Whether you’re reading this because you’re a business owner or not, we’re all brands in one way or another. We all have things to promote in our lives—even if it’s just the way we present ourselves to the outside world on a daily basis. No idea, business, project, or side hustle can be successful without a personal brand, which pretty much just boils down to aligning your ideas with your audience and giving them a reason to believe in your narrative and support your journey.

Your personal brand is your story, it is who you are at the core and the impetus to your legacy. It is your reputation, your identity, and how others describe you. It’s what puts you top of mind. And when you dominate a notion in the minds of your peers, then you have a strong personal brand.

When you have a strong personal brand you are a trusted source. You’re acknowledged as an expert. You’re able to expand your reach, enhance stronger relations, and emit a presence that will position you authentically in the minds of your audience. The results are endless and the steps to getting there are quite clear. Today I will show you a unique formula to your personal brands influence, and if showcased properly, you too can live a life of legacy.

The opportunity for an entrepreneur or CEO to have a voice of legacy is here with social media. We are seeing a new wave of storytelling evolve from the likes of Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Alex Hormozi, and many others with a production team behind their personal brand. This form of storytelling is indicative to where media is shifting. We are documenting every move we make and sharing every nugget of insight for our highlight reels. Conference room meeting…recorded, Coffee shop conversation…recorded, ranting in a car after the meeting…recorded. You can see where I’m going with this.

Everyone loves a good acronym, right?

The SMASH formula for personal brand influence is clear and straightforward.
It is imperative to your internal truth and the culmination of your narrative.

It all starts with style. Your style is the logo of your personal brand and it’s the fundamental component to your individuality. It is how we walk, talk, and rock what we do. It’s the jargon we use, the demeanor we deliver, and the poise we project.

It’s Damon Jon’s 3 piece suit, Seth Godin’s yellow framed glasses, Chris Sacca’s Cowboy shirts, Steve Job’s black turtle neck. It’s Gary Vaynerchuk’s use of provocative language while speaking with an empathetic tone, it’s Tai Lopez using flashy lamborghinis to sell knowledge from reading books, and Tony Robbins immersive body language to drive emotional breakthrough.

Style is how you conduct yourself. It’s how you authentically connect and relate to your audience. Style is something unique to you and it’s how your audience will familiarize with you. If you keep your style consistent, your personal brand will always be on point.

Your mission exemplifies the “why” behind your motivations. It’s what drives, ignites, and energizes you at the core. Your mission should express what you’re truly passionate about pursuing and your intent to make it happen.

As Gary Vaynerchuk intends to buy the New York Jets, Tom Bilyeu strives to end metabolic disease with Quest and now wants to build a comic series bigger than Disney, your mission must be clear and concise.

Your mission is what matters to you most and that matters to your audience. Weather it’s your maniacal commitment to mastery, your purposeful path to reaching a set goal, or your daily execution to creating change, your mission is the plot to your personal brands narrative.

Your accomplishments are the building blocks of your story. They are your inflection points, your accolades from hard work, and the successes along the way.

These accomplishments should reflect a theme of both admiration and aspiration. Weather it’s a business you’ve built, a book you’ve written, or the obstacles overcome, your audience wants to see, hear, and understand your accomplishments so they can better understand the principles for achieving them. It’s important to showcase your accomplishments as a reference to where you were to who you are and will become.

What is your secret sauce? What is your super power? What are you best at, better than anyone else?

You must be both a believer in and practitioner of your strengths. You have to walk with a confidence knowing that you outperform your competition. Just like Tai Lopez out-reads, Gary Vaynerchuk out-hustles, Grant Cardone thinks 10X, Tim Ferriss out-experiments, and Tony Robbins out-serves, you too can use your strength to relegate the competition and show your audience the importance of mastering a skill to maximize their impact.

It’s equally important to note that when you harness your humility, it becomes your strength. As Churchill said, “Speak soft, carry a big stick”, you should also remain modest for your audience to believe in and celebrate what you are seeking to achieve.

As Vaynerchuk expresses gratitude to his parents and the confidence they instilled in him, Grant Cardone vulnerably shares his drug addiction and fathers death, humility is probably the most captivating of the principles for your personal brand. It’s your vulnerability, your trials and tribulations, and your overall contribution to the world beyond serving just yourself.

In conclusion, when thinking about what to express and how your message should best convey your truth, the SMASH formula can be applied for any content you’re contemplating putting out. Your narrative is unique and who you are matters to many. These are the ingredients to smashing your personal brand so you can tell your story with style and live a life of legacy, today.