Those personal branding and networking breakout sessions at the "Inspiring from Within" conference were awesome and def inspiring. Donna Messer had to follow a juggler, but she really energized the room, networking with more people in 10 minutes than I probably have in the past 10 months. Blah, blah, blah, enthusiam ... blah, blah passion ... blah, leverage ... blah, blah. Big question: "What do I do in my life and work to show that I care?" Hmm, good question.
Excellent lunch, followed by breakout session #2 with Bobby Umar. He almost lost me on the first PowerPoint slide, which had "its" in 3 spots that should have read "it's," but I forgave him, and we moved on. A brand is a promise, what you remember. Get more feedback ... blah, blah, blah, engaged leadership ... blah, blah interpersonal intelligence ... blah. Big question: What do you promise to bring to your life, your work, and your community that can make a positive difference? Yeah, don't have an answer for that one right this minute either.
Then a week passed, and this is what I thought when I sat down at the computer to actually write this blog entry: "That just sounds like a lot of work." Both those motivators wanted their audience members to ask themselves many self-invasive questions: Why did I want to be here today? Who are you beyond your job? How does this person benefit from knowing me? What do you want to share with the world? What can I help you accomplish? What are you passionate about?
I tried reading online about personal branding and networking, attempting to recapture some of the fervour that Messer and Umar had engendered in me during their workshops. The more I read, the more I realized that I had no answers for these piercing questions because I had been "entrenched in low-awareness living" for some time. It's easier that way, and most of my life has been committed to the pursuit of easy, leisure, downright repose; I am a very self-indulgent person at heart. I know this about myself, and I feel no guilt over this lifestyle choice. My fondest memories of childhood involve spending an entire day ensconced in bed reading a Harlequin romance novel (likely a Betty Neels, and, no, I wasn't convalescing).
After a little more thinking, I began to doubt that I could possibly sustain the flare of passion that these people ignited in me in my personal life. I admire their passion and enthusiasm and commitment to their profession and relation to others/the world, but that is just not me; or, at least, not me at this moment, in this life. I realized, however, that I could take their advice and apply the practical tips and innovative tricks to my work, helping the journal develop its brand and reach out to network better in the world community of scholars in eighteenth-century studies. I am passionate about that part of my life, always trying to make the journal better and reach more people: my mantra is "The more eyes on the research the better."
For anyone reading this entry hoping to learn something about personal branding and networking, here are a couple articles and one video I found online.
BRANDING
Personal branding advice from Barney Stinson.
How to come up with a personal brand statement.
Bobby Umar at Tedx at UWO:
NETWORKING
5 (6, with the bonus) Keys to Networking Success
Everyone seems to offer 5 keys to network success
And the best advice ever, an oldie but a goodie: how to network 1980s-style with Heather Locklear.
P.S. I think I really am just a "Stever Stifler" type at heart, curious about how to pursue the dream, but realistic about my own level of gumption:
Chris "Oz" Ostreicher: [On being sensitive and getting girls via the "sensitive" angle] You ask them questions, and listen to what they have to say and shit.
Steve Stifler: I dunno, man, that sounds like a lot of work.
