How can you use the hero's journey to tell your personal brand story?

People resonate a lot with struggle and motivation. Hero's journey is something that summarizes this. To stand out in your journey, plot what you have been doing. How do you start it? What hurdles did you face? Who came to your rescue? What has been the biggest challenge in the journey? Who was the biggest motivator? When you add these aspects in your content creation journey, people resonate with you and reward you with their appreciation. My journey started as a college student who was trying to find internships but somehow started writing on LinkedIn. Eventually, completion of graduation, took an oath to start it again If I get a job. And it happened because I chased and worked for it. If I can use my story, you too can express.

In the context of a tragic hero, the journey’s pretty much the same, except the transformation often involves the hero’s downfall due to a fatal flaw. They’ll gain some self-awareness, but usually too late to prevent tragedy. It’s powerful stuff, emotionally compelling, and a great tool for brands to create epic narratives.

My Hero's journey in building a amazing personal brand: I am building my personal brand to build myself from zero to hero Here is how I am doing it👇 🌟I Describe my journey back from the start, and the insights my gained during this phase. 🌟 I Explain how I emerged transformed from the journey, both personally and professionally. 🌟I Discuss what I have to offer to my audience, clients, or community as a result of my journey. 🌟I Ensure that the Hero's Journey aligns with my personal brand's values, message, and goals. You are the hero of your brand, so make it big ✌

A story always has a hero and a villian. Always. A story without these two isn't a story, it's a statement of facts. Here's an example of the power of story: As a job seeker, share in your resume or interviews how you were drawn to your profession, or how your skills/courage came to the rescue during times of economic uncertainty. As a self employed professional, use these same prompts, and talk about how you went from zero clients to multiple 5 or 6 figure months. When you use your story, you are relatable. Hero's Journey is a tool and can be shared in the right context, but it doesn't have to be complicated. Hero and villian can be people or even personal characteristics (fear) or external circumstances (recession, bankruptcy).

Every great story has a hero and a villain. Personal brands can use this dynamic to establish the brand as the hero that slays the client’s villain-the problem that’s keeping them up at night. Communicating this properly should be the focus of their marketing. To do this they must clarify what makes the brand unique (their why) and the transformation that their clients experience as a result. Instead of talking about what they do and how they do it, brand messaging should focus on how the brand solves a real problem. This requires empathy and a deep understanding of how they are uniquely equipped to help their clients. When a brand authentically and effectively communicates its power to slay their client’s dragon, they become a hero.

The Hero's Journey is a storytelling pattern with these stages: Call to Adventure: Hero faces a problem Refusal: Hero resists the adventure Meeting Mentor: Hero finds a guide Crossing Threshold: Hero leaves comfort zone Tests & Enemies: Hero faces challenges and foes Approach Inmost Cave: Hero gets ready for the big challenge The Ordeal: Hero's toughest trial Reward (Seizing the Sword): Hero gains a big reward or knowledge Road Back: Hero heads home Resurrection: Hero's final test Return with Elixir: Hero comes back with wisdom or a boon

A Hero's Journey reflects the Winning Attitude. Everybody wants to win and it builds a connection with the audience who want to see the undying spirit of the Hero. Few things that makes it more interesting as a Personal Brand Strategy- 1. Overcoming obstacles makes it relatable as we all face difficulties in our pursuits. 2. Learning from mistakes works like an inspiration and people might feel that it's okay to make a mistake. 3. It builds trust which is the most essential element for building a personal brand!

A universal narrative framework that outlines the transformative adventure undertaken by a protagonist. It guides storytellers in crafting compelling tales of personal growth and triumph over adversity.

Hero's journey is about making it a combination of relatability and inspiration. Ideally, in the hero's journey framework, there should be elements of real-life situations that are relatable to the audience. Eg. Struggles, Challenges, Procastination, Failures. These will help the audience feel more connected to you as they believe you are a version of them which helps build the trust. Second, the inspiration part. In this you talk about the part where the audience aspires to be. Success, Goals, Vision, Talking the Leap of Faith and doing things differently. This will help the audience stay connected with you and make them curious about what you do as they cannot do it. But aspire to do it. This is the true hero's journey!

Your story is your differentiator. It is your story that connects you with your audience. It is your story that defines your purpose. Narrating your story as The Hero's Journey is a powerful way to build a brand recall. Everyone has a backstory and the reasons why you are doing what you are doing stems from that. Hero Journey consists of Internal struggle External Struggle Turning Point Departure Initiation Result Your story may be powerful, may be inspiring but its the story telling that makes it interesting.

Here is why: 🌟 Your personal journey can inspire others who are on similar paths. 🌟 It demonstrates that with determination and resilience, one can overcome obstacles and achieve their goals, which can motivate and inspire your audience. 🌟 Your personal brand story can remain relevant and compelling over time, helping to sustain your brand's impact.

The key thing to understand when using the hero's journey for your brand (personal or corporate), is that you aren't the hero of the story. Your ideal customer is. In the narrative that is the hero's journey, they are Luke Skywalker and you are Yoda. They are Katniss and you are Haymitch. Too often we try to position ourselves as the hero and the message will always miss its mark because consumers want to know "how does this help me?". A good heroic story acknowledges the hero's current state of being, establishes what their future desired state of being is, then presents the "big bad" that's stopping them from achieving it. Your brand should help them conquer their "big bad" so they can achieve their future desired state of being.

You are more than your skills and expertise. While it's necessary to showcase them, it's not enough. People love seeing other people. They have their views, struggles, stories, mistakes, experiences, opinions. All these combined together makes your personal brand talk like you. Everyone has their struggle, and they love to know that they're not alone. When you show them the not-so-glamorous part of your story, they resonate with you. They feel validated. And a hero's story makes them feel better about themselves. They see a part of them in that hero. It gives them hope. It gives motivation. It keeps them going. So the next time you worry about sharing your stories, remember, your audience is made of people, and not robots!

Universal Appeal: It taps into archetypal plot elements that resonate with broad audiences. Showcases Growth: It inherently has elements of challenge, overcoming obstacles, and personal development.

What I've found is that the heros journey is more and more becoming the default narrative template people are using. As a result, this becomes a template that people easily understand and connect with due to its becoming the norm. So by using this template, you're letting it do the heavy lifting, and can focus instead on your brand.

1. Using Hero's Journey style for your personal brand story adds excitement and resonance to one's narrative 2. Will lead to Audience Engagement: People love a good hero story. It will captivate their attention and make your brand memorable 3. Relatability: The hero's journey mirrors real-life challenges and growth, making your brand more relatable 4. Emotional Connection: It evokes emotions, fostering a deeper connection with your audience 5. Inspire Action: Heroes inspire action, and your brand can motivate others through your journey 6. Unforgettable: The hero's journey is a classic storytelling formula that sticks in people's minds 7. Fun and Adventure: Who doesn't enjoy an adventurous story? It adds a sense of fun to your brand

For the sake of creating feelings of fellowship and affiliation, and therefore building trust. The hero's journey typically describes difficulties and obstacles they face and sharing yours may people with similar difficulties feel seen. And as the journey also often includes lessons learned, you can help your audience solve their own problems. Your journey can create community! In a way I'm saying that instead of concentrating on being the main character, keep your audience firmly in mind, be their hero.

Think about it: Our brains aren't built like computers with unlimited storage, and we can't instantly access everything we've learned. Our memories aren't sticky notes stuck in front of our eyes, ready for instant recall. This, combined with our sometimes fragile emotions, can sometimes dent our initial motivation. That's where models like this come in – they're like a dose of mental fortitude, offering a clear roadmap to visualize long-term goals. While nothing in life is carved in stone, there's always room to gain insights from others' experiences and journeys.

I truly believe that besides highlighting our own personal brand, the hero journey aims to also inspire others that also struggle with similar conditions. With our history, more and more people can also decide to make that change, take that step, because they saw our example.

There are 2 things that humans have inherently loved since ages: 1. Stories 2. Hero Journey And if you can combine the two, you’ve hit jackpot. The amount of times the plot line of rags to riches for a lead actor in a movie has been done… is crazy. But why does it work every single time? Because it’s a classic. It gives them hope and they resonate with it more. They can imagine a brighter future for themselves. So yes, if you’re building a personal brand- Always have a hero journey story.

Per the framework of hero's journey I shared above, it is very simple to map your personal brand story as journey is about YOU! So you have list down the questions or situations your audience can relate to or is expecting to learn from you. ( You can use tools like answerthepublic to get insights based on search results ) Once you define the topics, its about curation. Curating a well crafted journey is very important while building a personal brand. Every story you tell has to have an element of reliability and authenticity which will make the user believe in your story and make them equally curious to know what next. And during this journey, you will keep getting insights from the audience on what they want to know about you.

1. Write down your HIGHS-How did you achieve them 2. Write down your LOWS- How did you solve them 3. Create a List of MENTORS - Who helped you during both 4. What did you learn from both HIGHS & LOWS 5. What's the DIFFERENCE between your life Past v/s Present after those HIGHS and LOWS 6. Put it all together 7. Done!

For many your work is your hero's journey peppered in with personal highlights. Defining your definitive moments, those you've 'guided' along the way and your learnings are what you share in your branding - especially in a job campaign. Realizing you need to tell the story of your career is a breakthrough for many who perceive the job-seeking process (and the necessary personal branding it requires) as a separate adventure. Even your job campaign ah-ha's are part of the path of your journey. Make sure your stories are memorable and inclusive and punctuate your problem-solving skills.

Use the hero journey template Identify what incident or realization catalyzed your journey. Share the adversities you've faced in your career and how you've overcome them. Showcase what wisdom, skills, or unique value have you gained. While writing do not try to articulate from the start, just write what comes to your mind. Then articulate it into a powerful relevant story.

Yes and, I would say simple, powerful but not always easy. It’s one of the more extensive frameworks for new story tellers. Powerful for a keynote delivery.

Allow your hero to evolve - consider how your primary character or secondary characters develop over the story. This is a crucial aspect of making your story appealing to your audience. K.I.S.S. - keep it sweet & simple - our memories are overloaded already - don't cram too many details into your story. Keep upgrading and innovating your story - progress never stops - you need to tinker it constantly.

An example: Hook: "Leaving my cushy corporate job was my 'Call to Adventure.'" Challenge: "I faced the ordeal when my first startup failed, but I learned the importance of market research." Reward: "Today, I’ve returned with the 'elixir'—a successful SaaS company that solves X problem for Y audience."

Elon Musk: Call: Interest in sustainable energy and space. Ordeal: Early financial struggles and technical failures. Elixir: Tesla’s industry-altering electric cars and SpaceX's pioneering space technology. Oprah Winfrey: Call: A passion for speaking and connecting with people. Ordeal: Overcoming poverty and societal prejudices. Elixir: Becoming a media mogul who uses her platform for philanthropy and social change. By adopting the Hero's Journey framework, you can construct a personal brand story that not only engages but also resonates with your audience, showing them that you've walked the hard path to gain the wisdom you now share.

I really like how John Hu, Founder of Stan, has used the hero journey that I have described above. He was a content creator who turned into an entrepreneur while solving challenges for his fellow creators and making a business out of it. The authenticity and transparency in his content and story have made the audience feel connected to him.

The reality is we can’t teach what we don’t know. That doesn’t mean, for example because you survived a divorce doesn’t make you an automatic expert, however, if one takes that experience and studies the process and therefore can help someone else then the experience will help others. Our shared experience can make a difference.

One of my favorites is David Tran, the man behind the Sriracha craze. Sriracha has become a fanatical household staple for decades since its inception - born from a Vietnamese refugee. The iconic condiment's company is named after the ship he travelled on to flee Vietnam.

Incorporating the Hero's Journey into your personal branding strategy is a powerful way to connect with your audience, create a memorable brand narrative, and establish a strong and relatable personal brand that resonates with your target audience.

A clear personal brand will frame their stories as themselves as the protagonist and the challenges/obstacles as the antagonist (use problems not people to villainize). The protagonist has shortcomings making overcoming difficult. But they also have strengths to deploy to overcome. In the end, their challenges are tools, not to be embodied, but a source of strength. They discover they had what it took after all.

In my journey as a brand strategist, I've learned that personal branding is about authenticity and resilience. To build a solid personal brand, it's essential to embrace your unique qualities and communicate them effectively. Understand your audience deeply, create a visual identity that represents you, and consistently share valuable content. Stimulate like-minded individuals, and seek feedback from your peers and clients. Remember that personal branding is a marathon, not a sprint, so have a long-term vision and be ready to adapt along the way.

Don't underestimate the power of the heros journey as a top-level narrative structure. Disney reuses it in almost all its movies, without boring audiences. What is important is to then add the ground-level information, which comes from your life and experiences.

The one tip I can give for someone who does not yet have a “classic hero journey” is - Don’t fake it. Yes, having a hero journey from rags to riches is going to create a buzz around your personal brand and possibly make you viral. But if it’s not true to you, your audience will catch on to it and sooner rather than later they will know the hollowness of your story. This is not the only way to build a personal brand. Sure it helps but it’s not necessary so don’t have the pressure of building something that’s not true to you.

Being true to your struggles and sharing them through hero storytelling is fine. Exaggerating it or making up a story without any facts leaves a negative image. Being in the startup ecosystem since 2016, I have seen people who do hero storytelling exaggerate or make up stories so confidently that everyone (including me) was initially charmed. However, being in the ecosystem also meant I was connected with other people who corroborated them as false stories. Naturally, the image of that person is put in my brain compartment as 'beware of the stories they tell'. So, personal branding and hero journey stories have to be truthful to the core. Otherwise, stay away from telling stories.

The golden rule of brand storytelling: forget about you - the real hero is your customer. His tribulations, his emotions, his desires, his challenges - this is all that matters. And you, the brand, offering a solution, YOUR SOLUTION, to each and every of his problems.

Just to add that although we can get hooked up in repetitive cycle of having the urge to narrate our hero’s journey everywhere we go in order to create lasting impact, but study your audience and let it be a solution driven approach and not all about you. Have a balance where you can merge the right audience with the right place & right stories in order to provide lasting solutions. Be disruptive and not linear. We do not always have to start from rock bottom to tell a great personal brand story. Be you Be authentic and go show/tell the world how brilliant you are.