Ambassador: a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment; an authorized representative or messenger.

As we go through life, especially once we hit adulthood, for the most part we get caught up in working for others and doing for others. This is fine, but in doing so we become brand ambassadors for others—our work, our school, our family, our friends—and we lose sight of our own personal brand and being the “authorized representative or messenger” for our sovereign selves or our individual sovereignty.

When countries speak of sovereignty it basically means their right to determine what goes on inside their borders. It is their right to exist as a self-determining, self-governing geographic area. When we speak about our own, personal sovereignty we mean our right to determine what goes on in our own lives based on who we are (our personal brand). It is not about having sovereignty over others—but being sovereign over ourselves, including individual empowerment and freedom.

As we grow into adults we increasingly take on more responsibilities, we conform to the rules and processes of institutions and systems and we get tangled up in an array of expectations. We begin to label or define (brand) ourselves by a check list of accomplishments or milestones that may not be truly ours. We begin to feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the world we navigate and find it easier to just go along with the masses, and inadvertently we stop defining ourselves. 

In a way, we get branded by the circles or environments in which we live. Some of us may over time even feel compelled (either consciously or unconsciously) to promote or advocate for others, but not ourselves. With deadlines, commitments and overall just “doing” we forget about our identities. We lose sight of our unique value proposition. We may have a false sense of what is really important to us.

In the business world a brand is defined as a unique design, sign, symbol, words or combination of these that coalesce into an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from competitors. Over time this image becomes associated with a level of credibility and quality.

Using this as a parallel framework for how we define our own personal brand, it would be the combination of our unique thoughts, words and actions coupled with our values, beliefs and intentions that identify us and which differentiates ourselves from others. This is what you take into the world everyday. This is what you have agency over and for which you advocate as the only authorized representative of you.

I encourage you to take some time to think about your personal brand, your identity and overall sovereign self. Ask yourself if you are letting others define you and your life. Think about how much time you may be spending on promoting or advocating for others and by doing so, are you losing sight of yourself in the process. If you want change and to redefine yourself declare your sovereignty and start to be the ambassador of you.