No such path.

 

No. I am not kidding. There is no such set in stone blaze path where the lights of success will guide us to walk on it and say, ‘yes that’s where I am at!’

 

By that don’t mean walk with blinders and assume you just got lucky.

 

But how you can define it for your advancement is this way: be contextual and strive for the north.

 

When you are working, you figure out the de facto job ‘contexts’ that need more of your contribution than the other. This again can be found in the roots of the pareto principle 80:20 – i.e. 20% of the tasks that can yield you  return of 80%.

 

However a more efficient way of looking at this scenario is to not think of 20%; instead think of 5-10% – i.e. cream de la cream of job tasks that puts you in the top performance zone. Sometimes by not putting barriers or limits to your definition of efficacy – i.e. the pareto principle – you grow faster!

 

Now what does this mean for your personal brand?

 

We all individually are pitted against the bigger competition for standing out in the pack. And with more and more detailed job nuances to tend to, we somehow need to define the term advancement to actually grow.

 

So what is advancement, anyway?

 

It is that continual, incremental, little by little – which over a period of time becomes a leap – improvement to parlay our personal brand’s chief competencies into efforts and make it constant.

 

Here are a few ways that will help you pivot your personal brand towards north.

 

  • Read a book a week. Don’t know how? Read this piece by Peter Bregman on ‘how to read a book a week’, here.
  • Work on the essentials and delegate the rest, strategically. This is well articulated in Greg Mc.Keown’s book, Essentialism on how to focus on the critical few instead of trivial many.
  • Instead of being a perfectionist, have a ‘growth’ mindset. J.T.O’Donnell mentions in on her post on 1 Simple Technique To fast-Track Your Career that if you adopt the technique of Experience + Learn = Grow model, you will grow faster. By not getting emotion, lament or festering in between your learning (that is when you make mistakes or fail), you will be on your way to becoming the most successful professional in your field.
  • Write a blog. Or if you feel you don’t conform to the standards of writing good enough, don’t worry; start participating in your industry discussions and share epic content online. You will slowly start finding your voice as a writer by listening more intently on what’s brewing online and how you connect with inspiring people.
  • Always keep moving forth. Don’t settle for anything less that doesn’t keep par with your personal calling. Constantly iterate the purpose of your brand and sync with the larger world of your niche.

 

This system or the process that bring out the most thorough preparedness and readiness will become your guiding light in becoming a promising brand.

Always look at the North Star.

How are you advancing as a brand?