The Seeds of Your Personal Brand Are Planted in Childhood

One of the things I really loved about interviewing William Arruda was his story about collecting TV commercials as a child. When he was a child, he remembers being fascinated by television ads. He would watch TV, not for the usual programs, cartoons or shows everyone else was watching, but for the commercials that aired in between. It heralded his interest in marketing and personal branding.

When any of us look back into our childhood, we can see the seeds of our future selves planted right there in our childhood. Those seeds look like the things were were interested in, the games we played, the things we were passionate about, the things that held our attention, and the things we loved to do over and over again. Those seemingly inconsequential things are the starting points of our authentic selves – the seeds of what will eventually grow into our personal brand.

As parents, we have the ability to cultivate those passions and interests. I urge all parents to notice what your little ones are passionate about and support and cultivate that – even if it seems like a crazy career down the line.

As an example, I was always, always, always interested in the arts. I was in ballet class, acting class, you name it – I was there. My mother really supported and cultivated my interests in the arts by signing me up for classes, encouraging me, and watching my performances. While my father tolerated my interest, he probably preferred that my interest was just a fad as opposed to a career choice. But, it is my interest and experience as an artist that has shaped me into the leadership coach and personal branding strategist I am now. The skills, passions and experiences that I received from studying the arts and being a professional actor transformed the work I do now and is a huge part of my brand.

I encourage those of you who are parents or those of you that are mentoring young people to take an interest in the passions of the young people in your care and really help them cultivate those interests without any thoughts toward what may be practical or how to use it moving forward.

When you cultivate and water those passions and seeds of interest that they have, they will naturally grow into the person they were meant to be.