This is a short video I created at the request of Bret Simmons who teaches a college class called Entrepreneurial Psychology. Since I couldn’t speak to his students in person, this was the next best thing.
While it’s longer than most of my videos, I share a story that I have never talked about publicly before, and discuss personal branding, integrity and how blogging can affect your life.
This video will not show up on the home page. The post was shared exclusively to my subscribers and Facebook fans as bonus content. Thank you for being such a great community!
5 replies on “Personal branding, integrity and blogging”
1) The phone call interruption was awesome. I’ve experienced similar hiccups when video blogging.
2) You bring up a great point about integrity when it comes to blogging. Since there are so many unwritten rules, many bloggers – when writing something controversial – must decide when to take something down, edit it or move forward. I’ve found this particularly true when I write about issues of religion/faith.
That said, when you tell the truth (your truth) online, you may upset some people. But if it’s true, stick with it. Being true to yourself and your personal brand will win you more fans, friends and customers than being inauthentic or flimsy.
@ Sam – On the phone call, I just really didn’t want to start over, ha : ) I’m completely with you that if you tell your truth, even if people disagree or dislike you for it, that that’s all you can do and the best you can do. Thanks for weighing in!
Glad you posted this to your site, Rebecca. This is such an exceptional video. The stuff you say at the end about how blogging with integrity builds a community is some of the best stuff I have heard on personal branding.
AND your message about personal branding being a big responsibility is right on!
AND you show incredible GRACE when you describe the incident with the woman that took issue with your post. Kudos to you.
THANKS and keep up the great work!
Bret
This is such a great and refreshing post/video. Thanks for sharing this. You’re absolutely right in what you say about personal branding and blogging.
I’m glad you are able to stick by what you had written in your blog and didn’t feel you had abandoned any of your values, even though someone else didn’t agree with what you were writing about.
Thanks again for sharing!
Great points on authenticity and integrity. It seems that if a person blogs for a long enough time they will likely run into this problem – especially if they are writing heartfelt, meaningful content. It is literally impossible to make everyone happy all of the time, so don’t even try. For every person who dislikes your style or is offended by the material there is likely someone who absolutely loves it.
I commend you for sticking by your content – I know firsthand that this is a tough thing to do, but worth it in the end.