Have you ever been at a party or around good people over a meal and someone starts telling a story? Have you ever felt the shift in the room when you realize the person just likes to hear himself talk?
Now picture that same scenario when you realize the person is sincerely telling the story for the benefit of others in the room. For you individually. Worlds different, right?
That shift, if you can recognize it in yourself, is when you can truly take your brand to the next level. And it’s most likely what is holding you back.
When we tell stories, we typically frame ourselves as the hero. Maybe we think a hero better sells our brand or our services. That a hero will impress those who are listening.
But that’s where we squander our story. And lose our chance to truly brand ourselves uniquely.
Your brand is simply your story. Your story is the only thing you have that someone else cannot straight up copy. —Nick Nanton
I had a chance to meet and speak with Nick Nanton, an Emmy Award Winning Director and a multi-faceted artist and businessman. Our conversation got down to the root of what a personal brand really is and how to leverage it in our lives.
If you can truly digest what he is saying and apply it to your life, you will truly start to own the very thing you have that no one else can copy — your story.
So many of us work so hard on crafting our website, our blog, our style, our logo, our process, our business, our service offering, you name it. But all of these things can be copied by our competition.
We think building a larger and larger moat around our business will distance ourselves from becoming a commodity, while we look right over the very thing that no one can copy.
This conversation truly challenged me to think more deeply, not only about my story but also about how I am telling it. I was challenged, encouraged, and inspired. And I know you will be too.
Spending time around extraordinary people makes extraordinary become normal. —Nick Nanton
Quotes & Resources mentioned:
- Operation Toussaint, a documentary film about rescuing children from sex slavery
- nicknanton.com
- “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” —Jim Rohn
- Ben Hardy, Will Power Doesn’t Work
- “A story, in any way, shape or form, can never be too long, just too boring.” —Nick Nanton
- Tax Pro Nation, where this conversation originally aired in full
- Dan Sullivan, Strategic Coach
- DaVinci and The 40 Answers
- “Life is based on the exchange of value.” —Nick Nanton
- “Most entrepreneurs and successful people become successful in many ways because they break the mold in some shape or form.” —Nick Nanton