innovation? Who represents loyalty? Who do you trust when things go wrong?” That’ s branding. Internal, personal branding.
You are not who you think you are. You are not even who others think you are. You are who others think you are when they think about you. Let that twist your mind a bit. Brand ignorance is not just not knowing about your brand. It ' s not caring enough about your brand to find out. Never forget that even Jesus was brand conscious. He one day asked his disciples the question we should all be asking;
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying,“ Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”- Matthew 16:13.
That question“ Who do men say that I am?” is one of the most powerful personal branding questions ever asked. When Jesus asked it, He wasn’ t confused about His identity. He wasn’ t fishing for compliments. He was demonstrating something profound: your true identity and your perceived identity are not always the same. And if you ' re going to fulfill your assignment, you must be aware of both.
Now let’ s address the lie that keeps too many people stuck:“ Some people are just naturally good at branding. They’ re charismatic. They’ re bold. They have connections. Me? I’ m just not that type.”
Let me tell you this as clearly as I can: personal branding is not a gift. It’ s a discipline.
Yes, some people are more naturally outgoing or eloquent. But branding isn’ t about being loud. It’ s about being clear. It’ s about defining who you are and ensuring that everything about you reinforces that
definition and this includes your speech, your work ethic, your digital presence, even your silence.
There’ s a lady I worked with and again, I’ ll keep names out. She was soft-spoken, introverted, not the kind of person who naturally lights up a room. But when she became deliberate and intentional about her brand, magic happened. She began to define her narrative. She updated her online profiles to reflect her expertise. She volunteered for panels and wrote thought pieces in her area of knowledge. She didn’ t become loud. She became visible.
Today, she’ s a regional head in a multinational organization. Why? Because she stopped believing that brand visibility was for a select few. When you believe the myth that only certain people“ have it,” you disqualify yourself from playing in a field where you were born to win.
Branding is not reserved for extroverts, influencers, or public figures. If you’ re alive, if you have something to offer, and if you interact with people in any way then you are already in the branding game. The only question is whether you’ re playing to win or leaving it to chance.
This issue of brand ignorance is not just a matter of theory or nice-to-have insight. It has real consequences. It has stolen promotions from people. It has silenced ideas that could have changed industries. It has buried potential beneath the surface of“ just another person in the room.”
I’ ve seen it too many times. Someone sits on a talent goldmine but never gets called to the table. Not because they aren’ t capable, but because their name doesn’ t carry weight. Their face doesn’ t come to mind when opportunities arise. Their brand is invisible, or worse, forgettable.
Too many people suffer in life as a result of not telling their story in a way that projects their brand positively. They have left their brand to chance. Unfortunately, the world doesn’ t reward chance. It rewards clarity. The cost of brand ignorance is that your truth gets buried beneath louder, more deliberate stories. And your potential gets trapped beneath perceptions you never chose but allowed.
And forgettable is dangerous.
You see, in life, you don’ t get rewarded for what you carry. You get rewarded for what people perceive you carry. You could be an ocean of wisdom, but if people see you as a puddle, they will step over you on their way to someone else’ s well.
That’ s why when people say,“ I’ ve been working for years and no one has noticed me,” I gently tell them it’ s not about how long you’ ve been working. It’ s about how loudly your brand is speaking. And sometimes, it’ s whispering when it should be roaring.
A gentleman reached out to me once, frustrated that he wasn’ t getting traction in his business. He had great products, excellent service, even affordable prices. But his growth had plateaued. I asked him to show me his digital presence. It was flat. Generic. No personality. No voice. No clear value proposition. He was hiding in plain sight.
I told him,“ You don’ t need to change your business. You need to change how your brand introduces your business.” He worked on it, redefined his messaging, clarified his voice, and began to tell his story. Within months, the shift was visible. Clients started referring others. Partners started calling. His brand began working for him even when he was asleep.
So many people are like that. They are hardworking, skilled, faithful but invisible and the hardest and saddest part is that they often don’ t even know what they’ re missing. They don’ t know that the position they didn’ t get wasn’ t because they weren’ t qualified but because someone else’ s name came to mind first.
They don’ t know that the investor they lost interest from didn’ t leave because the business was bad but because the story wasn’ t strong. They don’ t know that the speaking engagement, the partnership, the promotion, the influence, the impact … all of it passed them by because their brand didn’ t stand up and speak when it was needed most. Brand ignorance has a price tag. And it’ s usually paid in missed opportunities.
And this goes beyond the professional space. Even in personal relationships, in friendships, marriage and even community leadership your brand determines how people engage with you. It’ s the filter through which everything about you is interpreted. You can be kind, but if your brand says“ arrogant,”
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