Monday 26 November 2012

Chasing Success: L. L. S. F (4)


Good to see you here. I hope all is well with you?

In continuing my ramblings on 'Chasing Success', I will be touching on my fourth L.L.S.F (Lessons Learnt So Far)

As usual I will start with a preamble:

Recently, I have been reading about Moses (in the Bible). I know we often see him as a great leader who was chosen by God etc etc.......but he was actually a very reluctant leader. 

Indeed, when God first spoke to him and told him he was to lead his people out of Egypt, his initial reaction was one of great reluctance as he asked God: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

To convince him, God showed him some miracles, by......................:
-         Turning his staff into a snake
-         Transforming Moses’ hand into a leprous hand and back again
-         And finally reassuring that if Pharoah did not listen, He would change water into blood

Despite this, Moses still protested...........
Exodus 4.10 “..........I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

Despite God reassuring him, he begged................
Exodus 4.13 "Please send someone else........"

Although He was getting angry, God tried to reassure him AGAIN by highlighting the fact that his brother, Aaron – who was a great speaker could do the talking for him.......

Was that enough? No...still he protested:
Exodus 6.12....“If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips

I laughed when I read this because this is the man who was chosen by God to do a great deed..........and he sounded more 'zero' than 'hero' 

 If I were God, I would have given him a good slap and told him ‘You better do it or I will send thunder on you’ LOL

Seriously though, Moses' example shows that even the greatest amongst us is flawed - so we should not be so hard on ourselves. If God had been a mere human being, I bet he would have walked away from Moses. God saw something in Moses and that is why he chose him. There is something special in all of us.

This leads me to my fourth lesson learnt – BE AWARE OF YOUR PERSONAL BRAND - How you potray yourself often affects how others perceive you.  

To drive my point home, I would like to sell you two products:

PRODUCT A is a drink with the following features:
-         It is refreshing and thirst-quenching
-         Experts say it has rejuvenating qualities and makes drinkers look younger
-         People say it has a very unique taste
-         Lovers of this drink believe it has rejuvenating properties
-         This drink is good for people who are watching their weight

PRODUCT B is a drink with the following features:
-         Some feel the taste is a bit bland and boring
-         People do say too much of this drink can make tummies bloat
-         Certain versions of this drink can cause diarrhoea
-         Taking too much of this drink has caused death in some people
     -         People complain that certain versions of this product can be expensive

Can you guess what the products are? Well, both Products A and B are the same: water

Yes, a product is only inviting and desirable when it is perceived as such. 

Thinking of some favourite brands - Coca Cola, Dyson, Apple, Blackberry, Gala, Peak etc etc....Those who love these brands associate then with positivity. Similarly, the same applies to individuals and their 'Personal Brand':

 If someone is perceived as antagonistic......or......lacking confidence .......or.......cheerful..........or........selfish........or......indicisive.........or........reliable etc etc.....He/she is generally seen in that light most of the time. 

One of my favourite sayings is 'Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan' Too true. It is very easy to only remember the negatives that occur in one’s life but if that’s what you associate with yourself................What do you expect others to do?

 Yes, we can all do a 'Moses' (lacking confidence, courage etc) from time to time but not everyone has the patience of God; so as we are dealing with mere mortals from day to day - we must try to portray ourselves in a positive light.

YOU are the best advocate of your personal brand:
-         Celebrate your heritage. I believe we were all born in different circumstances for a reason
-         Celebrate your gender. There are good things about being male or female.
-         Celebrate your knowledge. I learn everyday – from old and young. No one knows everything.
-         Celebrate your experiences. Failure = Lessons Learnt. Setbacks = Hope for a better tomorrow.
-         Celebrate YOU. No one can do YOU like you can. Manage your Personal Brand. 


Hope I make sense?

I'll be back on the 5th of December for my final LLSF. Till then be safe, be nice.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


25 comments:

  1. Hmmmmmn, breath-taking lessons. such an inspirational write up.

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  2. I've read and learned from every lesson, looking forward to the 5th!

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  3. Hmmm, personal branding. That's a new one for me, point taken. Thanks.

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  4. One of my favorite quotes;" Be yourself, everyone else is already taken" - Oscar Wilde.

    Most times we are very quick to give high value to what we are not while putting down what we are, thinking that what we are means nothing.

    Very inspiring post.

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  5. hmmnnn. You make a lot of sense

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  6. You make so much sense. Never really put much thought in "personal Branding' until now. Thank you!

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  7. Precept upon precept... Line upon line... Here a little, there a little... It's a whole process. Good leaders must have been good followers; and a good follower drops his excesses and weaknesses through learning. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes

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  8. You made too much sense....

    I enjoyed reading it and I agree with the analogy and illustrations used.

    Personal branding is key, if one is too loud people will view one as such never mind the great qualities. If one is too opinionated people will label that tag on u. It important we understand what people see about us.

    Re: Moses ahhh thank God, God is not man Kia. the level of impatience, infact we wont be here..xxx

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  9. My best line is "No one can do YOU like you can".

    I have learnt a lot from the series . Thank you

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  11. You just dey fall Bro Moses hand for here. When you think of it, its really amazing how God kept using 'flawed men and women in the Bible' to show his might.
    Be aware of your personal brand - very very important - otherwise known as 'impression management'(the process of influencing how others perceive you)!. I chose integrity as my personal brand and work at it at all times.

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  12. This spoke to me. Positive vibes attract more positive vibes.
    Well done!

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  13. As usual, loads of sense. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. "...not everyone has the patience of God; so as we are dealing with mere mortals from day to day - we must try to portray ourselves in a positive light." That right there jumped out at me. RHEMA!

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  15. *Now going to work on my personal brand*

    So ma, how do you see me?

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  16. This is very inspiring I tell you. We could be so judgemental of ourselves and set some unecessarily high standards forgetting that we made perfect by God's grace.

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  17. 'YOU are the best advocate of your personal brand:...' This line summarizes it for me. Inspirational series, thank you.

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  18. You make a lot of sense, fellow blogger. You really cannot know how much you are impacting people with this series until we start saying how you have. Today is 6th, you promised you will be doing the final of the series on the 5th. Hope all is well?

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