“The Start-Up of You”: Creating your own personal brand

Last week I read a very interesting book, “The Start-Up of You” by Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman (co-founder and chairman of LinkedIn) and Ben Casnocha share a little secret in their book, the workforce escalator is crowded.

After graduation, we made way onto the escalator from the bottom step, and slowly rode our way to the top, attaining new career heights the longer we are on for the ride.

But with the death of the traditional career path, the escalator’s overcrowded and many are left feeling agitated and directionless.

Reid took Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook) as an example.

Sheryl started her career working at the World Bank and later working on American policy.

But her career took her to Google and most recently to Facebook where she is now the COO.

My key takeaway from that book is “Retain Your Identity”

Have a professional identity that you can carry with you as you shift jobs. You own yourself.

Prioritize plans that offer the best chance at learning about yourself and the world.

Not only will you make more money in the long run, but your career journey will be more fulfilling.

So, the big question is, how do you plan to invest in you?