With the release of Avengers Infinity War, we all loved what our favourite Avenger had in store for us. It has been a decade since we all fell in love with the charming self-centred presence of Tony Stark.
His quips will surely make you laugh out loud and we bet you will be in absolute awe of him when he dismisses people wasting his time. His ability to remain calm, collected and confident in the most tasking situation is absolutely swoon-worthy! The bottom line is this – Tony Stark is one personality that you will vividly remember.
This is exactly the kind of impact and impression one must have on people and that’s what personal branding is all about – to be unforgettable! And because Tony knows how to do it best, we’ve put together 3 personal branding lessons we can take home from him. This will pack everything you need to know to grow your small business as an entity in itself!
Be Brave
This personality trait isn’t restricted to superheroes only because everyone has it in them to be brave and courageous. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to find an adversary and fight to win against the baddies. Tony Stark was expressly told to not reveal his identity as Iron man, but boy did he listen? If you look at it closely, Iron Man is perhaps the only superhero who doesn’t have a coveted alter ego. An example of Tony’s bravery that we all distinctly remember is when he didn’t have his Iron suit on him and he was having anxiety attacks – yet he somehow managed to attack the headquarters of the Mandarin.
That’s what you’ve got to do to stand out – be brave with your personal brand and stop wasting breath over putting yourself out there. Come to terms with your inner-marketer and channel that power to make a name for yourself. Describe the kind of value you will bring to the table for your prospects. Hold your self-esteem high and praise yourself while having fun with it. Although, be careful to not put your toe out of the line; be confident but don’t be rude –nobody likes that.
All marketing techniques have one simple truth that makes them work – if you don’t tell people, they won’t tell themselves. So, be brave and put yourself out there and go tell them all! You’ve got this just like Tony did.
Be Receptive To Both Praise And Criticism
In essence, all of us are similar to at least some extent. When people around say nice things to us, we internally cringe and be all awkward while trying to thank them for their kind words. When people do the opposite, our defences go right up and we stick it up to them in a number of inappropriate ways – but not Tony Stark! When his fans praise and idolise him for everything that he has accomplished or show him their tattoos of his face, he doesn’t even shy away. He takes it all in stride and makes them feel positive about the whole situation.
Tony Stark is far from being perfect. For everything good that he wants to do in the world, he’s constantly posed as quite the piece of work by the press for manufacturing weapons, blowing up cities and changing the direction of his company. When being criticised, Stark is the very definition of cool. He keeps his calm, flashes his confident smile and never raises his tone or any negative emotion that opposes his calm demeanour. When addressing critics, he chooses his words well and very thoughtfully delivers them. The end result is that everyone still loves Tony and they’ve learnt to accept the good with the bad.
You too can be receptive to both praise and criticism. Majority of us will need to put in some work to get through. How you deal with yourself with the extremities of both praise and criticism speaks volumes about your personality and will be the number one aspect when people consider you for opportunities in the future.
Be Generous and Charitable
Tony Stark isn’t solely known for being the owner of Stark Industries and for being Iron Man. As if being Iron Man wasn’t enough what with saving lives while putting his life on the line – Tony Stark ensures that he is giving it back to the world by way of charities. He donates to charities as it is his own way to give it back to those in need. You might say – sure, its good for taxes; that’s what any fictional or real billionaire would do obviously! But, what you don’t realise is this – being charitable does wonders for your personal brand and Tony Stark sure is reeling in the benefits as we can clearly see.
When you volunteer to make a contribution of valuable time and money for the causes that you really care about, it says a lot about the kind of person you are and the capabilities you have. For any hiring manager a person who is into charities is hands down a no-brainer investment. The good that you wish for the world shows fierce devotion, care, altruism and teamwork that you possess and these are some traits that every company needs. Just remember to put it all up on your LinkedIn profile.
Just imagine, if you really did take a leaf out of Tony Stark’s book and follow his lead, you’d be a person who possesses self-awareness, is humble, confident and charitable and has a lot to offer to the world at large. With this kind of personal branding, nothing can stop you from making an impact! And you’d have Tony Stark to thank for it!
