There are no objective reasons for spiritual folks to store any second thoughts or reticence toward personal branding as envisioned by Dan Schawbel and other personal branding luminaries. Far from it. In fact, engaging in the personal branding process can be of one of the most uplifting, rewarding and profoundly spiritual experiences of our lives. For that to happen, our personal branding must be aligned and working in perfect unison with our spiritual values and practices. Any level of internal discord or doubt will translate into conscious or unconscious self-sabotage which will impede our personal brand from developing into its full potential and will bring on negative consequences for our personal and professional fulfillment.
If you are a spiritual person (I’m using the term in its broadest possible sense and including those who practice any form of organized religion and those who don’t), your definition of success will in all likelihood go beyond mere money-making and into developing a more meaningful relationship with the All and somehow contributing to your fellow human beings while you remain true to your calling. There is absolutely no conflict between the four goals I’ve just mentioned and making sure you internalize this assertion and turn it into a conviction that drives you forward every single day of your life is one of the first steps toward building up a brand that delivers. But before that happens, you must have engaged in Step 1 of your Personal Branding – the discovery phase – as Dan teaches us in ‘Me 2.0‘ and taken a long, honest and serious look into yourself that reveals the often hidden truths about your personality, idiosyncrasy and the values that drive you.
This phase is critical since it is only out of an earned feeling of conviction that you will find the energy to develop your brand, give the best of yourself and use your skills and talents to achieve the results that you deserve. If you are spiritual, that conviction will only be there if you are endowed with a feeling of certainty that results from knowing that your cherished goals, your aspirations and your achievements serve a purpose higher than yourself and are somehow blessed from above. One of the most empowering beliefs to secure that certainty is that God/The Universe/the Tao (please feel free to use any other name you are comfortable with for the Unnameable) somehow wants you to give the very best of yourself at every stage of your life and that by so doing you are progressively getting one step closer to your true Origin and your true Destiny. And I am yet to find a major spiritual tradition that does not actively support this belief.
Why are we here? What’s the meaning of it all? And what are you (yes, you!) specifically doing in this planet at this particular point in history? These are questions that we all ask ourselves individually as well as collectively as human beings and that religions and spiritual traditions East and West seek to give an answer to, coloured as they are by the cultural backgrounds that gave them birth. As we all try to make sense of our common human adventure and face countless experiences in our lives from the time we are born until we are called to leave the land of the living, we are all being asked to rise beyond our limitations, to look beyond our circumstances and to connect with that inner Light that is ready to offer the guidance we need every step of the way if we only care to listen. Align your personal brand with that Light without fear and you will have found the best companion to walk by your side on the road to your ultimate destiny. And many of us are ready to walk with you too.
