Maegan LujanEveryone has something that makes them smile. For me, it’s gardening.
I love spending time in the garden, tending my herbs, fruits, and vegetables. It’s a rewarding blend of art and science that yields nourishing results.
I relate it to growing as a thought leader in the tech industry. It’s something that takes:
- Time
- Dedication
- Consistency
- Agility
- Nourishment
Growing as a thought leader doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a lot of time to be allocated aside from what you’re currently doing in your day job. The dedication needed to ensure your brand pivots in the right direction is significant. Plus, once you begin working on your thought leadership, you need to be consistent. With this consistency comes the agility to always be forward-thinking and ready for any changes that may need to be made abruptly.
Although all of the components intertwine and are needed in the growth process, by far, the important one is nourishment. Similar to gardening, you need to frequently check in on your progress and continue to water your brand consistently. Whether that is with quality content, engaging with your community, or simply assessing the direction of your brand and what the next step is.
I see the parallels that gardening plays in life as we grow – especially in mine, as I consider myself a cultivator. Through these parallels, I enjoy showing people how they also can intentionally grow.
It’s about intentional vision: Seed to harvest
Plants can’t grow or blossom without proper care and foundation. Neither will your personal brand if you don’t lay out the fundamentals.
As someone who enjoys gardening and spends a lot of time taking care of the fruits and vegetables I grow, I can tell you the key to succeeding is having a vision.
It’s essential to lay out the steps for your brand to launch successfully.
Just as you don’t throw the seeds all over the garden and hope it grows itself, you need to have a purpose and envision how you want your garden to bloom.
Without identifying the purpose and vision, all your efforts will evaporate. So will the seeds you planted.
In my new book, A Million Little Clicks, which is launching soon, I help you walk through all the steps you need to take without going through all the little clicks yourself to get there.
A vital seed to plant while growing your personal brand is your mission and vision. Take for example brand CEOs who see the big picture. They craft the brand’s mission and vision. They plant the values and principles of the brand within their culture and use the brand identity to story-tell their unique passion and purpose.
Based on the successful launch of my personal brand and the best practices I used, I wanted to create a resource to help other businesses and professionals, like you, do the same.
To discover your purpose you must have a vision. Ask yourself:
- What position do you want in the next few years?
- What will your path look like given what you are doing today?
- Are you charting the path you see yourself living down the road?
- Are you willing to change the little habits you are accustomed to for success?
For example, I’m an early riser. Always have been. I like to make sure I’m up early to chase the sunrise. It’s my way of making sure my day begins with a purpose and, of course, positivity. I can’t think of a better way to accomplish this than to chase the sunrise at the start of each morning.
Starting the journey at the top of the peak of the mountain (or in this case the day) gives you the widest horizon and ability to chart your own course. And, to chart your own course with your personal brand, you need to define your purpose.
By defining your purpose, you will be able to pursue your passion and you must not be afraid of failure and loss while doing so.
Remember, If you do the work, there will always be more opportunities. Sometimes those opportunities may lead to failure. But failure leads to essential lessons to build upon the next time. Don’t let the fear of failure keep you from seizing the opportunity.
I’m here to help you see your vision come to fruition and can’t wait to help you on your personal branding journey.
