Start Telling Your Story Like King David
Last weekend I met an old friend at a wedding, and in between small chops and drinks, he asked me, “what’s that thing you’re always talking about? Personal branding? What’s it exactly? Does it mean you have to become an influencer?”
I laughed and said, “Absolutely, not!”. I wasn’t surprised by the question, cause at my workshops and 1-on-1 coaching sessions, I spend a lot of time dispelling myths about Personal Branding. Of course, I had to explain to him what it meant. Yet, it surprises me how much people get wrong about Personal Branding. I’ve been teaching on this topic for some time now and I spend a lot of time educating my audience about WHY they need to be intentional about building their image/personal brand.
Here’s what you need to know: Personal Branding is about telling your story. That’s an oversimplification but let me explain.
Telling your story is a powerful tool for building a strong and compelling image (personal brand) for yourself. It’s not just about telling people what you do (although that’s important), but also about why you do it, how you got there and what makes you unique from other people in your field.
David vs. Goliath
Let me tell you another, it is an Old Testament account of a young shepherd turned king. It is the story of King David. But before he was king, as a teenager he faced a huge battle that changed his life forever. The story goes that he was sent by his father to check on his brothers at the war front. His nation was at war with the Philistines. On arrival, young David saw the Philistine giant called Goliath boasting about no one being able to defeat him. David, irritated by this claim, approached his King, telling him that he could defeat the giant because he had defeated lions and bears when they tried to attack his sheep in the past. He told his story, showed that he could do the work and shared why he believed he could win: cause God was with him.
It’s time to face your own Goliath. David wouldn’t have gotten a chance if he’d not proven that he’d faced lions and bears. Whether you’re an entrepreneur trying to get more sales or a career professional looking for better job opportunities, you need to start telling your story. Not everyone will like your story, David’s brothers didn’t. King Saul heard David’s story and gave him a chance. All you need is to hit publish to the right audience and they’ll hopefully give you a chance too. Your audience will “buy” into you because they “buy” into your story. That’s why it’s time to start telling your story.
Why Are You Running?
If you’re already telling your story then bravo to you, you should tell more of it though. Sharpen your storytelling skill and finetune your audience reach. In another post, I’ll go into detail about why and how you should share your stories but I’ll leave you with this:
- Conquer the fear of being judged, the obstacle is the way.
- Everything you’ve gone through in your life has led to this point, don’t be afraid of your history. It’s part of your journey to success.
- Tell the stories of your “small” previous successes, it’ll compound in the future.
Four More Things
- Download my book, FIRED-UP: Launch Your Personal Brand, Share Your Story, Build Community & Make A Living Doing What You Love, for FREE (use the promo code “FIRE100”. I’m updating it and Version 2 will be released at the end of October.
- Register here for the 30-Day Personal Brand Accelerator Challenge, starting on 28th October. You’ll learn how to tell your story, find an audience, and monetise your personal brand in 30 Days!
- New episodes are up on The FIRED-UP Podcast. Listen here Spotify or Apple.
- I help build brands and businesses tell their stories so they can get the attention they deserve. Email me (jesse@thefireworks.co), and let’s work together.
