​My daughter's classmates said, "Filipinos are weirder."

One playmate said, "Filipinos live in mud hats."

One girl told her, "Your nose looks like a potato."

I'd say, "Just laugh, laugh out loud because sure, it's funny."

If you get an unsolicited remarks or comments at work, or any social event/environment, from a rather well-meaning but misinformed individual.

This is what you should do.

1. Ignore.

2. Ignore.

3. Ignore.

4. Ignore.

5. Maybe laugh or smile and go about your ways. That's the polite demeanor.

6. Pretend you didn't hear it. Move away from the cocktail table/water cooler. Scroll your phone and check your email. Look at the painting/ambience/lights/the makeup smudge on someone's face.

But you get it, right?

​7. Ignore. 
​

​

Branding has never been that important in anyone's life until now.

Whatever you do, whether you're working as an employee, working on your business, perhaps a student or a stay-at-home parent, there's nothing like having a brand that works specifically for your purpose.

I was just one the phone with a friend who's looking to shift his employment to something better in terms of flexibility of the role and higher remuneration but within his field. 

He is thinking of having a personal website and also looking to write a book.

Writing a book nowadays is as easy as ordering a product online. Self-publishing has become a billion dollar concern and that everyone can access anytime. 

Who has never thought of having those in the past few months or years or so? 

No one.

Everyone does.

Branding is no longer a corporate or organization's monopoly to position oneself in the marketplace.

Individuals with aspirations of a more successful career or business platform are stepping up to be seen, heard, and followed. Obscurity is the number killer of inspirations.

Anyone who has joined a contest knows that it takes recognition to get a publishing deal, a record deal, a million-dollar contract, and a shot to fame.

Authentic branding is a major differentiator nowadays. When everyone has the same photo shots, same fashion, and same writing style using ChatGPT, it becomes boring quickly. 

To be different is to be your own self. 

There is no one in this world like you. 

Some will find similarities, common grounds on many areas but to be you is already taken. 

Your brand should represent the best of who you are, as with companies, their brand signified a promise of quality, reliability, and trustworthiness.

What's your personal brand? What qualities represent who you are? 

The second question, how do you want these qualities projected out to the public realm?

For example, as a Filipino-Canadian, my cultural heritage is something that can't be faked or imitated by someone that's not. I lived it out in the public in a way that strengthens their understanding of me and what I represent.

You are bullet in the gun. You are the arrow in your brand marketing message.

Whether you like or not, if you choose to play this game, be prepared to be you.

To divert from who you really are, hurts your self-concept and esteem, as well as hurts your brand.

Protect it, be comfortable in your own skin, and never underestimate your own worth in a noisy undifferentiated world. 

​Some of these false narratives that I heard lately include: 

If you're not scaling up, you're not growing.
Growth doesn't mean scaling up.
Scaling up doesn't mean profitable growth, competency growth, and growing sustainably.
Don't obsess about scaling up when your current systems are broken and needs fixing.  

This is too much for a non-profit organization to ask. 
Leadership development is not too much. Being sustainable financially is key to survival and thriving is never too much to ask. It's not too much when a little step in the right direction is always something that can be done.

We have to stand for Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion.
Yes but not its extreme ideological wokism, which created more harm in communities, pitted people against each other, and invoked guilt and shame to the white people, as if it's their fault that they're born white is not cool. Guilting others is not a good foundation for accountability and responsibility, either. 

The removal of meritocracy leads to equity.
It doesn't. It leads to nepotism and dynasty (Woodbridge).We need more meritocracy, not less meritocracy to tackle the problems we faced in our institutions. 

Information is truth.
Information is just information. The interpretation, scope, and manufacturing of information could lead to truth or untruth. Think Facebook Algorithms' fuelling the Rohingya crisis.

Those who voted for Trump are pro-Nazis.
Wait, this is getting too much. Are you really sure what you're talking about? Those who voted for Trump deserve some respect too. They have a different opinion on American society and they use the power of the vote to make things happen the way they see it. Move on. 

We live in the dark age of misinformation and untruths. These narratives are insidiously wrong, pretending to be right or pandering to a set of agenda unceasingly. Wake up! Check out the messenger, the intentions and the motives behind.

If it doesn't sound right, it could be a lie. Wake up!