Redefining Personal Brand: Beyond the Red Glasses

For years, I've worn red glasses. At first these were for reading and to relieve eye strain, but as time went on my eyesight worsened and I had to get prescription glasses. I like the color red because it "pops" -- what I didn't anticipate is that people started calling me "the lady in the red glasses." Some people even started saying the red glasses were my brand. But then, I had eye surgery and I don't need glasses any longer. I realized that no one called me the solopreneur, the CAE, the ethics expert, the association advocate, or the gardener. Instead of getting to know me, they decided to focus on a visual that has nothing to do with my personality, my knowledge, my expertise, or my skills. When others identify us this way, we are diminished. All of us deserve to be seen in 3D -- we are all multidimensional. This discussion will explore our public facing selves, the question of perception, personal branding, and the dilemma of how we judge so often based on the surface, not what is inside.