The fallacy of Personal Branding

In the last months, I've researched and studied quite extensively the phenomenon of personal branding and all that it entails. From high-flying strategies to down-to-earth tactics, with the help of hundreds of books, blog posts and bookmarked pages, I’ve mindmapped and vulgarized the concept. And I've come to one single conclusion:

It's stupid and false.

The foundational premise found everywhere in personal branding is that we need to identify within ourselves that ONE thing that distinguishes us, that makes us different, that renders us unique in the eyes of the world. I had to find the answer to the riddle : 'I am that (insert something here) guy'. What was it: that digital strategies guy ? that IT entrepreneur guy ? that Christian or church guy ?

After months of too many suggested tests and soul-searching questions later, I became frustrated at my lack of finding that ONE thing to pin everything on. I already knew what my core values were (link) as well as my belief system (link). BUT what was that ONE thing ? What made me special in the eyes of the world surrounding me ?

But wait… who was that world surrounding me ? Who did I need to develop my personal branding for ? Whose my target demographic ? My wife and kids ? My parents ? My friends I grew up with who knew me with all my zits ? My clients ? Anonymous readers on my blog ? My Facebook ‘friends’ ? People I didn't know who see me in conferences ? My students at my alma mater ? And what if I didn’t care about anyone and just focused on what I thought of me ? And what about God… isn't that who I am ultimately accountable to ?

The authors of personal branding applied some age-old marketing principles used for corporations to individual human beings, perpetrating the narcissistic and hazardous notion that we are developing a Me Inc. society. The relationships we end up developing become a matter of ‘what’s in it for Me Inc. ?’ And that is what I dislike about the whole social media wave: the notion that we make ourselves out to be important people by showing off our wonderful belly-button-looking side.

I cannot adhere to the principle that we are defined by ONE thing and that we need to push that image on others as some kind of single source of validation. If we want to sell our expertise and demonstrate our knowledge, fine. But we are so much more than what is in our head.

Therefore, there is not ONE single element that will define me, be it my work, my knowledge, my experience, my values, my relationships, my service, my social standing…whatever.

I’ll look up as the basis for my beliefs, look inward as I try to become a balanced and whole person and then look outward to see who I can help.