Personal Branding Archives

Your life is your business

Our society has become overly-reliant on outside opinions to judge right from wrong. We look externally for approval, validation & acceptance & somehow subconsciously, believe that if we get what we believe is positive feedback; people will like us, respect us & most disturbingly, are actually telling us the truth & acting in our best interests.

It is often later we realize our failure in fully considering the potential ulterior motives of these people we have placed our trust & it’s costly.

The great thing about what I do is my ability to have candid, straightforward conversations with my clients. If I believe someone is blowing smoke proverbial up my ass – or their own – I can address it right then & there. The goal is career advancement. My focus is being a Career Agent, not making friends. While it is the hope of every interaction to build a long-term mutually beneficial professional respect, friendship is just a side effect.

My relationships are intentionally two-sided… often three-sided. The people who retain us (individually or on behalf of their company) understand the value of an unbiased third party with no financial interest.

Running your own life is not about the opinions or beliefs of another. Your career… is not a popularity contest.

In the Mirror is your Competition

We need to worry less about what we THINK is the competition and realize that the ONLY competition is the person looking back at you when you are looking in the mirror. Stop judging yourself on someone else’s accomplishments, financial success or career position.

Internalize and analyze what will need to be done to get you to YOUR ideal place. Take the time to develop yourself and take setbacks as a learning experience and NOT a failure.

Every step, every day, should be in the direction of where you begin to see the fact that there is NO COMPETITION except yourself.

You can do it. Never give up, never give in.

We are born with three things

We start out and the world is full of wonder & amazement. Overtime our hearts & souls become weighed down by things that make the adventure… well, less than exciting.It is said that we are born with 3 things; a mind, a body, and a lifetime. How you use the first two, determines the third.

It reminds me of an old Nike Ad….

Too often we are scared.

Scared of what we might not be able to do.

Scared of what people might think if we tried.

We let our fears stand in the way of our hopes.

We say no when we want to say yes.

We sit quietly when we want to scream.

And we shout with the others, when we should keep our mouths shut.

Why?

Don’t give up on seeing the world thought the eyes of your inner child. It doesn’t mean to act childish, it simply reminds us to cherish our mind and all the wisdom & wonder it contains, to treat our bodies as a temple & fill it with healthy nourishment (physically & mentally) and to use both of these amazing gifts to chase amazement & enjoy the life we were given.

Dress how you want to be addressed

Causal Friday has turned into quite a beast. I get it, Mark over at Facebook dresses in a hoodie & t-shirt, now Joe in marketing looks like he’s unemployed. Sound familiar? How you dress is important.

Maybe I was brought up differently (or on another planet… planet business), but when are we going to take pride in our appearance again? No, not YOU dear reader grumbling that YOU look really good… if you try… this ISN’T directed at you.

This wardrobe pandemic is EXACTLY why companies make people dress in stupid uniforms. Think low waged worker who will soon be replaced by robot automation. I don’t really need you to take my order (I don’t eat that processed crap), but I CAN push a button & wait for the warmed up partial meat product to slide down the shoot into a sack without YOU.

For the rest of you, making a wage that you’re not embarrassed by… clean yourself up. Show that YOU CARE. Purge that closet of all the outdated crap & go out and get yourself an UPGRADE.

“Dress how you want to be addressed”

That’s right, slacks & button down collared shirts for you gentlemen & work appropriate clothes from somewhere other than Forever 21 for the ladies. Guys, I can’t say it enough…YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Don’t be trendy. Invest in two pairs dress shoes (black & brown) at Johnston & Murphy. You’ll thank me.

Do what’s right, not what’s easy

We expect a lot from people in our daily lives, including our co-workers, managers & our team leaders. My father once said “Son, when you point a finger at someone & make accusations, you have three fingers pointing back at yourself.” After powering down for another night, I started thinking about all the “fingers” being pointed. (HEY, NOT THAT FINGER!)

We have come to expect things from the Men & Women of Law Enforcement & Military, the first among them is to Protect & Serve. Recently there was a deplorable situation in Florida concerning a school shooting & the actions (or lack of actions) from members of Law Enforcement. This has spun like a Hurricane (South Florida reference added for effect).

While there is no question that this is a tragedy, we as a SOCIETY need to address the REAL ISSUES hiding under the surface. We need to investigate for ourselves and NOT continue to digest what’s being put forth by media as relevant or truthful. We need to see polarizing by organizations for WHAT IT IS. The inaction of this individual (even the larger mishandling of a difficult situation), was the exception, not the norm for the Men & Women who have dedicated their lives to protect the members of our society from ALL THREATS, FOREIGN & DOMESTIC.

Expect more from everyone, including yourself

We as a society need to expect more, not just from ourselves but the people we call on to lead us, and especially the ones ELECT to be the leaders we follow. The problem today is we accept cronyism, help cover up ignorance, and repress intelligence… then put people in leadership positions & expect them to do anything of value.

“To be more, we must expect more. To expect more, we need to lead by example in our actions, our mannerisms & our deeds.”

I would like to know your story and would love to share mine. Employers are looking for leaders right now, my job is to introduce them to you. To often we are afraid to speak up or be seen as being “against the grain.” Let me be your voice. With an introduction from me, you can feel comfortable in being yourself and the person you are meeting with are as they appear. In our world, your opinions and experience matter.

If you are not in the position if leadership you believe you can be or if you are in a leadership position and would like to help others learn from your experience, let’s schedule a time to talk. Here is my personal schedule. Take a look at yours and let’s spend some time.

https://meetme.so/ER_SeekerServices

You must do something you’ve never done

It’s scary. I don’t care if you are a Veteran of the Armed Forces, a seasoned Executive or it’s your first big project after starting at a new company. Doing new things, especially when a lot is riding on a successful outcome, is nothing to shrug off.

“If you want something you’ve never had, then you’ve got to do something you’ve never done.”

Many of us have a similar voice inside, that tells us that we are not ready, we are not capable, that we are going to fail or we are going to look like a fool. Familiar?

“There is no way I will be able to do this” the voice says. You need to realize right now… that that voice is the “safe place” talking. The problem is, nothing AMAZING was ever achieved listening to that voice…especially as an adult.

Ever since you were born that voice, along with your parents, have protected you from doing something stupid – like sticking a key in the wall plug, jumping over a railing or eating whatever that was on the ground. Yuck!

Now that we are grown that voice pops up now and again, especially if we have fallen into a routine. Some among us have learned to turn it down, turn it off or put it to work in a different way.

How do you use yours? The better question might be, how do you control yours?

I would like to know your journey. I would like to know what it is you want… maybe I can help you achieve it.

Don’t try to blend in your career

We were trained from a young age to blend in (not stand out). We were trained using lines & to assimilate like everyone else. Stand in line, sit in line, wait in line, color within the lines, don’t get out of line, don’t speak up, don’t make waves, don’t draw attention to ourselves, and what we really learned… was to blend in & be the same.

In the wild, animals have adapted to blend in & there is a good reason… to help hide & thus “protect” them from the danger of what wants to kill them, much like this cute Arctic Fox. The white of their thick fur helps him (or her) blend in to the snow so predators have a more difficult time seeing him when its time to eat. This allows them to live longer for all the good things in life like procreation.

What am I getting at? Our schools were arranged to teach us how to learn basic tasks for our future in the workforce. Today’s workforce are boxed in cubicles. We leave our cubicles (house/apartment/condo/etc.), take transportation cubicles (cars/buses), to sit in cubicles (offices/work spaces), within more cubicles (buildings).

Schools were developed to train the students to be the factory workforce of days past, even down to the bells. The workforce has changed & so has our need to STAND OUT from the crowd.

Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks

Not everyone’s opinion counts. Yes I am talking to you dear reader. NOT because your opinion is worthless… but rather to get your attention refocused & scream – YOUR OPINION should be the most important opinion…. to YOU!

Worthless on occasion, hot air most often, people in today’s society are not the intellects they think they are. The phrase “Opinions are like Assholes, everyone’s got one… and everyone else’s stinks” is a bit harsh, but this is LinkedIn folks, not Facebook – there’s no children (by age) here.

“You will never succeed if you care what other thinks.”

Compared to the Americans of 1776, we have become gossip column addicts, tabloid fanboys, fake news conspiracy junkies, and a sound byte believing culture of sheep. Our News Journalists were once Investigators (of Truth), now they might as well be computer generated Artificial Intelligence. (That’s if you don’t get back to in-depth investigative reporting.

It’s time for a re-boot. The only way we are going to help others is to first help ourselves. You know the drill, when the oxygen mask falls from the overhead compartment…

You know ALL the details if something if it’s important… no sorry…. INTERESTING to you. Get INTERESTED AGAIN! You do the research, you look at the facts, you considered the options & you gather the evidence.

What’s your story going to be

If you love something, have interest in following a dream, can’t get something off your mind, find yourself immersed in learning about it, bring it up in daily conversations or people have told you that you would be “really good at it,” do it.

No Gluts

No Glory

No Legend

No Story

Don’t give up your dreams or trade those dreams for a false sense of job security. We NEED you… to BE YOU. Listen to that internal voice. Our industry, our Country, and our Communities need you to reach your fullest potential, to reach for new heights, to develop that idea, to expand that cause, to fight for what you want, to gather your tribe and to not give up, and never give in.

From today forward, take a step in the direction of your desires daily… I double dog dare you.

If I can be of assistance, you know where to find me.

Set bigger goals

We need to return to dreaming. The dream of something bigger has been pushed down & the belief in oneself has been lost behind “the necessity to work to survive.” What has that accomplished? Look at it. Yes, you dear reader. Set bigger goals.

I care less about your color, your sex, your religious beliefs…. I care about what is more than surface level. I care about what YOU can do & who YOU are. So show it.

Is what YOU have inside, the vision for what could be, the concept that keeps popping up, the voice that whispers to you, the frustration that bubbles up when you know there is a better way… getting louder?

Take the first steps. Talk it out. Write it down. Make it a reality. Make it known. WE NEED YOU to be the person you can be. Our society, our culture, our Country… our kids, our elderly, our companies, our EVERYTHING… needs what YOU have to offer.

“You need to set a goal so big that you can’t achieve it until you have become the person who can.”

MY DREAM – to secure a large private estate, turn it into a state-of-the-art learning Academy in which the industry leaders of today are able to provide mentorship, guidance & training to the future leaders of MY industry, and to make sure that we are able to supply everything (tuition, lodging, equipment & materials), so every socioeconomic student can focus on educational achievement.

What’s your goal?

Change

We need to utilize focus towards personal transformation & our own awareness to achieve EXTERNAL change. Change is not just a slogan for some political campaign, it’s much deeper.

The change we need… is found in self-awareness. If we want a society that is truly based on sustainable principles, if we want to remove despair, end poverty, to unify people, empower, evolve, or live in a free & truly fair democratic society, we have to start from WITHIN.

“We will not solve our problems with the same mindset that created them.”

What are the issues that really need to be addressed? What will it take to achieve long-term outcomes? What steps will be necessary to reach our goals? Who are the people that need to be involved? What is prohibiting forward progress? What matters most? What are the first steps?

I coined the phrase “Homeland Security Begins at Home” a decade ago. Home is not just a metaphor for America or our house… while interchangeable, I’m talking about our CENTER. What’s at our core, what’s our belief systems? The voice that tells us the difference between right & wrong, to speak up or keep quiet. The one that acts when action – SHOULD be the path.

It’s about time that we believe in our own judgment, our ingrained beliefs, our abilities, stop relying on the vocalized thoughts and opinions of others.

Get to work.

Following a dream

From today forward, take a step in the direction of your desires daily… I double dog dare you.

If I can be of assistance, you know where to find me.

Sincerely,

Christopher R. Bauer

Why your opinion is the most important

Worthless on occasion, hot air most often, people in today’s society are not the intellects they think they are. The phrase “Opinions are like Assholes, everyone’s got one… and everyone else’s stinks” is a bit harsh, but this is a real look at where we are folks – and there’s no children (by age) here.

It’s time for a re-boot.

The only way we are going to help others is to first help ourselves. You know the drill, when the oxygen mask falls from the overhead compartment…

In accord with reality or fact, an opposite to false

Truth. It’s a strange word in our current culture. Once it was most used to express being in accord with reality or fact, an opposite to false. It was a preeminent premise for science, history, technology & yes even journalism – were based on the definition of this word.

Truth, or at least the quest for it… set an evolution of ideas, built nations around its moral concepts & pushed knowledge into movement…and human civilization into the future. Truth also toppled empires, eradicated celebrity, separated love, & even ended lives.

The truth that one should seek, is the truth from within.

It is in our nature to seek truth. That is what many of us got into the field of Investigation, Security, Surveillance & Loss Prevention. Truth is an ingrained feature within our DNA. This is why we find it hard in our professional careers to “play the game.” We read body language, vocal tones, slight movements & variations in breath patterns as we were taught. We have hyper focused our senses CHOOSING this career path. Dealing with HR, a clueless client or an ignorant manager… frustrates us.

That same choice makes our own career management hard. Join me. Let me take you on my journey & show you what I have built… and what’s coming next in Career Management.