Build Your Signature Brand

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F R E E E B O O K

HOW TO

BUILD

Y OU R

S i g n a t u r e B r a n d

The Essential Guide to Defining and Living Your Personal Brand

This book was created and written by Mike Friesen.

About a year after his appointment as CFO at a military base in the late

1990s, Mike began an intense personal development journey that continues

to this day. Through a combination of real-world experiences and study, he

discovered a passion for Excellence and Innovation. Mike now helps others

discover and grow their natural talents.

This eBook is Copyright © 2010 Mike Friesen and may not be redistributed, shared, or

sold without prior written consent of the author. In order to let others know of this FREEeBook, please direct them to the following web site.

www.LSdevelop.com

To contact Mike, please email [email protected]

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HOW TO Build Y OU R Signa t ure Brand

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part Title Page

1 Introduction 3

2 Why Build a Personal Brand? 8

3 How Do You See? 9

4 What Are You Passionate About? 11

5 Medium-to-Long-Term 13

6 Be and Do 14

7 Values 15

8 Listening 18

9 Habits and Strengths 20

10 It’s All About Relationships! 22

11 Continuous Learning 23

12 Put It Together 25

13 In Closing 26

Click Below For a Step-by-Step Guide to Setting and Achieving Goals!www.LSdevelop.com/AchieveAGoal

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PART 1INTRODUCTION

Brand.

One small word … one BIG idea!

You probably think of ‘brand’ as linked to

a company. We are all familiar with many

brands for what we drink, eat, drive, and

generally enjoy. Seeing a familiar brand is

almost like seeing an old friend. We haveconfidence in our favorite brands.

What if you and I developed our individual brands so people familiar with

us would have a consistently positive reaction? What would life be like for

the one who presented a consistent and trustworthy brand?

The fascinating thing is so many people run around working hard at the

here-and-now with little thought for much beyond next week. They let their

brands evolve randomly and then are surprised at the results. Worse yet,

each of these individuals are missing their unique purpose. What about you?

Can you list your unique, value-added traits

in 60 seconds or less?

Try it!


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If you did it, GREAT! If this was a bit harder than expected, don’t worry …

you’ll get another chance later in this eBook.

One more thing … I encourage you to either print this eBook and write noteson it or take notes in some other way. ENGAGE!

A Personal Note …

Prior to the late 1990s, I only thought of leadership as ‘taking initiative.’

Personal development was something related to the technical requirements

of my job like learning spreadsheets, software, formulas, etc.

The idea of leadership was no more remarkable to me than other words inthe management vocabulary. I had to admit the word leadership had a nice

ring to it but I didn’t give it much thought beyond that.

In late 1999, a boss (whom I greatly respected) called and asked me to talk

at an upcoming conference about the purpose and values of my Finance

division … I was caught flat-footed.

I honestly hadn’t thought much about the long-term and really just tried to

do the right thing each day and treat the people well. In reality, I was in a

continual battle with red tape, confusing government regulations and

impatient customers. The presentation assignment was a turning point and

wake-up call in my personal development.

I began to wrestle with questions like these.

• Where should I ‘take’ this division?

• Where do they want to go?

• What obstacles could I remove that would improve operations AND

morale?• What are our core values?

• What is my personal purpose?

• What personal values are most important?


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Over the next few years, I began to discover (notice I didn’t say create) my

own purpose and core values and these, in turn, led me to make some

decisions that defied conventional wisdom.

(Let me admit right there … I am still not comfortable going outside

tradition – it’s nice to be liked and welcomed in most groups! It’s nice to

have others say nice things about me and you. The reality though is that in

order to ‘do the right thing,’ it is necessary to go outside what other people

might consider ‘normal’ in a group culture sense.)

Very soon, I developed a simple process for decision making.

1. Continually refine and understand my personal purpose and values.2. Make decisions based on #1.

3. Repeat and learn.

Simple to say, MUCH tougher to do!

Don’t get me wrong … I have made more than my share of mistakes. I play

the woulda-coulda-shoulda game sometimes but life just isn’t that scripted.

Hindsight is great for learning lessons but lousy for going back in time to

make a different decision. The road we call life routinely forks. No decision

is a decision. All that said … and in spite of the bumps … I am moresatisfied today than ever before. But that is probably too much about me …

This book is about YOU! I will keep my personal stories to a minimum and

talk instead about process tools you can use right away with a bit of practice.

This type of growth takes time but once you have a grasp of the tools and

their uses, you can apply in any part of your life with amazing results.

With this in mind … here is my PROMISE to you …


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By the end of this eBook, you will have a working framework

you can use to find and refine your own personal brand …YOUR SIGNATURE BRAND!

This will take work AND time but it is a learnable skill

like any other. Paying a personal pricebrings measurable results.

Before we venture farther, consider these facts.

FACT!

A majority of people want to personally develop

but a minority fail to act.

FACT!

A person committed to personal development can make a huge, positive

impact on a family, organization, community and society at large.

However … as with any success, developing personally takes consistent

action and hard work. It is much like a heavy aircraft beginning to taxi: it

takes more power at first to begin rolling and then less power to keep

rolling.

FACT!

Becoming more effective takes more time than some want to devote but

less time than the cynics would have you believe.

FACT!

Personal effectiveness impacts every part of a person’s life.


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Here is my best advice:

“… treat personal development as serious

as you would treat your most respected boss …”

The law of the harvest truly applies. You must plant first in order to ever

expect a crop. What may seem challenging on the front end will pay a life-

time of benefits to the avid student.

To succeed, here are the required parts.

• Willingness to look for, look at, and change mindsets

• Desire to learn and grow personally

• Passion to set and achieve goals

• Commitment to think creatively

This eBook is designed to focus on the first two areas. We address the last

two areas in more detail through the weekly newsletter Success Pulse and

other web site resources.

The first parts of this eBook will look more at theory and the final sectionswill suggest ways for application.

Ready to start? Let’s go!


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PART 2WHY BUILD

A PERSONAL BRAND?

Does a personal brand matter? If so, why?

ost people do not wake up in the morning determined to make the

worst of their day. Most people want to do well and enjoy life.

Most people want to succeed. How that can be done could be

debated endlessly but the bottom line is most of us want to do well.

MHowever, it is the rare person who will consistently do well by accident. If

we ignore personal development, we are too prone to error and bad

judgment. Without personal improvement, emotions alone may very well

rule and this can be a disaster.

And even if such an amazing accident happens, there is case after case of

how this does not last. A person with a natural talent who does not cultivate

the talent will fall far short of potential. Someone who can easily start a

good thing will not follow through because of stunted personal growth.

For example, if someone cannot manage personal finances before winning

the lottery, it is a safe assumption that same person will do no better after

hitting the jackpot. In this case, having bundles of money does not improve a

lack of ability. In short, building a signature brand of excellence has very

tangible, measurable, concrete results.


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Here’s another example. In today’s very competitive job market, it takes

more than the usual abilities to stand out and be hired, retained, or promoted.

Building a signature brand greatly helps in this.

So really the question should NOT be, “Why build a personal brand” but

rather, “Do I want to be excellent”? If the answer is “YES” then building a

personal brand is a no-brainer!

Does a personal brand matter? YES!!!

If so, why? A Signature Personal Brand is the vehicle to EXCELLENCE!!!

PART 3HOW DO YOU SEE?

(Mindsets, paradigms, mental maps, etc.)

If a personal brand matters, where is square one? A great starting

point is seeing. I don’t mean with just physical eyesight. I mean deep, down

inside … how do you view the world? How a person sees will directly effect

how a person acts. How a person sees is really how that person thinks.

For example, if I think “all dogs are mean,” how will I act? I will be scared

any time I happen upon any dog and will probably run the other way. If on

the other hand, I think “some dogs can be mean but you must judge each dog

individually,” how will I act? Big difference.


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If you step back, what do YOU see in your …

Family setting?

Work setting?

Friends setting?

Most settings?

Do you see a scary place or a place of opportunity?

Do you see a sad place or one where there is plenty of happiness to go

around?

Do you see one-strike-you’re-out or second chances?

How do you see FAILURE? What does SUCCESS mean to you … long-

term?

Think about these and any related questions that come to mind … WRITE

YOUR ANSWERS in a private journal or in the space below.

If you have trouble deciding how you see, try this simple exercise.

1. Pick a behavior you like or do not like.

2. Ask the question ‘why’? Repeat this question until you cannot go any

deeper.

3. In most cases, you will now have a mindset or a way of seeing.


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PART 4WHAT ARE YOU

PASSIONATE ABOUT?

I know we all need money to live but try to suspend that thought for a

moment … just a moment.

What really gets your heart pumping? What fires your imagination? Where

does your little-kid-inside live? What are the one or few things you would

work your heart out for even if you didn’t get paid for it?

Said another way …

WHAT IS YOUR

SAVE-THE-WORLD … ONE-PERSON-AT-A-TIME

PROPOSITION?

Forgetting Exercise

So … for another moment, forget …

⇒ Work …

⇒ What you think everybody expects or demands of you …

⇒ About making money …

⇒ About time


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⇒ That not-so-favorite relative who never seems satisfied with you …

⇒ Anything else that clouds your imagination …

List your top few-to-several favorite things

in the whole world – just list them.

Any patterns? Links? Does this list trigger other thoughts? Light bulbs?

OK – back to reality!

If you have an area in your life that is not what you would like, does this list

help understand why? Here is more room to write …


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PART 5MEDIUM-TO-LONG-TERM

Why does the medium-to-long-term matter?

It is amazing but thinking beyond the moment gives better perspective. This

is not new. Many of our parents probably tried to teach us as children to

“consider the consequences” of decisions. Trust me … the old rule doesn’t

go away once you move away from home.

Many of us (including me) can get caught up in the daily rat race and lose

track of what really matters … Thinking about the medium-to-long-termevery so often has a way of adding a more objective view.

How will this decision play out next week/month/year?

What do I want my life to be about?

What do I want people to say about me after I’m gone?

What are the relationships that matter most … over the long-term?

Will the choices I make now meet my needs over the long-term?

What decisions did you make in the last few days, weeks or a month that

took the medium-to-long-term into account? What are the positive results?

What recent decisions would have been better had you considered the

medium-to-long-term?

Writing space …


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PART 6BE AND DO

Simply put, to be or being is the foundation of a person. To do on the other

hands has ACTION written all over it! Doing comes from first being. Who

you are is what you do. BOTH are required for success in personal

branding. Why? Let’s think about it …

⇒ Being is the sweet spot among passion, imagination, and long-term.

⇒ Doing is taking action on being.

What if we have one without the other?

All BE and no DO – Being without action is pretend. It

doesn’t matter how much a person CARES if nothing

comes of it. It doesn’t matter how much one may WANT

to help someone if there are no actual steps to do so. It

doesn’t matter how much I value education if I never

crack a book or somehow take in new information.

Short version? 100% theory.

All DO and no BE – Doing without a sense of “why” leads to action that is

chaotic and potentially dangerous. This is called b-u-s-y-w-o-r-k! This is f-r-

a-n-t-i-c! It is much like beating the wind – who will win that contest?

Short version? No staying power.

See how both are important? Both Being and Doing are required … stir and

mix well.


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PART 7VALUES

In your interactions with people, what do you value MOST? What are your

top three or four most important things you want from a friend? What is

non-negotiable? Does your list include things like respect? Honesty?

Integrity? Humor? Love? The list of possibilities is huge but try to work it

down to your top few … or several.

If it helps, start by listing all the values you think are important. Next,

prioritize the list.

MOST IMPORTANT VALUES

Why are these values so important to you? How have they made your life

better?


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Now, what are your biggest turn-offs or hot buttons? What would kill a

friendship for you?

HOT BUTTONS

Now, combine the two lists to find your three or four most important values.

TOP THREE OR FOUR MOST IMPORTANT VALUES

Next, think about a tough choice you faced in the past where you considered

compromise on one or more of the values.

How hard were you pushed to compromise? Did you hold steady or give in?

Do you like the answer? If so CONGRATULATIONS! If not, why not? Are

there two or more values possibly at odds with each other? What are theconflicting values and which one do you choose as the most important?


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Feel free to use the chart below to help organize your thoughts.

Value Value Value

Chosen Priority

Building a SIGNATURE BRAND must include a set

of unshakable values. In order to have consistent trust

with others, they must be able to trust your inner core

… like a rock. Trust is built by predictability at a deeplevel. This not about ruts – that’s surface stuff. This is

about drivers … or dare I say … mindsets.

For example, if I know Joe will lie to me when he gets

in a bind, can I always know when things are tough for

him? Can I predict when he will lie and when he will tell the truth? Probably

not.

This means if I cannot predict, then I cannot TRUST my opinion on whenJoe will be honest. Said another way – I cannot trust Joe. In fact, I may

decide it is safer to assume Joe is always lying … that is NEVER trust his

word. That’s a pretty dicey relationship.

APPLICATION: Make decisions based on these values … NO MATTER

WHAT! If that is not possible, go back and re-work the lists until it is

possible. Don’t feel bad if this takes time. A really good list of solid value

priorities might take up to six months just to be at a starting point. Don’t

rush it but keep chipping away at it.


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PART 8LISTENING

I don’t know about you but I’m not as good as listening as I would like.

Listening can be hard work. It’s easy to be three paragraphs ahead of the

other guy when it comes to conversation. Real, genuine listening is about

taking in the whole message … not just the words. Depending on the study

you believe, non-verbal cues give about half of the message. That’s a lot!

Think about this … when a newborn begins to cry, a good

parent tries to decide what is wrong. Usually, there are only a

few options unless the baby is sick. As the child grows into atoddler, he or she can talk and yet this little one is still very

limited in self-awareness. What this means is, if there is a

need, the adult must tune into the whole message to try and

help. Often, the words alone are not enough because the child

cannot fully communicate.

Here’s the point … what if you and I try to listen as intently with everyone

else as we might with a small child? What new things might we learn about

those close to us? How would this help build trust and understanding? How

would this help effectiveness?

If it helps, here is a sample chart of how you might collect your thoughts

(physically or mentally).

What do the words alone say? What does everything else say?

Quick! Who are the most important people in your life? How will you better

tune into them over the next week? What mindset shifts might help?


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Important

PersonHow to tune in better? Mindset shifts?


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PART 9HABITS & STRENGTHS

You might wonder why have a section talking about habits AND strengths

because we often connect habits with negative traits. In reality, habits are

neutral as there are good and bad habits. In other words, habits can be a good

or bad influence on personal satisfaction.

If you are like most people, you have some of both types of habits. Even

though I said there can be good and bad habits, there is really a spectrum of

habits. For instance, leaving a towel on the floor may be considered a bad

habit but is not nearly as negative as a habit that damages the body.

For those of us who want to become better, we may over-focus on the bad

things we want to “fix” in our lives. We beat ourselves up for being

overweight, constantly late, sloppy at home, or any number of other so-

called bad habits.

While trying to improve or be rid of bad habits has merit, it is downright

draining! Using the fix-it method, it should be no surprise why personal

development may seem so difficult and sheer drudgery at times.

SECRET #1Pick one of your very positive habits …

… and work on it intensely for the next two weeks.

Make is sing! Make it shine! Let it blossom!

Write one of your very good habits here:


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Step 2 …

SECRET #2Keep working on the positive habit

(and relish every moment of it).Starting at week 3, pair the good habit

with one bad habit …… and finish out the month

improving BOTH habits at the same time.

Write one of your bad habits here:

What do you think will happen to your inner motivation as you cultivate one

of your positive habits? How could this help with the bad habits? What other

habit pairs could benefit?


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PART 10IT’S ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS!

When you think about our world … it’s made up of two things: stuff and

relationships! There is more stuff than any of us could possibly gather or

enjoy and some of us take this stuff-collecting idea too seriously.

Recently, I was working hard on the yard because it was overdue and I

planned to leave in the early afternoon to meet my sons after about a week

apart. The progress was slower than expected and so I started getting

frustrated.

As it looked clear I would fall short of my goal for the yard, I seriously

thought of delaying my travel time to meet the boys in order to make more

progress with the weeds. It suddenly stunned me to think I was actually

debating between cutting more grass with the weed-eater over seeing my

family. It seems like a ‘duh’ moment now but you know how it can be when

over-focused on the here-and-now. In reality, many of our professional

decisions can fall into this trap as well.

Say it with me … relationships first, relationships

first, relationships first! This idea is usually evenmore critical when you are pressed for time.

Remember that list of important people? How will

consistently putting relationships-over-stuff raise

your personal satisfaction?


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PART 11CONTINUOUS LEARNING

you are determined to build your very own signature brand, you

must commit right now to continuous learning! I’m not saying this

because I don’t believe in you. I am saying this because there are

many more wishers of personal development than doers.

If Maybe there’s a better way to say it … or not. Continuous learning is the

fuel. Continuous learning is the raw input. Kids don’t grow well without

good, nutritious food. Personal branders do not grow without learning.

Personal development translation?

Not Growing = Stagnation

Here is another way to look at it … would you rather a doctor treat you who

was happy with his knowledge level 20 years ago or one who is staying up

with the latest studies and medical advances? In personal relationships,

methods that once worked can turn stale and actually do damage.

What works at a values level remains constant.

What works on a technique level changes.

Please re-read these two sentences again. THEY ARE IMPORTANT!

You must expose yourself to mindset challenges continually. I am not

suggesting you confuse yourself into oblivion – remember, you have now

defined a beginning purpose and values system that must be the foundation.

You are no longer a child.

Brands are respected because they respond to their environments. They talk

with their settings. They learn from their surroundings. So what does this

mean specifically?


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Read books, listen to books-on-tapes, attend seminars and conferences. If

you believe you share values, talk to that guy at work who seems to always

do things a little differently than you do. Explore his thinking. Question him

with a genuine intent to learn. If his conclusions violate your values, moveon. If not, deeply integrate the insight for an expanded perspective.

So let’s revisit the first exercise.

What are your unique, value-added traits?

How did you do?

Don’t be afraid to do this exercise repeatedly over the coming months.

Really think deeply about who you are and what you want to give to those

around you at a relationship level.


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PART 12PUT IT TOGETHER

So maybe you’re saying … just give me the checklist! Having the checklist

alone will not help any more than only reading a textbook will make you a

surgeon. With that said, let’s look at some of the basics of building a

signature brand covered in this eBook.

• Learn to look inward and understand a mindset on any topic. The key

question to diagnose is “why.”

• Step back and imagine the possibilities. What are you passionate

about? How does this speak to who you are as a person?• Make decisions based on purpose and values … always!

• When making decisions, remember to often consider the medium-to-

long-term. This gives essential perspective.

• Learn from the good as well as the bad decisions.

• Celebrate your successes!

• Put relationships first … always!

• Listen as intently you would with a small child.

• Strengthen a good habit to improve a bad one.


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PART 13IN CLOSING

Thank you so much for taking time to read through this eBook and thinking

about who you really are and what you would like to be. It’s a powerful

thought that you and I can steadily become better over a life-time.

So much progress really starts inside with the

purpose and plans. We are all naturally creative and

want to make a difference but we must also take

action to achieve better results.

Many times, this action will be different than action

we took yesterday … because we are growing and

changing – or should be – for the better!

Wishing all future success to you!

Best,

Mike Friesen

Click here to e-mail Mike






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