The concept of personal branding is so fashionable. With the rise of social media, the hype around it became even more in demand. Everyone wants to be noticed, liked, repeated, and so on. Forget corporate brands; personal brands in the form of influencers, ambassadors, and others seem to be real drivers of markets and society.

As with all such contemporary hypes, one should know in advance that all kinds of quick-fix / ready-made solution providers will attract attention, for it is in man’s nature to seek solutions that require as little effort as possible.

But one has to take into account that, if anything, personal branding is painful and requires a clear mind, discipline in explicit identity definition, and lifetime perseverance.

It is easy to define fantasy brand identity – but then you must deliver the promise with a dull persistence, step by step. Conversely, it is also true that it is easy to deliver “no promise,” but no promise brings no value, and with that void, it is a valueless personal brand.

Thus, it is essential to define personal brand identity according to the Standard Branding Model(c) and then follow the values thoroughly explained in Brandlife.

This post aims to attach to the already explained procedure one additional hint that the book did not address. The tip has nothing to do with branding at first sight, yet…

Three pillars of sustainable life and consistent branding

It is in the nature of human, memetic reality that all that exists is supported by three pillars. One could argue that those three pillars support the whole existence. Still, for this post, I will refrain from entering the question of reality outside memetic reality—meaning the symbolic reality specific and confined only to humans.

Those three pillars are wisdom, power, and beauty.

They act as a tripod. By definition, all three have to be similar in length (meaning one should never be overdeveloped at the cost of another). However, simultaneously, the three legs can be slightly different in size and still perform the function.

Such is a privilege of three legs in comparison to four or more.

Three pillars are interdependent.

The most intriguing part of such three pillars is that each is defined through the other two.

Take wisdom, for example. Wisdom without power and beauty is intelligence. It is not enough to be intelligent, as we all know. Wisdom comes only when intelligence is balanced by power and beauty. We intuitively know that an intelligent man who has no power is futile. As much as if something is constructed with all intelligence and power but lacks beauty, then such a thing, like a building, a car, or any human action, can bring no added value since it is sooner or later rejected.

The same goes for power. A power that is not infringed by wisdom is destructive. A power that is not infringed is potential power, and potential power without control brings damage by definition. All great architects and scientists also found out sooner or later that they can not avoid beauty when trying to construct something powerful. Beauty is not added after but is an integral part of added value production, like a man.

Likewise, we know that adding beauty (design) to a product or a brand after it has been produced leads to failure. Design (beauty) does not come at the end.

Of course, one can not be beautiful without restrictions (wisdom) and some power to enact that beauty. Flower power movements, WOKE, and permissive education movements fail initially. Change can not be achieved but through resistance. Beauty does not exist as absolute but as enacted through power and restrained by wisdom.

The lesson for personal branding

What does all this mean for personal branding? Anyone who wants to develop a personal brand has to consider all three pillars that support it. He has to evaluate, by himself or with external help, where his specific wisdom, power, and beauty lie and especially how they are balanced. Based on the analysis, one should focus on the weakest pillar.

How?

There is no manual for personal branding, similar to manuals for technical products. While one can get tutorials about how to create a web page, a tutorial about how to create a personal brand would be counterproductive. All that can be said in the form of an instruction has been written here. There is a more extended version to be found in Brandlife, yet do not expect you to get more than hints about what to consider while painstakingly revealing your identity and vision first to yourself and then to others.