Time and again, I felt frustrated because my efforts remained unrecognised and unappreciated – be it in my professional life or my personal life. I am sure, a lot of you must have felt the same. Being a woman, voicing your opinion openly comes with a price. If you start talking about issues like wage parity, dahej pratha (dowry), rape, being independent, divorcing your husband, and thousands of women related issues – you will be looked down upon by your family members, your friends, your colleagues, your relatives, among others. The society is judgmental, but do women face criticism more often than men? Does talking about your issues make you a feminist? Do you feel your hard work was abused by your boss even after you slogged harder than your male colleagues? Dear women, stop being so powerless and silent, start using digital platforms to voice your opinions.
Organizations and businesses spend millions on corporate branding. Their goal is to deliver at the right time the right message to the right audience. The process of marketing of a corporate brand has to be continuous. Each new day has to be better and different than the previous day. But, should companies stop and think about personal branding too? Well, studies show that consumers react seven times more to personal branding when compared to corporate branding. Studies also show that more number of customers respond more to the brands whose founders are aggressively active on social media.
Effective personal branding is all about defining your personality traits and aligning them with your possible customers & clients, which can furthermore help in the growth of your business. It is all about sharing your talents with your audience in a unique way. People like Oprah or Tony Robbins exist in the same field. They have succeeded in attracting their own clientele. Why and how do you think they were able to achieve this? It was because of their connection with their target audience in their unique way. The key to build a personal brand is to build trust with your audience. If the customers believe a founder of a company, then it is more likely that they are going to trust the brand as well.
Social media platforms, public relations, email marketing, and blogging are some of how you can carry out personal branding.
Correlating personal branding with your business
Your brand is noticeable in a saturated market
Once you start correlating with your audience, people see how genuine you are. They follow you and your brand with enthusiasm, and they make others follow you as well. For example, The brand Buzil Rossari has gained a lot of recognition in the past couple of years in the field of hygiene and chemicals. It is because their CEO Sunil Chari connects actively with his audience on LinkedIn.
Influential people will approach you to promote your brand.
With the help of active personal branding, you generate plenty of content on your social media platforms. It takes time & effort to create that kind of charm. When your content starts trending and gains popularity, then more and more influential people will reach out to you to promote and sponsor your brand. For example, The clothing brand NUSH gained popularity on different e-commerce platforms and amongst customers as well. The brand was successful due to the strong personal branding of the famous actress Anushka Sharma.
Increasing sales and getting more leads
Your interaction with your audience allows you to establish reliability. When people notice your expertise, you become a dependable source of information for them, their families, and their colleagues. Your positive reputation on online platforms will help in improving the reputation of your business, which will further add to an increase in leads. This step will drive your brand to generate better revenue. For example, Elon Musk, we may not see his pictures that much, but he is as famous as Mercedes. He adds a personal touch to all of his products & services.
Conclusion
Running personal branding campaigns may seem to be a daunting task, but it is one of the most reliable methods to elevate your business. You should take one step at a time, and not everything should be carried out at once. Be consistent, be authentic, and be different; it will direct you in the right direction.
We all love to travel, but unfortunately, the world is on a pause right now. The pandemic is preventing all the backpackers from hitting the road. But, eventually, everything will be alright, and we will be allowed to travel again.
The one place that I had decided to visit before the pandemic hit was Meghalaya and I have spent my lockdown days to daydream about visiting this sister state.
Before I dive in to talk about visiting my dream destination, after the lockdown madness ends, let me tell you a little bit about Meghalaya.
Meghalaya is known to be one of the most beautiful states in north-east India. The name Meghalaya means ‘the abode of clouds’ – it is a small mountainous state which is covered with dense forests, calm lakes, countless waterfalls, and pristine rivers. The biodiversity of Meghalaya makes it the perfect getaway place for animal lovers, since it inhabits many rare species of birds and animals. This picturesque north-eastern state is bordered to the north with Assam and to the south with Bangladesh.
The meaning of travel is different for every individual. For me, traveling means many things. One of them is to find inner peace, which is lost within the chaos of city life. I have chosen Meghalaya this time, as this state is filled with charm and tranquillity. Moreover, it is a place that is complete enough to provide me peace after the never-ending lockdown.
Since I am a solo traveller, the first concern for me is safety, so I did my research on the same and concluded that the state is perfectly safe to visit for female solo travellers. Most states in the north-east, function in a maternal line manner – women are more authoritative towards the household chores; also, they carry forward the family name. The state is more open towards giving responsibility and respect to a woman as compared to other states in India. Furthermore, the standard of living is managed by women in Meghalaya, making it absolutely safe for female travellers to visit.
I have planned to reach the Scotland of India by taking a flight to Guwahati. I prefer a budget-friendly trip, so I am going to opt for shared cabs to reach Meghalaya from Guwahati after covering a distance of 100 km. One can also take a train to Guwahati and reach Shillong by road.
The major population of Meghalaya is contributed by the tribals Garos, Khasis, and Jaintias. People in Meghalaya are known to be cheerful, and quite helpful. Each of the ethnic communities of Meghalaya has its unique customs and cultural beliefs. 70% of the people in Meghalaya have converted to Christianity, and one can visit numerous churches there.
Now, let me tell you about some of the places that I have shortlisted to visit in Meghalaya. The wettest place on the earth – Cherrapunji that is often covered in the mist – is my first choice. Cherrapunji has the gorgeous Mawkdok valley and Nohkalikai waterfalls. I am an ardent animal lover, hence, there is no chance that I wish to miss the Balpakram National Park and the Elephant falls of Meghalaya. The enticing Umiam lake in Shillong looks immensely gorgeous at the time of sunset, making it my next option to visit. As the time approaches, I am sure that I will be adding more and more places to my now-short list of places.
Till that time, I am waiting for the hustle-bustle of the exhausting and tiring pandemic to end. The state of Meghalaya is perfect to visit for providing the much-needed breather from stress and anxiety.
Most of us have a soft corner for animals but the inhumane killing of a pregnant elephant in Kerala has yet again brought to the fore how some people still lack basic humanity.
While we might not be aware of the real story leading to the pregnant elephant’s death, I strongly feel, it is time we must start taking notice of numerous such brutal instances that take place around all of us, every single day.
Stray dogs are killed for fun. Some of them are attacked with acid while many of them are driven over and left on the roads to die. Puppies are poisoned. Leopards are slaughtered and electrocuted. There are literally millions of examples like these which I can give you of human’s barbaric acts. Yet, only some stories find voice.
Today, while most people adopt pets and have infinite love for animals, some humans continue to ill-treat animals. In spite of such poor treatment, animals trust humans and some vicious humans kill them in such heartless acts.
‘The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act’ was passed by the Indian Government in 1960, however, many such instances relating to animal cruelty persist in India and go unreported.
My blood boils after hearing such incidents and I feel; we together must demand for stricter laws and their immediate implementation to put an end to such atrocities of heartless and shameless culprits. This is not about politics, this is not about religion, also it is not about Kerala’s literacy rate – This happens all over India – It is about cruelty against animals.
Even if the pineapple was kept for a wild boar, then also how is the act justifiable? Wouldn’t the same happen to wild boars as well? Will they not feel the pain or bleed to death after the pineapple bursts in their mouth? I guess, it’s not about getting the facts right of just this one story. I believe, it’s about having stern laws in place to prevent such cowardly acts from happening each day.
P.S. – People who want to find out the real story of animal cruelty acts should start following animal rescue pages. Maybe then, the harsh reality of evil humans will strike them and lead them to grave and real stories.
A year back, after spending a lot of days in anxiety and nervousness, I decided to kidnap this tiny little munchkin who was very much happy in her own company. But the fear of her getting killed by rash drivers or her falling ill Cz of Mumbai rains drove me to take this step. I was already a dog parent at that time and the thought that my dog and the little munchkin might not get along was a little scary. Took the risk, kidnapped her and guess what, in just a week these two were inseparable.
At that time, my parents were not very thrilled after they got to know that I have taken the responsibility of one more pet. But ultimately just like numerous other times, they softened up. The truth is our lives wouldn’t be half as entertaining as it is now because of her. She has never failed to surprise us with her learning tactics.
People have always criticised black cats Cz of superstitions but she has filled our lives with nothing but happiness❤️. I got the chance to change the life of 4 indies and I grabbed it. I wish rather than buying dogs and cats, more and more people go for adopting them. When you adopt a pet, you also get the chance to save a life. Everyday it breaks my heart to see so many of animals suffer.
Btw, after putting a lot of thought, I named her Moira, meaning destiny or fate. As It was in our destiny to fall in love with each other.
P.S. – If black cats are bad bad luck then I’m ready to get all the bad luck in the world just for her!!
I never thought I will ever find peace in my life again.. But I did, at this beautiful place.. Peace, the peace I have always dreamt of, the peace that I have always craved for, the peace that even bread cheese can’t give me.. Life felt so Complete at this place far away from the crowded city..
Still, stay still and you will hear the wind talking.. Hear, hear the sound of the leaves hustling.. Fall, fall in love with the light of the millions of fireflies around you.. Hope, find hope in the light of these fireflies.. Sway, Sway slowly on the beautiful wooden swing.. Look, look fondly at the black sky filled with millions of stars.. Night, the starry night and the milky way.. Walk, walk gracefully on the wet green grass..Free, feel free from the burdens of your life.. Watch, watch the creepy chameleon sleeping soundly on the Krishna bel.. Beauty, find the beauty in the darkness of the night and light of the crescent moon.. Strength, find strength in the silence of the mountains.. Hope, find faith in the moving black clouds.. Life, life will also move on like this.. Learn, learn from this darkness and embrace the darkness within you and fall in love with yourself first.. Free, feel the freedom in the vastness of the sky.. Shoot, shoot your aims like the shooting stars.. Food,simple and wonderful… Nature, connect with the nature and the spirituality of this place.. Fireball o Fireball, learn from it even if u r alone you can lit up a whole sky.. Desire, ever loose the desire to live your life then this is the perfect place to find it again .. Inspiration, wanna get inspired to do something in life then this is the place.. Lost, yes feel lost in the beauty of this place..love, yes I fell in love all over again but not with a person this time, but with a beautiful place…
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