"Building your personal brand should not be an activity of self-interest, but rather a commitment to the outcome you are looking to cause with the people who believe in what you believe.”
- Jared Yellin
When people talk about their personal brand from a self-serving standpoint it makes me cringe…
Listen, if that works for them - I am overjoyed - but it does not work for me so if it happens to also not work for you - then please keep reading because I have a feeling what I am about to share will help you re-identify with WHY self-promotion (aka BUILDING A PERSONAL BRAND) matters…
For me, my “personal brand” is for…
My kids...
My wife...
My team...
My movement...
It has NOTHING to do with me NOR does it make me feel special, important, or do I measure my worth based on it.
It’s just my responsibility within the cog within the wheel within the movement that we are building at CILA Labs and at SYNDUIT and...in the YELLIN HOUSE!
And if/when in the future someone else shows up in my life where passing the “personal brand” baton makes sense - I am 100000000% eager and willing to do this…
Okay, now for you…
What if your personal brand was NOT for you personally, but rather for the outcome you are causing…
For the movement you are building…
For your freakin family.
What if you NEVER measured your worth based on the response or reaction to your personal branding effort AND INSTEAD recognized that this was simply…
Your responsibility…
Within the cog...
Within the movement...
That YOU are building.
I find the concept of personal branding to be polarizing…
Many LOVE it for all the wrong reasons…
Others HATE it for all the wrong reasons…
And MOST don’t understand it!
But I really want to make sure that you walk away from this article realizing why it’s THAT important…
Your personal brand is what YOU see when you look in the mirror - FIRST and FOREMOST!
Your personal brand is what YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER sees when you wake up each day!
Your personal brand is what YOUR KIDS see when they come home from school!
Your personal brand is what YOUR TEAM experiences when you lead them from the front!
Your personal brand is what STRANGERS witness when you don’t even know they are watching!
I hope you are getting my point here…
Because far too many people think PERSONAL BRAND is who they are from the outside looking in but in reality it's who they are from the INSIDE looking OUT!
Who people THINK you are on Instagram or Facebook or TikTok should be who you ACTUALLY are!
This is why I think personal branding has become soooo darn foggy…
You see people posing…
You see people pranking…
You see people preaching…
You see people hating…
You see people complaining…
You see people differently than how they actually are in the world and for real, authentic, integrity-based humans - personal branding has a bad reputation.
What You See Is What You Get For Better Or For Worse!
I am unapologetically ME!
The dad you see…
The husband you see…
The son you see…
The brother you see…
The leader you see…
The entrepreneur you see…
Is what I SEE when I LOOK in the mirror…
I see dedication…
I see commitment..
I see integrity…
I see love…
I see insane intensity…
I see a leader…
And this is my personal brand and I don’t fake who I am or what I am in order for the world to accept or reject me - I am just who I am...PERIOD!
This is my hope for you…
If you have been faking it - it’s time to change!
If you have been hiding it - it’s time to change!
Because the REAL YOU must show up and it must show up boldly, passionately, and full of authenticity so that it feels right to SHOW UP with your PERSONAL BRAND portrayed to…
Yourself
Your lover
Your kids
Your team
Your world!
And remember this…
Your Personal Brand is simply…
Your responsibility…
Within the cog...
Within the movement...
That YOU are building.
This is why I encourage you to let the world see what you see - for better or for worse - and to be proud of your perfectly imperfect self.
I believe in you…
Gain the courage…
BE YOU!
Live with Intention, Jared