What Do You Want to Be Known For?

by / ⠀Personal Branding / June 23, 2012
"What do you want to be known for in life and leadership? Here's how I answered that question when someone recently caught me by surprise.

Someone asked me a profound question today. It was a question I was sure I knew the answer to right away, but the details begin to unfold the more I allowed myself to sink into the question.

“What do you want to be known for?”

My initial response was, “I want to be known for being me, authentically being me.”

I have experienced life in the metaphorical box where I marked and calculated every move to try to be “brand approved.”

Early on, I created myself with the thought that I needed to be someone different than who I really was to please others and achieve their vision of who I thought I “should” be.

I choose not to fit myself in someone else’s box of what they think I should or shouldn’t be as a human being and as a leader.

The initial response of, “I want to be known for being me,” was accurate. However, there is more that I want to be known for as a leader.

Additionally, I want to be known as…

  • A guide who elevates people to be their best selves.
  • A leader who challenges people to achieve more than they ever thought possible.
  • A mind that dreams bigger than people think is realistic.
  • Creativity that makes people scratch their heads perplexed and say, “Hmmmm.”
  • Being an individual that helps others recognize their purpose and inspires them to believe they can make a difference.
  • A developer and coach of the world’s top talent.
  • A leader who breeds creativity, empowerment, and innovation amongst followers.
  • One who creates an environment where people feel respected, want to work hard, and feel comfortable to be themselves.
  • I want to challenge people to move out of their own way to fulfill their maximum potential…their purpose.
  • I want to be known for my tenacity, resiliency, and ability to relate to almost anyone that I come into contact with because of my background and my story.
  • A hard worker who always gives 110%, even when there may be nothing else to give.
  • The individual that always believes where there is “a will, there is a way.”
  • The visionary who is able to connect strategy, mission, and purpose to achieve results.
  • The coach who helps people accurately diagnose and create a plan of action that yields more than they ever knew they were capable of achieving.
  • The leader who lives by the motto, “Be the leader you would follow.”
  • A fellow human being who walks and experiences the journey alongside each one of you.
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What do you hope to leave as a legacy in life and leadership?

About The Author

Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is Co-Founder of Under30Experiences, a travel company for young people ages 21-35. He is the original Co-founder of Under30CEO (Acquired 2016). Matt is the Host of the Live Different Podcast and has 50+ Five Star iTunes Ratings on Health, Fitness, Business and Travel. He brings a unique, uncensored approach to his interviews and writing. His work is published on Under30CEO.com, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, Reuters, and many others. Matt hosts yoga and fitness retreats in his free time and buys all his food from an organic farm in the jungle of Costa Rica where he lives. He is a shareholder of the Green Bay Packers.

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