What are you really good at? What are you really bad at
It's important for us to recognize the things we're not good at. If we give off the perfectionist vibe and always try to be perfect and have no flaws, then we can't possibly grow and improve. Trying to be perfect destroys us and keeps us in a narrow mindset where being bad at something is the worst thing that could possibly happen to us.
The phrase, “personal brand” sends shivers up my spine and almost immediately expels any liquid in my mouth onto the floor.
I could see why Gardner feels this way about personal branding. Gardner really wants people to become more human and less machine with their approach to the idea of branding. Initially, I was somewhat confused about his reaction to "personal branding," but after reading his article, his stance makes sense to me.
This thinking manifests itself in advice like creating a “professional” Facebook profile and a “personal” Facebook profile page. Or crafting a witty and half-truth branded answer to the dreaded, “What’s your biggest weakness” question. Let me be frank. This thinking is bullshit.
Initially, I was a little skeptical about Gardner's idea of personal brands, but I think this idea makes perfect sense. If we create separate profiles and have one be a "professional" page where we only try to market ourselves to employers, then you're essentially making yourself a machine and marketing someone that you aren't. It's important to be yourself. We're humans, not machines.
megalomaniacal
A megalomaniac is someone who is obsessed with their own power.
Your network of friends, colleagues, clients, and customers is the most important marketing vehicle you’ve got
I think that this is especially true for careers in the sport industry, but this generally applies to all industries. I was a Sport Management major, but I'm going to switch to either Psychology or Sociology. On the first day of my Intro to Sport Management class, we were told that "networking is what will get you a job" and that "it's not what you know, it's who you know." In a sense, I believe that this is true for all majors out there. I agree with Peters' statement and I think that building relationships with everyone you meet will predict a lot of what you will do in the future, arguably more so than what you study in college.
unabashedly
unabashedly means "without embarrassment or shame."
We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.
I think this idea is really interesting. We're branded by multiple companies all the time, so I think that the idea of "turning the tables" on companies and branding yourself is an innovative way to build a resume and make yourself stand out.