Marisa Murgatroyd

I’ve been sitting here staring at a blank screen, because this is really hard for me to share.

Two months ago I blogged on How to Craft a Magnetic Personal Story to Power Your Global Brand. In that post, I promised that I’d share my personal story, so ready or not here I come.

This feels raw and unfinished… a little personal… a little painful… and definitely uncomfortable.

I used to think my story didn’t matter, since what I do is based on tactics and strategies. I thought people hired me to get results, not because of who I was and what I stood for. But nothing could be farther from the truth.

Your story, your life experiences, the miles you’ve walked and the perspective it’s given you – is the only thing that truly differentiates you from everyone else in the marketplace. Your skills and knowledge can be outsourced, but only you are qualified to be you.

Simon Mainwaring’s transformed himself from a lawyer and ad man to brand evangelist for the 21st century with the publication of WE FIRST: How Brands & Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World (named Strategy + Business best marketing book of 2011).

I attended the We First Social Branding Seminar, tapped into the fiber optics of his brain and just barely made it out alive…. (if you’ve ever heard Simon speak, you’ll know what I mean)…

I’m back with 6 brilliant mindsets that will completely retool how you’re representing your brand online (I know it has mine).

Bo Eason went from NFL footballer to Broadway star on the strength of his personal story (plus the brawn and gumption of a pro athlete). I was lucky enough to attend his Personal Story Power event last weekend and wanted to share my takeaways.

As Bo says, “your personal story and perspective of the world is the most valuable asset you have.” There’s no other training you need to build your global brand and get your message out there. But first you have to embrace your story – to speak it and fight for it everywhere you go, because it’s what brought you here to this moment in time where you can really make a difference.

Bo talks about the transformational age, the dream society that we live in, where the winner is she who can tell her story the best and impact people emotionally with her life.

If you’re not willing or not courageous enough to share your story, you’ll be outsourced or replaced because there are hundreds if not thousands of people who can do what you do. However, there’s only one person who can do it in the way you do it with the perspective you have. (Yes, that’s you…)