Expat Careers & Businesses: Strong Personal Brands Differentiate - Not Imitate
Everyone is unique. Each of us have unique skills, strengths and qualities that make us who we are and what we offer unlike any other professional or business. When we do the work to uncover that uniqueness and let it drive our actions and choices, we create a monopoly on what we offer because no one else offers what we do in quite the way we do it. IDENTIFYING & COMMUNICATING YOUR UNIQUENESS The process of uncovering one's unique value is rarely quick and easy. It takes asking yourself the right questions, using the right tools and most often getting support from those trained to help guide you through that journey. If attaining that clarity were that simple I suspect there would be many more self-realized and professionally satisfied people roaming around in the world. Given a recent statistic that 87% of Americans hate their jobs and will be looking for new ones in 2011, it's clear that in at least a few parts of the world some people do not realize or do not know how to identify their unique value and let it drive their career choices. If they do, they aren't communicating it in a way that allows others to fully recognize it and hence are being passed over for job or business opportunities that are a great fit for them. COMMUNICATION IS CRITICAL Effectively communicating your uniqueness is critical to making sure that your approach and offerings are indeed seen as distinct and people can easily see the value you can create in the world. This is what leads to expat careers where a professional's potential is being fully utilized by an organization that truly appreciates the value they create. This is how expat entrepreneurs thrive even in difficult times because their differentiated offerings are not only authentically delivered and create real value in people's lives, but attract those who need what they offer most. SUCCESS IS DIFFERENTIATION, NOT IMITATION However when we have not done that work, or we don't feel confident enough in our own unique value to truly be ourselves, we tend to search for external inspiration to tell us what we should be saying, doing and choosing. We look to those who are successful and believe if we do as they do that we can be successful too. Sadly this is more common than not. And what is even more unfortunate is that those who choose to do this often recommend this approach to others. This is how the falsehood is perpetuated that not everyone has something value to offer and that staying a generalist and attempting to present yourself as a high-priced commodity is going to increase your chances of success in global marketplace. ARE YOU IMITATING INSTEAD OF DIFFERENTIATING? If you are an expat professional or are pursuing an expat career, do any of the following apply? If you are an expat entrepreneur, do any of these describe you? WITH DIFFERENTIATION COMES FREEDOM, FULFILLMENT and SUCCESS If you believe you are imitating instead of differentiating, I am here to tell you that you don't have to anymore. You don't have to feel exhausted trying to be something that you are not. You don't have to spend so much time trying to convince others (and perhaps yourself) of this either. I am also here to tell you that staying on that path is not only exhausting and ultimately unfulfilling, but will rarely lead to the kind of success you are looking for. Elvis will always be the best Elvis there is. Elvis imitators will always be just that - imitators. They will never be able to be a better Elvis than he is. So if you are trying to imitate others, the best you are going to do is be a great imitator. So why not... EXPAT CAREER and BUSINESS SUCCESS TIP: Whether or not you are an expat professional or expat entrepreneur, if you desire to differentiate rather than imitate, I encourage you to do the following: