The Truth About Personal Branding That Nobody Tells You
Why It’s the Fastest Way to Accelerate Your Career (If You Do It Right)
Most people think building a personal brand is about visibility.
They think it means going viral.
Or being a thought leader.
Or posting every day like it’s a second job.
But here’s the truth:
Your personal brand isn’t about being known. It’s about being trusted.
When people trust your voice, everything changes:
You stop needing to prove yourself in every meeting
You attract opportunities instead of chasing them
You build leverage outside your job, without threatening it
And if you’re ambitious? It’s the single best investment you can make in your long-term career growth.
The Hidden ROI of a Personal Brand
Let’s talk about what building a brand actually does for your career:
You create clarity around who you are and what you stand for
You become discoverable to people looking for talent, ideas, or collaborators
You build a public track record of how you think
You shorten the trust curve with future clients, teams, or investors
That last one is the killer.
When someone finds your content and says, "You’re in my head," they’re not browsing. They’re ready.
Ready to hire you. Collaborate with you. Learn from you. Or promote you.
Most people spend their careers waiting to be picked.
Your brand gives you the power to opt-in to better opportunities.
The Counterintuitive Part: It Helps You Inside Your Job, Too
A lot of people think they have to build their brand in secret or only for “what’s next.”
But here’s what I’ve learned firsthand:
"Your personal brand is just the reputation you build by helping people at scale." — Alex Hormozi
Why?
Because when you write consistently, you:
Clarify your thinking
Articulate your ideas better in meetings
Communicate with more confidence
Become seen as a strategic voice inside the company
I’ve had senior execs reference my LinkedIn posts in internal conversations. I’ve had teammates DM me to say a post I wrote helped them navigate a challenge.
That wasn’t “marketing.” That was leadership.
You’re building trust before the room, outside the room.
But Won’t This Get Me Fired?
Let’s talk about the fear:
"What if my boss sees this?"
"What if people think I’m not committed?"
"What if I mess up and say the wrong thing?"
Here’s the reality:
If you’re respectful of your company, avoid confidential details, and share insights rooted in what you’ve learned, you’re not a liability. You’re an asset.
Companies today want employees who:
Understand their craft deeply
Build trust externally
Show they can communicate with clarity and confidence
If your content does that, you’re making yourself more valuable—not less.
I never hid my brand-building.
I also never made it the focus of my work hours.
I created boundaries. And I stuck to them.
Early mornings. Late nights. A clear lane.
That’s how I avoided the internal friction and grew externally at the same time.
What to Write About If You Can’t Talk About Work
This is the #1 objection I hear from people:
"I’d build a brand, but I can’t talk about what I do."
Here’s the good news: you don’t need to.
You can write about:
Lessons you’ve learned from past roles
Career principles you believe in
Frameworks for better thinking or decision-making
Personal mindset shifts
Industry trends and your take on them
None of those things break boundaries.
All of them build connection.
You’re not trying to impress people.
You’re trying to build resonance.
And that comes from showing up as a real person who thinks through problems out loud.
My Real Results from Doing This
Here’s what this looked like in my world:
When the first inbound brand opportunity came through, I had about 50,000 subscribers. They’d been seeing my content for weeks, and when the time came to collaborate—they already trusted me. That trust came from repetition, not hype.
Internally, things shifted too. My content wasn’t just for the outside world. It gave the people I worked with a clearer sense of my leadership style and the depth of my thinking. It built alignment and respect in ways no internal meeting could.
And after I left? That brand carried. Former coworkers, peers, and industry contacts kept reaching out—asking for help with their careers, with building their own presence, or finding clarity around their next step. That demand evolved into what’s now a full-fledged coaching business.
This didn’t happen overnight. But it happened because I stayed consistent, clear, and helpful.
And you can do the same.
The Real Secret: It’s Not About Influence
You don’t need to go viral.
You don’t need to be a creator.
You don’t even need a huge following.
You need consistency and a clear point of view.
One post a week.
One lesson at a time.
Your future self isn’t looking for perfection. They’re hoping you hit publish.
Want Help With This?
I’m working with 5 people in July who want to turn their personal brand into real career leverage.
Here’s what you’ll get:
Direct access to me for strategy and feedback
The latest trends and tactics for LinkedIn and Substack
A proven system to manage your brand in under an hour a day
Personalized support to help you turn your brand into a magnet for opportunity
I’ve already booked 4 out of my 5 coaching slots for July—and I’m having calls with others this week. If you want the last one before it's gone, reply with "I'M IN" and I’ll send over the details.
Better opportunities come to people who make themselves easy to trust.
Let’s build that together.