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The day I became a 'personal branding expert' by accident...

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Hey Reader,

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Yesterday, I was tagged in this LinkedIn post about a summit I spoke at last September. It pulled me straight back to a moment that still feels more than a little surreal.

When I got the invitation to give a keynote talk on 'Personal Branding for Introverts' to an audience of over 300 at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, my first reaction wasn’t excitement. It was confusion.

Personal branding? Me?

I’d never pitched myself as a personal branding expert. At the time, I had a weekly email LinkedIn newsletter about introversion, a monthly email with just some random thoughts and sporadic introversion posts on social media. I didn't have a coherent strategy, just a mission.

Yet here was this invitation, asking me to speak on a topic I’d never consciously claimed.

And then it clicked.

I hadn’t been 'building a brand'; I’d just been consistent in showing up as myself. Turns out, that’s exactly what personal branding is meant to be.

I’d become known for something I never set out to own, simply by being real.

Unbound Shift

We’ve got personal branding backwards.

We think it’s about crafting and curating, choosing niches and polishing messaging. But your personal brand isn’t something you manufacture: it’s already there.

It lives in the patterns of how you show up, what you care about, and the lens you bring to your work.

The shift isn’t from invisible to visible; it’s from manufactured to authentic.

Your brand is already working. The only question is whether it's working FOR you - because whether you're building your own thing, like me, or whether you're an employee, jobseeker or freelancer, in 2025 your personal brand is the new CV.

Unbound Step

This week, I’m running a little experiment inspired by the Threads creator, @pissoffboss.

I’m asking: What word(s) or ideas do you associate with me or my brand?

Why? Because awareness is the foundation of pretty much anything and being aware of how I'm seen helps me to identify opportunities and understand the brand I've built - whether intentionally, or not.

I’d love you to try it too.

That’s it. Just a simple question to see the brand you’ve already been building by being yourself.

If you don't feel comfortable posting publicly you could always choose a select range of people (perhaps from your personal and professional life) and message it to them.

The lady in that LinkedIn post I was tagged in had said my keynote message has stuck with her, and that she still lives with the lesson almost a year later: You can have impact without changing who you are.

It seems that applies to personal branding too.

I'd love to hear what word(s) or phrases you associate with me/ my brand - hit reply to let me know!

In your corner always,

Sam 💛

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Sam Sheppard Introvert Life Design Strategist I share practical tools to help you design a life that actually fits. ​

Let's connect! 👋🏻 You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Threads. Catch up with past editions on my website.
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