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Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of Image Group International, an award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies, and hacks for the new tech world. Here, you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques, and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image, and reputation.

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Welcome to another episode of my podcast. Over the last 36 years, I've worked with some of the world's top executives, entrepreneurs and Chiang Mai makers, helping them future proof their careers and businesses, and today I'm here to help you do the same. So what I want to do is talk to you about the world of work and how it's evolving in an unprecedented pace, and specifically how 2025 is shaping up to be the pivotal year. Of course, you've got a new president in the United States, you've got a new societal change. There's going to be a lot of changes happening, not only in the US, but, of course, most of the western world, and I'd say even beyond that. So you're going to be really conscious of also the geopolitical changes that are happening that have an impact on you. You just might not realize it right now, but they will have an impact on you in 235, years time, that's guaranteed, maybe sooner. So industries are transforming faster than ever, and the roles and skills in demand today might even not exist tomorrow. So to thrive, you need a certainly, a position out there, an authority, what I would call as a personal brand that adapts to these changes and secures your relevance and positions you for success. So the big question, how do you create a personal brand that survives and thrives in the face of rapid change? That's what we're exploring today. So why personal branding matters in 2025.

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So let's start by addressing the elephant in the room, something beyond change, and it's really transformation. And the difference here is really fairly simple. If you look at change, change normally happens outside of you. You know, it's like putting lipstick on. Certainly, there's a lot of visual change, but there's very little effect internally. Transformation is something what's embedded internally that you get changed from inside. And this is very, very important, okay? And something we don't get taught at school, by the way, so this is something just to keep at the back of your mind. It's beyond change. It's, you know, change is the first step. We're talking about something deeper here. So whether it's automation AI or shifting market demand, change is constant, as we know, and accelerating the speed, though, way beyond what most people can handle. So industries are transforming and break next speed and the skills or roles that are in demand today might not even exist tomorrow. That's why personal branding is more important than ever. Your brand isn't just a reflection of who you are today. It's a strategic blueprint where you're headed. By investing your personal brand, you're ensuring that no matter how the industry that you're in evolves, you remain adaptable, relevant and, of course, in demand. And what I mean by that is you're communicating more about yourself, that you've got initiative, and whatever happens out there, you will take the bull by the horns and do what you have to do, obviously, to stay above the noise. And that also means, from the perspective, that you're adding value away from your normal what I would call is general variety that you're going to find in most of society. You're bringing out a distinction about you, and you can only do that if you're obviously intentionally building your personal brand. And of course, part of building a personal brand might be some of the content we've spoken about in the past, and paper, book, etc, but I'm not going to go into that detail at the moment, so it's exactly what we I would say as a company have done for the last 36 years for entrepreneurs, leaders, authors, creators of all descriptions, sports stars, lead athletes and even celebrities in Hollywood. So for the last 36 years, we've helped 1000s of leaders and organizations do similar and so we can also, of course, say the model actually works for you that might not be as famous as some of the people we've worked with. And why is that important? Because the correct the model, the system works the same for everybody. It just depends at what scale we're talking about. So how do you create a personal run and stay. Turns out, this test of time, as you will be aware of having worked with me, if you have in the past, I believe in classism. I believe in contemporary classism. So something's just basically a timeless and that's what I'm talking about here today, even if AI or any other tech tool is obviously in vogue.

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So there are three critical elements. First, clarity in building your personal brand, it's important to get crystal clear or your unique value proposition, and that's the what and why that you bring to the table that no one else does. So it's identifying the skills, the qualities and especially lived experiences. Remember that no one can replace that make you indispensable, especially though the results, and make sure your brand communicates them effectively. So let people know the results here, because people are looking for results. So results, as we know, speak for themselves. What you say at times is less important than what you do. So demonstrate the action. The next one is adaptability. Now, what can I say about that? I mean, this has been been adaptable. Obviously, is always a great innate skill to have. And of course, in the last five years, pre after COVID, of course, adaptability is a key here. So the future, we would say, is belong to those who are agile and certainly can pivot. So building a brand that's flexible and evolves with you, is what I would say, is the success formula, even if you're uncomfortable, okay or comfortable while this is happening. And by comfortable, I say, be really careful about comfortable, because comfortable is like the first sign eventually that you're going to become quite uncomfortable, because remember, Nothing stays the same. Everything is changing, or in this case, transforming before your very own eyes. So this means staying curious, learning continuously, and being willing to reinvent yourself as industries and communities change, and, of course, even societies as a whole. So it's essential that you stay on top of that and be really, really conscious that these changes will impact you, maybe not at this moment. And I've already mentioned that earlier regarding you know, you've had an election last year. The US has got a new president. You've already got a new administration coming to power. They have new ideas, and there's going to be a lot of differences from the past. So what that means is a lot, a lot of policies are going to change as well. So you gotta be really aware of what's what's coming along. And of course, if you've been hiding under a rock for the last few years, this is time to start thinking, is this actually the best way for me to invest my lifetime energy doing that, and if it is good on you fantastic. But as I've said before, you're normally not would be one of my clients. So adaption is the key to survival. We know that. And of course, keep being recreating yourself is the key here. And as the old saying says, No pain, no gain, and finally, authentic thought leadership, that, of course, we've covered in the past, but this is 2025 and I think we're going to bring it to the table again, position yourself as an authority in your field. And I mean authority. I'm not talking about some person that's operating in his grandmother's garage, acting like they are the expert. And this is happening, of course, has been happening for years now. Okay, that's a serious problem, because it breaks trust.

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Remember what I said before, especially for SMEs, so on, entrepreneurs, coaches, marketing, people, etc, because they're not all the same. There is obviously some really great people out there. So this is very important. So share insights, create quality content, because everyone else can do the same right now. Remember this right and engage in intentional conversations that showcase your knowledge and wisdom, not just online, but I would say, everywhere. So when you're seen as an authentic thought leader, opportunities will come to you. So meaning, what that means is that we can imagine this, you're actually attracting opportunities to you, as opposed to you pushing them onto people. And this is the important aspect of brand, because without brand, you're just the commodity. What that means is you're basically in the sea of sameness. And when you're in the sea of sameness, you're a commodity, you're not a premium quality brand, in this case, even as an individual. And if you get emotional when I say that, and you think, I'm not a brand, I'm a person, all of that, I just say, get over it and look at yourself from the perspective. That you're out there, you're either marketing, promoting, selling who you are. And that means also a lot of people get confused about that. Oh, but I'm not in the money business. I might be a non for profit, or I'm a teacher, etc. You're all actually out there, you're marketing, you're promoting, you're selling yourself. That's it. When you look at that from a non emotional perspective, you start to get some clarity here, because we all do it. I think just some of us are more honest than others in reference to how important that is, and some of us might underplay it, or even be covert about it, pretend we don't do it, and of course, we actually do. We just don't want the world to find out. So your clients, colleagues and stakeholders will see you as the go to person that means high value and without sounding cliche, as Jeff Bezos from Amazon said, your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. This is clear. You can do it. This is an exercise as well, if you really want to find out at times what people are saying to you that will never say to your face, especially with cancel culture, of course, that people will never say the truth generally in your face, although I sense this is going to start changing right now, because there is a shift in reference to people are sick and tired of not being able to express their truth. So in 2025 this idea takes on new weight. The conversations happening about you, online and offline, will determine the opportunities that come your way. Think about it, right? It's what actions are happening out there, especially if you're ambitious, especially if you do want to play the excellence game, as opposed again, what I said was the the hide mediocre type of existence that it certainly doesn't resonate with me and doesn't resonate with all the clients that actually are part of our company. So I want to give you a stat. LinkedIn says in one of its latest reports, 75% of professionals believe personal brand, their personal brand has become more important in career advancement Since 2020 so in five years, this has grown dramatically. Of course, we believe this. Of course you might say we're biased about this, but no, we've we've been doing this for 36 years. So it's not something that's brand new for us, okay? And it's brand new for people searching Google as a keyword, but this is actually a very effective strategy. It's a currency builder. So this number will only grow as industries, industries become competitive and make no mistakes, as people lose their jobs. Okay, they're gonna, and they will lose their jobs. 

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There's no question about that. And if somebody's not proactive in safeguarding their futures and lose their job, that's their problem. It's like I've sort of got empathy fatigue right now, if you don't want to take responsibility for your life, and that means also your career and your business and it fails, it's your fault. Don't blame anyone else. Okay, this is an opportunity to really stand up, get noticed, okay, and put yourself out there. And there will be some risk involved with that, but trust me, the risk of not doing something is a lot, lot bigger at times, though you might not see it that way, certainly not at this moment. So it's like, I don't want to be the guy that sort of predicts the future, but definitely, if you're aware, if you study and you've actually looking at the opportunities that are available out there, and that's the way I like to look at it, there's going to be amazing opportunities for people that have got the spirit to actually live their conviction and go for it. So let's now talk about alignment as we're aware, every industry has been shaped with trends from AI and technology to sustainability in fashion and telehealth and healthcare. Now I want to make this clear here every industry, one of the industries that is taking it easy, although AI, definitely shaping the education industry, is definitely education, higher education universities. I can't tell you how many young people contact us for employment that we, at times, will hire, and most of them have got no understanding of the real world from the perspective of being industry ready. And of course, if you check the research, I think your research will show this as well. And it's not the young kids fault, it's certainly the universities, because what you've got there is you've got stuff that's been taught there from books, okay, that have no reality in the current, ever changing world. So keep that the top of mind, especially if your kids as well. And this is where your own mentoring and your own wisdom will come into play. Here. I get very passionate about this because I've seen a lot of damage done. So understanding these trends isn't just about keeping up again key word positioning yourself at the forefront of them. So ask yourself, what skills are experts? Expertise will be in demand in your industry by 2025 I go already in 2025 what's that going to be? How can you start developing those skills now? And what conversations or initiatives can you join to position yourself as a forward thinking leader? Now, this is very important. Okay, personal branding is a great example. I'll stick to sort of my lane, my expertise. A lot of people talk about personal branding, they've got no idea what it all is. Personal Branding is not a cheap Facebook post, okay? Or on LinkedIn, you got extraordinary you got all these posts now on LinkedIn, again, AI generated, and it's supposed to be like expert. That's not what we're talking about here, that is a small component, okay, but, but so think about yourself. These three questions are a good start for you to start thinking about that, because you've definitely got innate skills there. And at times, what will happen here is, if you're not recognized in this lifetime, meaning career business, there will be, there will be a yearning inside you that's going to drive you crazy until you are because all human beings in this lifetime want to be recognized for who they are. So these are three good questions to start the journey with. So your personal brand should be a reflection of where your industry is going. But I would say even beyond that, not just for today, but also for tomorrow, and also how it's pivoting to other areas. And as I mentioned before, also study other industries. And certainly that's what I do.

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For example, if you're in finance, you've got to understand the blockchain and crypto trends could be critical. Now the Trump administration is making this a priority. Okay, this is not a joke anymore, okay, because the whole finance world is certainly heading to a new paradigm, especially around digital and of course, understanding some of these trends is essentially and not only that. Of course, if you do this properly, you could also make a lot of money. Okay, so this is very important. Now it's really interesting. You speak to a finance guy, he or she is supposed to basically map out your future for your wealth creation strategies, let's say till retirement, assuming you're thinking that way. Okay, so good question to ask them, also along the ways, how wealthy are you? What? How is your plan about creating wealth and also retirement? Because I can tell you, a lot of them are broke themselves, but here they are advising you on how to become wealthy, okay? And they don't even know the first step themselves. So one simple question, like, what I could go even further, I would ask him, then the proof in the pudding. Just show me. Show me how good you are. And this is interesting, because you're not supposed to do this with around money, wealth, finance, etc, but I certainly would. And if you're in education, exploring ed tech advancements could set you apart. The point is staying ahead of the curve. Okay, and this is the key here. Now I'm also going to share with you some actionable steps to help future proof your personal brand moving forward. And one of them, of course, is staying educated. Now educated. And I mean just traditional education. I'm talking about edgy stuff as well, stuff that might not be what you've considered education. And I'm also talking about their personal development, okay, that also gives you the greatest education, because that's the greatest investment. You don't get a piece of paper for that, but you've got embedded wisdom that you'll be able to use for the rest of your life. But you could also invest in selected ongoing education, but you got to be really selective there, whether it's online certification or attending industry conferences. But most importantly, what we'd say is learn anything in critical thinking, because that's an area that's gone downhill for numerous years right now, and of course, that's a serious problem. So we know knowledge is power, however, we know wisdom is really the new currency, because everyone can can gain knowledge. You only need Google and AI to do that. But the key differentiator here in the landscape that's super competitive and sameness is really wisdom. The next one. Let's have a look at the next one. Network strategically. Well, as you would be aware from past podcasts, I believe networks are everything. So that's the key, opening doors to the right people, meeting the right people, etc.  getting connected with the right people, , so surrounding yourself with selected.

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 People who are shaping the future of your industry or even other industries is the key here. And I am using the word select. Yes, be really snobby about that. And I mean that because life is too short. See, a lot of people say, , and this is the Facebook con, , connect with everybody. They're all your friends, rah, rah, rah, rah.
It was a con at the start, it's a con now. No, they're not going to become your friends, okay? It's just, , it's a great business model for Facebook, but it doesn't do much for you. It's about selecting specific friends. Do you think, do you think the ultra wealthy and powerful out there, Just go out there and create just Facebook profiles. Okay. The real, the real connections are the private ones. The ones that aren't even on the Facebook,  page. So the key here is, or your, your, your Facebook group. So what you want to do here is select people, , and you want to identify who they are. Who are some of these people here? Because if you create a compelling, Positioning story about who you are. People will be interested in you because as I've noted before, did you attract people to you as opposed to pushing yourself onto people? And that's actually what happens on a lot of these social media sites. You don't do that properly. Join, I say those select in LinkedIn groups. If that really works for you, attend a strategic networking events and connect with mentors with the runs on the board who can guide you, assuming you can get to them and you can, if you, , if you're positioning yourself right and are authentic around that people want to help people, I can tell you that,  from my own experience, and also contact advisors,  that have skin in the game. Now ask 'em to show you results, not blah, blah, blah. Stuff that sounds interesting, but is not lived experience. Okay. So that's, , that's an important,  caveat there when you're gonna be asking for mentors, . Advisors, consultants, etc. Even  on, paid or non paid perspective. The skin in the game is for me, everything. The next one is embracing technology. Now we've already spoken about this many, many times. AI is a perfect example of that, but also I want to mention this.  McKenzie predicts that AI could add 13  trillion to the global economy by 2030.

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 So the question is, of course,  the caveat, this could add, could be less, could be more. But how much of that pie will you claim? See, by leveraging the right tools and AI is part of that automation.  Definitely data analytics to enhance productivity and of course your expertise.  If you do this and you then you understand how to read the data, you're creating new possibilities. So being tech savvy  it's essential,  it's the left brain approach that everyone needs access to even if you're totally  right brain creative, .  You've got to build  a natural digital presence, , your online footprint today matters more than ever. Why? Because people will check you out online. That's it. And if you haven't got a footprint, it's like you don't exist. So regularly update your LinkedIn profile. Yes,  that we support LinkedIn because it's a professional profile. Also though, create a professional website.  and share content,  that highlights your skills and vision for the future. And if you've got the results that you've got past testimonials, history, et cetera, please share that, , put that all up there.  And of course, LinkedIn gives you a great opportunity on that because you can put some real testimonials up there, that certainly are more legit than a lot of the other sites where fakes are everywhere. I'm not saying LinkedIn hasn't got faked either that's starting to happen as well or starting to happen a lot more. Okay, but certainly most of the connections especially Testimonials you'll get to see a real person  Like the old wisdom book says,  from point of view of vision  People with no vision will perish. So you can't just stay comfortable for the sake of comfortable. Everyone likes to feel comfortable, right? , it's like, who likes change? , who likes  deeper level transformation? Okay? It's sort of, it's hard work, right? It's easier just to Let things happen, but you've got no choice right now. Well, you have got a choice. You can make your own choices, but certainly from our perspective, our, , our messaging to our clients and everyone would come in contact with these, , you, you gotta constantly.  Grow, elevate yourself and keep on growing because that's what we're here for. if you're going to make a difference, how else would you make a difference? If you're not constantly growing yourself, but you can also,  consider, How are you going to do some of this on for instance, on LinkedIn, as an example is, , your LinkedIn headline speaks also about the future or to the future, more to the point, for example, , instead of putting boring marketing manager, , I think that's overly boring and overused and possibly misleading. Okay. How about, , driving growth through AI powered marketing as an example. So what I'm doing here is taking a niche approach. for a commodity used keyword.  Highlight how you drive return on investment through data driven strategies, or how your campaigns have shifted consumer behavior. Now this is very important, including if you're going to be engaging with social media agencies and so on. Because trust me, when you ask them return on investment, you'll discover, and I'm not joking here, 95 percent of the time they will just talk to you about vanity, vanity, vanity. Okay. And that might be a, , return on investment if that's what you're looking for, but there is other things as well, including,  financial return on investments with clear, pathways


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 A study by PWC found, , people with a clear personal brand are 33 percent more likely to be approached for leadership roles.  So remember, why is this important? Because. Clarity leads to unseen opportunity. So  if you're putting messaging that's clear out there, the opportunities that are available, you can't even see them right now or even imagine them. Okay, because they are totally hidden and that's the beauty of building your personal brand. So in 2025.  And beyond your personal brand will be your greatest asset. We've been saying this now for a long time.  Of course, with all the changes happening, it just sort of, you know, pushes it more to a point of, of relevance and importance. And also, of course, if you look at how popular the term is on Google today, it just shows you how many people are interested in that as a concept. So by aligning it with your.  Evolving demands,  your personal demands and of course your industry. You can navigate change with confidence and create opportunities on your terms because you've got a sense of what's going on. You're not operating, by living in the dark. Okay. You, you can't live your life by burying your head in the sand like an ostrich. This is not going to work certainly from a personal career or business perspective and certainly. It's something I would recommend that nobody does. So, Oh, that's been a bit of a long one today.  I want to thank you as always for joining me on this episode. If you've enjoyed today's episode, I trust you did make sure to subscribe, share with fellow entrepreneurs and keep building your authentic personal brand.  Also remember to connect  with me on LinkedIn  and visit our website@imagegroup.com uh, au for more resources. Lastly, if you need my help in your personal and business brand journey, including using ai,  please contact Patricia at patricia.bosa@imagegroup.com au.  Until next time, stay adaptable, stay relevant and keep building the brand that's uniquely yours. See you in the next episode. Cheerio.

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Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence, and authority in the business world. To learn more and apply for personal coaching, seminars, and group workshops, please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.