It s a shame I've been sitting on this book for about two years now. A friend of mine gave me Never Eat Alone , by Keith Ferrazzi a couple years ago (thanks Rey), and it s been on my bookcase ever since. It was resting there not because I didn't want to read it, but because I already had so many others in the pipeline. I finally got around to reading it last month and I definitely recommend it. In very simple terms, Ferrazzi explains why networking is important and how to do it. From how to make call lists to planning dinners to personal branding to goal setting, it s all here. He also maintains a valuable blog .
Inevitably there will be times when you have setbacks or things don t go your way. Maybe you didn't get a job you thought you were sure to get. Maybe you lost a job unexpectedly, didn't win a contract, or lost a major client. Your car always seems to break down right after you've had some other unexpected expense. These kinds of situations immediately place us in crisis. They don t feel good, but sometimes they re what we need in order to grow. The beautiful thing about crises is that they force us to take a step back and reevaluate what s going on in our lives and rediscover what we truly want and need. When we get over that initial shock and feeling of disappointment, we might realize that maybe that job wasn't really the best for us anyway. Maybe, just maybe, that wasn't what you really wanted to spend your life doing. Maybe that friend was holding you back instead of pushing you forward. The way I deal with crises of these sorts is simple: If something doesn't go my way professionally, I try to create a situation that would be more rewarding than the situation originally planned. A while ago, I was offered a job that looked very promising. After I accepted the offer, they pushed the start date back three times, later informing me (via e-mail) that they wanted to bring me on in the near future but I should feel free to explore other options. I was extremely disappointed. I felt disrespected and angry, but decided to make the best of the situation and follow my dream of working internationally. I then flew to Santiago, Chile and had great professional and personal experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise. Later, reflecting back on the original opportunity, I realized that working for a company that avoids a start date three times and then can t pick up the phone to explain the situation is probably not where I need to spend my time. Use setbacks as an opportunity to put your goals in order and act on them. In the moment, it s difficult to look at a setback as temporary, but they are. They happen to everybody. It s how you respond to them that will determine how they affect you.
I’ve decided to write a book about personal branding in a digital world. Am I a personal branding guru? Nope. So why am I writing a book about it? There are a few reasons. First, as we become increasingly dependent upon electronic communication, it becomes increasingly important to be able to effectively use the tools at our disposal. Also, I feel we should ensure that we use these tools to build stronger relationships with people rather than inhibit them. Secondly, we have more power to create and distribute content than ever before. We are no longer forced to wait on a publisher to control every piece of the process of disseminating written content. Although there are many benefits to having the opportunity to work with a professional publisher, the point is that we now have much greater ability to make positive impacts than ever before.
In this book, I hope to help people be successful in finding and building a reputation around their authentic self. With suffering employment rates, low levels of happiness, and uncertainty about the future of humanity and the environment, the time is ripe to empower each other to be true to ourselves and each other. I will explain what I feel personal branding is, and more importantly, what it isn’t. I’ll then discuss some of the tools available to use and some of the best ways I’ve seen people put them to work. During the process of writing this book, I will also seek professional advice from people who focus on employment, leadership, organization, and happiness to bring insights from those who are already make it their business to help make positive change happen around them.
With all of that being said (or written rather), I want this book to be something in which you find value. Please send me your questions about personal branding, social media, leadership, followership, and marketing by leaving your comments on this blog or asking me via Twitter (@michaelbmaine). As I work though this book, I will respond to your questions as blog posts.
I never want access to be a limiting factor to obtaining information. So, I’ll be taking an open source approach to the publication of my work. The finished book will be freely available to read, download, and share as a pdf from my website. Enhanced versions will be available at Amazon’s, Apple’s, and Barnes and Noble’s respective ebook stores at a yet-to-be determined price. Lastly, I hope to offer a printed version on sustainable synthetic paper as a collector’s item.
So, what are your thoughts? How can we make this something worth reading?