Serendipity is one of those things that just seems to kind of happen on its own, similar to luck. However, just like luck, you can do things to make those random bits of serendipity happen more often.
David Perell feels that writing can be the best kind of networking, and I tend to agree. In an essay of his, he explains how writing has lead to some fantastic opportunities in his life. In short, writing gives you a chance to show up in front of various people, and writing somewhere that you control (so that your content doesn’t become vapor) is a great way to increase serendipity.
Tim Stodz
Tim Stodz wrote a great piece about this as well, suggesting that his personal brand is his “serendipity vehicle”. He shared:
My personal brand is my serendipity vehicle. It’s a way for me to interact with the spirit of the universe and to put myself in a position for good things to happen.
Then, once the good things happen, people tell me I’m lucky.
He also compares his personal brand with his business brands, and how they should be approached very differently from one another. In his case, like with mine, there is no monetization happening with his personal brand. He shares:
I hope you decide not to commoditize yourself. If you want to create a business, I encourage you to do so and do it under a brand that can scale and grow without you.
There are opportunities to directly monetize your personal brand, and some will choose that road instead, but a great use of your personal brand is to help build your other brands.
Tim ends his post with:
Ironically, the best way to monetize your personal brand is to not monetize it. You’ll be amazed at the opportunities that find you, once you show the courage to share yourself with the world.
If you monetize something, you’re having to keep some of it hidden away behind a paywall. In my case, you can read this blog on my site, via email, on Medium, or on Substack. Plus, I share it on sites such as LinkedIn, X, and Threads. It’s out there for all to see, with no limitations. In my case, I’m more interested in getting people to read my content than I am trying to monetize small pieces of it.
I obviously still work to make money, primarily via the services we offer at GreenMellen, and this blog supports that. I can send some links to the site, we’ve gained a few customers through my insights here, and the act of writing ideally is helping me to become a better leader. It’s a solid way to go, and I encourage to read more from Tim and David to further understand their thoughts on it.
Also, if you have personal blog that you want share, feel free to leave it in the comments below so we can check it out.
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