Self-Branding: Your Personal Slogan

YOU ARE A BRAND. Just like a corporation, you have the ability to create and maintain others perception of you.

In its traditional meaning, slogan refers to a descriptive catchphrase that describes the identity of something. Typically, slogans are used for advertising purposes to describe a product; the benefits or competitive advantage.

Personal Slogan + Hustler’s Perspective = description of who you are; your values, strengths, and passion.

A personal slogan is for you; a motivational tool, reminder and personal directive to keep you focused on your goals.

A slogan is a repetitive expression of an idea or identity.

Think about it…

Your slogan = repetition of your idea and/or identity…based on your own agenda. We’re constantly bombarded with slogans; created for the benefit of driving business sales. Being that you’re a brand, it’s to your benefit to focus on building a consistent structure that you can easily define. I understand that we all have complexities that can’t be trapped into miniature descriptions, but just like a business, we should be able to find a simple, yet powerful way to state the basis of our identity.

Here are a few popular business slogans that you’ve likely heard before:
Just Do It (Nike), Have It Your Way (Burger King), You’re In Good Hands (All State), Taste Great Less Filling (Miller), Breakfast of Champions (Wheaties), I’m Lovin’ It (McDonalds), Melts in your Mouth Not In Your Hands (M&Ms).

My Personal Slogan

Disclaimer: I share this with you only for example purposes. I recommend that your slogan be a phrase that you draw motivation from; a reminder about what you’re about. While it doesn’t have to be held exclusive from others, unlike a business slogan, your personal slogan should be all about you.

STRATEGY |  HUSTLE |  RESULTS

Let me explain in detail what this means to me…

STRATEGY. I’m strategic in my approach; planning with the goal of putting myself in the best possible position for successful outcomes.
HUSTLE. Hustle represents the intensity in which I operate; high energy, efficiency, and good old fashion hard work. Hence, iHustle.
RESULTS. I’m driven to achieve a certain outcome or result. I don’t do it for the heck of it.

I remind myself of this constantly. In fact, the picture above is an actual picture taken in my in-home fitness room (of course minus the digital effects). Every morning I see the gigantic letters stretching across the wall directly above my dumbbell rack – reminding me to work harder and smarter than my competition.

When people walk into this area, the first thing they see is my personal slogan. I don’t jump out and say – “that’s my slogan” – but if they ask about it (which generally happens) I explain to them, just as I did above. Often I get the simple:”that’s cool”, or they give me the look like “you’re crazy – who are you to have your own slogan”. I welcome both, honestly. Because for me, it’s about the constant reminder that keeps me motivated. It is not about having a fancy catchphrase to impress people.

Development of a Personal Slogan

There’s no right or wrong method to this. Since your personal slogan is all about you, it should be an easy task. Instead of making your slogan complex, make it simple – based on a more complex formula.

Here are a some tips on developing your personal slogan:

• Be simple. I can’t stress this one enough. You want this to be something so simple that you can always remember it.
• Define your long term goals. Think about the long term goals that you want to reach and the way(s) you’re going to go about achieving them. Simplify the actions you identify and incorporate those into your personal slogan.
• Be creative. You want your slogan to attract and motivate you – so be creative in your approach by using words that keep you interested.
• Brand awareness. Just like a company, identify the basis of your brand…is it intelligence, hard word, finesse (mine is ‘hustle’)…again, in a simplified fashion, incorporate the basis of your brand into your personal slogan.
• Keep “you” in mind. Incorporate words that describe your strengths, values and or passions.

You might have gotten the hint by now…keep it simple! Your personal slogan is YOUR PERSONAL SLOGAN; created specifically for you – by you.

The Conclusion

In my article The Science Behind Motivation I wrote about finding motivation from your own sources. I provided the example that I’m motivated by the fact that I have people who depend on me; my family. Amongst many other things, I pull motivation from my personal slogan. It’s a constant reminder to stay on track because I’ve planned my route, to work hard, work smart and to keep my eyes on the prize.

View your personal slogan as a formula: no matter the complexity of a formula, it’s generally simple in script…it’s the solution that is complex.

Q: Doyou have a personal slogan? If so, what is it (if you don’t mind sharing)? If not, can you find benefit in having one? Please share your thoughts!