Your One Thing

What is your one “thing”? You know the “thing” that helps you stand out from everyone else. We all have that special “thing” whether we have taken time to identify it or not. So why does it matter if we know what our special “thing” is? It’s simple, with the rapid emergence of social media tools and online communities personal branding has become increasingly important to career success. And figuring out your one special “thing” is a cornerstone of creating your personal brand. Here are 4 tips to help you figure out your special “thing”:

1. Don’t try to be something your not. This is about talent not skill. It is most likely a characteristic you have always had, albeit it may not be developed in a professional sense. You cannot be a square peg in a round hole it does not work.
2. Listen to your life. Yes listen. Look around you and reflect on the themes in your life and your work. This special thing is tucked in there and has probably been a thread through everything you have done: yet you may not have identified it. A book I recommend you read is Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (affiliate link) by Parker Palmer. It’s short, but a great book to will help guide you through this journey.
3. Ask other people what they see as special and unique within you. Chances are they may see things you don’t. If you talk with enough close people you will most likely begin to see some patterns and that will help you in identifying your “thing”.
4. It will take time and you may have to re-brand yourself a few times as you hone into your special “thing”. As you begin to develop your personal brand and develop an online presence you may begin to see yourself differently.  We are all emerging and learning about ourselves. If we had it all figured out imagine how boring life would be.

So remember this is NOT a skill, or a title, or a vocation. You are looking for a characteristic that emanates through your being. I would love to hear your stories about finding your one “thing”; whether you think you have it all figured out or are still actively searching. And while you’re commenting perhaps you can tell me how I am doing with my personal branding by telling me what you think my one “thing” is…I am dying to know!