I missed attending a short training course I was told about called "Building a Personal Brand", but it is a topic I have thought about and it has relevance for me as a writer.
How would I describe my personal brand to my readers? I write about different ways to view everyday subjects and thereby a change in perception. I write about my view of the world, which is often very different from the norm. I write about all I have learnt on my own journey, much of this from leadership skills trainig courses, yet I see that this information learnt is of relevance to everyone, not only to leaders. And I see that I write about what people are normally advised to steer clear of. I write about the things I see that irritate me and where I think things should be different. I write about religion and sometimes about politics, though not politics from a political party point of view, just things that I see as possibly pertaining to politics, for example, that I disagree with majority votes or my views on discimination. In short, what I write is personal opinion.
A book expert once asked me, how am I qualified to write about the topics that I do write about. My first reaction was to go on the defensive, as I felt on the backfoot, and to retaliate with my expertise: I mentioned that I have a degree with a major in psychology and that I have attended a number of short personal leadership courses, but yet I realise that this did not really qualify. For me to be seen as an expert, I would need to study more. But would a postgraduate degree really make a difference to who I already am? Ultimately, no, though many of my ideas are fluid and change as I gain new insights. I hope the ideas can stand on their own, irrespective of who I actually am, and for my readers to ponder and come to their own insights. I see myself as a catalyst for change, as people may disagree with what I write, but then this may spark additional views and insight.
What is important to me is that I write about what I know. I am qualified to write about my topics because I have lived them. I have not researched my topics extensively, in fact when I first began to write, I made a point to steer clear of research so I could write what I know and how I see things without being influenced by others. Of course, I did not come to these insights alone and I have read widely and some of what I write about may have been part of my psychology studies too, but I don't always remember which parts were, because the knowledge is an innate part of me now and is the sum total of my experiences.
I may research my topics more extensively to write further books, especially as I would like to put down some of the key learnings I found useful. Hopefully I will get there someday.
My personal brand is life; complicated and oft painful life as I see it through my own lenses of perception. I hope you may find some of your own insights through my viewpoints. I would love to take a journey with all who read my thoughts and thereby to expand my perception to greater insights in future.
Link to related blog articles:
What is the business case for my blog?
Who do I write to?
Why did I write my (first) book?
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