Someone has a personal brand. They have taken their time through the years to create the image that they want the world to see. It can be hard to escape from the bubble that has become the norm for that personal brand, but trying new things and taking risks can pay off in the long run.
Risks? Oftentimes people are afraid to take a break from their average workday or just a day in their life to try something new. Now we are asking people to take risks for the sake of their personal brand. People say, "I'm too busy." "I have to FOCUS on these other areas of my life that I've spent time developing." People are afraid to fail. Maybe they have not been at the beginning, learning phase of something in years … maybe decades.
It's true that failure could result from taking a risk. However, it could be equally true that growth will take place and the person can evolve.
So, why should someone try something new when they are seeking to improve their personal brand? Because they can learn something new. They will gain knowledge in a new field. By obtaining an ability to work in multiple fields, a person can grow to see a connection between their fields of knowledge, creating a multidimensional brand that can now reach a wider demographic of both clients and partners.
People can be afraid to learn something about which they know nothing. The concept of learning is intimidating. People too often feel that they have to start with the foundation they have and work their way up. They forget more foundation can be laid without losing what is already there. Sometimes it is acceptable and better to build out instead of up. By learning something new, you are expanding what people define as your personal brand.
When people know that a person is not afraid to take risks, their personal brand grows in strength. People see that they are willing to learn. That they are flexible. That they still can learn. People see that they are willing to step outside of their comfort zone and turn what was previously impossible to them into something possible because they took the time to learn something new. To try something new!
More than the outward effects on a personal brand, the inward effects are numerous. When a person tries something new, they gain confidence. They start to see that boundaries are fictional if a person is willing to learn how to cross those boundaries.
Trying something new inspires confidence: confidence in one's own self and confidence from others. Trying something new is a bold choice when seeking to create a great personal brand. It is not bold, however, in the maybe-not-best-for-everyone sense, but bold in the risks-will-pay-off sense.
A person has nothing to lose and much to gain from trying something new, someone's personal brand even more so. Risks will impress the risk-taker as much as it will impress those who are evaluating the brand.