One of the most well-known and cited quotes about personal branding is that of Jeff Bezos, president of Amazon: “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” It’s a quote that I love and sums up the essence of personal branding. That is, YOUR PERSONAL BRAND IS NOT SO MUCH WHAT YOU SAY, BUT ABOVE ALL, WHAT OTHERS PERCEIVE.
Today I want to go one step further, I mean the personal brand not so much from what others say, not when you are not there but when you are gone, when you have died. I hope there is a lot left for this moment, but thinking about it I think it can help you live a meaningful life.
One of the most powerful questions in this direction is the following: WHAT DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL SAY ABOUT YOU ON THE DAY OF YOUR FUNERAL? Or even, WHAT WILL THEY WRITE IN YOUR OBITUARY? They are 2 questions that I love and they can help you think about what meaning your life has and what your legacy can be (I wrote a post about it: The Legacy).
Well, these same 2 questions were asked repeatedly by Alfred Nobel. Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, writer, and inventor. He registered 355 patents and created several companies. He was also the inventor of dynamite, which allowed him to amass a great fortune. In mid-1888 his older brother Ludwig Nobel died. A French journalist was confused and, believing that the deceased was Alfred Nobel, dedicated an obituary to him, defining him as “the merchant of death.” At that very moment, he realized that he would be remembered as the creator of dynamite and therefore, as the creator of much destruction and death.
And for this reason, he DECIDED TO BEQUEATH MOST OF HIS FORTUNE TO THE CREATION OF THE NOBEL PRIZES. The prizes were established in 1895 as the last will of Alfred Nobel, who died the following year. And they began to be awarded in 1901. Today, the Nobel Prizes are one of the most prestigious and recognized distinctions in the world that reward the most important advances in disciplines such as physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, peace, and economics. Furthermore, most people are unaware that Alfred Nobel was the creator of dynamite and only know that he promoted the Nobel Prizes.
Alfred Nobel realized at the end of his life what his legacy was going to be, and what they were going to talk about him when he was no longer around. Thanks to his enormous fortune, it was easy for him to change these opinions.
I wanted to rely on this example to MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY WILL SAY ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU ARE NO LONGER HERE. I recommend that you think about it frequently… and act according to what you would like to achieve. It is the best way to live a meaningful life.
And I end with a quote from Alfred Nobel himself: “Satisfaction is the only real wealth.”
