The featured contributor for the week of April 6th, 2009 is Dan Schawbel:
dan schawbel is the leading personal branding expert for gen-y. he is the author of me 2.0: build a powerful brand to achieve career success, as well as the publisher of both the award winning personal branding blog and personal branding magazine.
Here are Dan's "Five Rules For Life":
1.) Never look back.
Too many people have regrets in life, but your past is out of your control. You should learn from the past and make better decisions in the future. Even if you have a success, it's important to celebrate, but also move on afterward. People tend to get so excited that it distracts them from progressing.
2.) Be yourself.
You need to be the real you because everyone else is taken and replicas don't sell for as much. This means that if people don't like you for who you are, then they aren't the right people for you to be around. It also means that if you try to be someone else, the real brand you will be uncovered, exposed, and receive bad press. It might sound rudimentary to say "be yourself," but a lot of people try to be what others want them to be, such as parents or friends. You'll never enjoy life if you take that path.
3.) Promote others.
One of the biggest issues people have when networking is that they self-promote, without caring about others. Fruitful relationships come out of mutual giving and caring. All ego's aside, if you help other people, it will come straight back to you in the long-run. This is why blogging is so effective because you're giving out free content, people are benefiting from it and want to return the favor.
4.) Be confident.
Whether you're trying to pick up a girl or a guy, presenting your project to your college class, or starting a new business - confidence is required. It's not enough to just say "be confident." You really need to care enough about what you do that you won't back down when you get criticized. People can tell if you're confident or not based on your body language and whether you stutter or not when you're speaking.
5.) Be willing to try new things.
It's important to keep an open mind in business and in life because you might like something you've never tried before. This could range from eating "salmon" to starting a blog. The more things you try, the more you'll know what you like and dislike. Once you understand that, you can focus your efforts on what you like and you'll have more success and fun with it.
Dan currently resided in Boston, Massachusettes.
Check back next week for a new Featured "Five Rules" of the Week.
And check out the new compilation post - "Five Rules For Life" - editor's choice.
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