Facing Insecurity, Unplugging, and Building Your Brand

Even though insecurities stem from those things far in the past, they still have this strange power to affect my present. Like a sci-fi movie, these ugly swamp things rise up and try to pull me into the mud. I thought I’d grown out of those insecurities. I thought they were dead and buried long ago, so why do they rise from their graves and do the tango right in front of me?

Maybe you feel the same. The abuse from your dad. The cheating girlfriend. The bully who wouldn’t leave you alone. Just because you’ve escaped that situation doesn’t mean its tentacles still don’t poison you. No matter how perfect or flawed your childhood might have been, we all have shrapnel we need removed.

Unfortunately, I think many people as they grow up don’t grow out of their insecurities; no, they grow into the person they were always afraid and ashamed of becoming. Their insecurities and their identity get mashed together to become a multicolored ball of Play-Doh—no one being able to tell what the original color was.

Insecurities don’t just disappear with age. No—they become more pronounced and ingrained. We must actively face these insecurities and work on removing the root, or the weeds will just keep growing back.

That’s why we need help. All of us. A friend. A counselor. A mentor. A pastor. Seek help. Find support to face those Swamp Things in the eye and tell them, “You have no power or control over me any longer.”

Attack your insecurities before they can attack you.

I check my phone more times than a frantic smoker takes puffs after a six-hour flight.

Sometimes I need to be off. Phone included. I need to sit and be still. To think. Go outside. Reflect. Pray. Ask God to enter into my insane days for my own sanity. Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is absolutely nothing at all.

In this world of obsessively comparing and connecting at unseen levels, we have to become intentional about where we are placing our attention.

(More about this later in the Bonus Secrets!)

What’s your brand? Have no idea? Email a few family and friends right now and ask them what words come to mind to describe you. That’s your brand.

Everyone has a brand—it’s simply who you are and who people think you are. Sometimes those are the same, sometimes they are miles apart. If they are miles apart, that will become unsustainable as who you actually are will always reveal itself, in good or bad ways.

But intentionally knowing, crafting, and presenting who you are is crucial, especially in a competitive job market where finding a new job opening that you’re actually qualified for can feel as rare as New Year’s Eve actually living up to expectations.

What makes you YOU? What is your signature sauce that brings a flavor to a job that no one else can?

Companies spend billions creating their brands with all roads leading back to one place—their website. It’s open 24/7. It’s the best billboard money can buy. And if you’re going to their website, they have a better chance at getting a sale.

Likewise, as you build your brand, you could build your own website and/or claim 2–3 social media platforms you want to engage with. There is a platform now for everyone it seems, whether you’re a plumber looking to find more leads, a real estate agent trying to set yourself apart, or an author trying to build an audience.

There are many ways you can claim a digital space for yourself. Start an online video or podcast channel, interviewing other professionals in your field. Review tools of your profession. Find creative ways to showcase your skillset and your personality.

Yes, you’re still going to need a resume. But I think it’s much more effective if you can make that resume tell a story.

Basically, create an online home base that you can direct people toward when networking. This provides a place where friends of yours can direct professional contacts when trying to make that connection for you. It’s hard for others to make those connections for you if you don’t have anything they can point people toward.

Employers can’t see the story behind your 3.89 GPA. Employers can see, taste, and touch a visual home base where you are showcasing your work.

Have no idea where to start? Talk to someone who does. Don’t know anyone who does? Ask Google. There are a million options that are cheap and will have you up and running in a day without any clue what HTML is.

Don’t passively wait for a company to discover your potential. Prove it to them right now.

Building your brand with an online presence amplifies all your existing personal branding, networking, job-searching efforts x117.