Expat Careers: Your Personal Brand is a Celebration of Who You Are

Inspiration for blog posts often come from a series of events rather than any one thing I see or read.  I am not sure if I agree with Werner Herzog (German film director) that "there are no original ideas", but I do know that playing around with several good ideas always bears interesting fruit.

Recently I was emailing with my good friend and colleague Deb Dib, the CEO Coach and a true thought leader in personal branding.  I was 'talking' to her about organizing my recent wedding.  I was sharing all of the ways that my other half and I tried to integrate who we were into the celebration.  We tried to include elements of the cultures/countries that we love most.  We had an afro-carribean band, our first dance was a salsa, and our cake design was based on Indian Mehendi design. We had Egyptian lanterns and spanish guitar during our cocktail hour and readings from German literature in the ceremony.  Each of our tables at dinner was assigned a different country in which we had lived or spent significant time, and every place card had a photo of a place or city in that country.  And of course it goes without saying that the food was Italian! Because we designed our own programs, place cards, the cake, the favors and more we were able to do all of this without breaking the bank.  In lieu of gifts, we asked people to make donations to select charities worldwide through universalgiving.org. You might think that all of these influences might not work together, but they came together perfectly for an amazing day. We also felt so fortunate that people from around the world were able to come and celebrate our special day with us.

Deb's response to me was that she loved how branded my wedding was. I hadn't even thought about my wedding like that.  From the outside, it was seen as branded. From where I was sitting, it was just an honest attempt to communicate what my husband and I were passionate about to all of our family and friends  in a way that felt right to us. Celebrating our union by celebrating the things we valued most. I was not thinking about how to make it the most international or creative wedding, but those words were used by many when describing the event after the fact.

It was then that I realized that our personal brand is more than just expression of our qualities, strengths, values and passions, but a CELEBRATION of who we are.  And the celebration is most fun when being who we can't help being is helping or touching others. How big your party is depends on how many people you help or touch. And how much you enjoy the party depends on the extent to which you are true to who you are.

EXPAT CAREER SUCCESS TIP: Ask yourself who you simply can't help being that creates unique value in the world.  Give yourself permission to make that quality as big as it can possibly be.  Recognize the impact it can have in the world.  Now go out and celebrate it in a way that feels right to you. Both you and the rest of the world will be a better place because of it.

DID YOU ENJOY AND FIND VALUE IN THIS POST?

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  career by choice can help you...become an expat and experience a global lifestyle ~ explore international career options and find work abroad ~ understand your Brand DNA and how you perform at your best ~ clarify your personal brand so you can stand out and be sought after for top jobs overseas ~ develop marketing tools and strategies to communicate your unique expertise in a compelling way ~ strengthen your online reputation to attract employers and secure international jobs ~ become highly visible, recognized and well compensated for the value you create ~ overcome challenges and grow as a leader on international assignments ~ leverage social media to build your global online network ~ develop a global mindset ~ find an international career coach and experienced guide ~ conduct an international job search ~ optimize your choices and discover success abroad on your terms by being your best self. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comments

[Luke Harvey-Palmer]

Super words Megan...I recently sent an entry to Twitter via text (whilst I was sitting on the bus into the city - which is something I do not do very often) about how unhappy everyone looked to be going to work? I asked who's fault is this and how can we fix it? To read your words about 'celebrating' and sharing your passions being a reflection of a strong brand, really gave me comfort. There is a great video on TED at www.ted.com/talks/view/id/66 which encourages people to be brave and have a go...this is what progresses the human race! So true, and I liked the stories of your clients - with great examples of the strong elements of their Personal Brands!

[Megan Fitzgerald]

Hi Luke,

Thanks for the kind words and the link to TED video - TED is truly the best! I just keep being reminded of the idea that our brands are really about the explosive expression of uniqueness that makes us most effective at being ourselves, being happy, and making a difference - whether it is helping those less fortunate or salvaging failed mergers. Sometimes it is as you say - half the battle is being brave enough to have a go!

Buona notte!

Megan

[Deb Dib]

Megan, what an inspiring post. You really are a shining light. I'm going to reassess what I do every day and see if I can do more of what I love -- joy is to precious to waste, isn't it? And if I wasn't already married for 26 years I'd want a branded wedding! (Actually, my wedding was pretty branded, but I didn't know it way back then in the pre-personal branding dark ages!)

Your "virtual spa buddy,"
Deb

[Megan Fitzgerald]

Thanks Deb - but remember who was my inspiration!

And I should have mentioned about the fact that your husband played drums at your wedding - what a story!

We WILL have that spa day! :)

Megan