A Personal Brand- for Teachers!

 Greetings teacher friends! Have you ever thought (like me,) that the work you do can be even more powerful than it already is? Ok, so we are teaching our future leaders... you can't get anymore powerful than that really, but, what if your work could reach more people and make a difference? 

Recently I attended a great workshop: ISTE Aspire. I was inspired by this workshop in many ways. Even from the first advertisement about building a personal brand I was hooked. The workshop was fun and engaging- anyone who as attended workshops from ISTE before knows they do this well! The keynote speaker, Jonathan George was inspirational, and showed how to build your personal brand. It's not just about the "thing" or website. I learned that a while ago from Jeff Bradbury's podcast. Building a brand starts with you! You want others to experience you and want more of what you have to offer. 

What I learned at ISTE Aspire was to be creative, think outside the box, and learn what you value to create something you are passionate about and meaningful. Think of your core values and talents you want to share with others through your work. Think of what you value most in your work and personal life. These will make up the heart or essence of your brand. Your core talents can be simple things such as humor, being a leader, a good listener etc. These are what will help you embellish your brand along with your flaws. (Yes, that's right- I sad flaws!) This was a surprising part of the workshop for me because I didn't expect using flaws would help propel us, but then I remembered the idea of growth mindset. This is exactly what we need to do! Jonathan shared that acknowledging our flaws helps us to grow. Using our core talents helps us to overcome our flaws, which is self-improvement. I think this is information we all have an awareness for, we just don't often think about it. Our flaws are a part of us, and therefore will be a part of our personal brand. It's how we work through them and try to make strides in growth that will get us noticed and enhance our work.

We all have something that makes us shine, and we should share it with other teachers. By doing this we inspire other educators! Think this week about what ideas you have. Maybe you want to create or design something. Perhaps you want to look up more information about a workshop or class to take. The choice is yours teacher friends! The key is to not shy away from the ideas, but use the motivation to get started, and reflect on your progress. 

You never know where one small step will take you. Helpful hint- check out ISTE or Jonathan George- Info@RockMyCampus.com for more resources and support! They help elevate education, and teachers to a whole new level!

Final Thoughts: Keep thinking of ways to build your personal brand. Keep reflecting on your core values, talents and flaws. Keep reaching to others for ideas and perspectives- networking keeps the magic going. Finally, keep pursuing your dreams and goals. You can make it happen! 

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