When I was getting started, everyone wanted to give me advice on building a "personal brand". I didn’t understand what this was. I worked at a large academic medical center and was in grad school. Both were places with tons of politics. Both were places where everyone cared about how they presented to others. So everyone told me it was important too. They told me the ways you should think and act if you wanted to get ahead.

But all I took away from the advice, was that people were trying to be someone other than who they were. And that didn’t work for me. I am unapologetically myself. No matter the audience or the situation, I am me. And if people don’t like, that I don’t really care.

Well, it turns out that when you talk about “personal brands”, that’s my personal brand. Being myself. And that should be everyones' personal brand. Your personal brand should be you. So make sure you know what matters to you, live by those things, and let others see you in that light.

Myself, I care deeply about being a builder. I want to build the life I want. I want to contribute new things to the world and improve the lives of others. This matters so much to me that I got a tattoo to represent it on my forearm. I have literally branded myself with my personal brand. I know who I am and want others to know as well. What they do with that information is up to them.