others see us all the time, can be a cloth too heavy to wear on a daily basis. So maybe that's why subconsciously we choose to see and think of ourselves differently!?
Anyway, if you would ever like to become a "brand" at any level (global, local, at work or at home) you have to identify, accept and carry your shtick with you all the time. No time off what so ever, but this could be your road to success. I am sure at the end it's just a matter of perspective.
So, what is your shtick?!