Have you ever thought of yourself as a 'product'? In a marketing sense this means something that is designed and developed, packaged and promoted, positioned and priced to meet a precise market need. It has a definable value that is apparent in the market place, or it doesn't remain on the shelves for very long.

You are probably getting my 'drift' at this point, recognizing where I'm proposing to take you. If you definitely don't want to go there, this is a good time to get off the bus. If the prospect of an interesting ride appeals to you, then please fasten your seat belt.

Like products in retail stores, people are conceived either by intention or by chance. If we're talking about a new food product, it really doesn't matter whether it was deliberately intended to be or not. The question of intention does seem to make a substantial difference to some people. It can determine our 'attitude'. It can affect our self concept, our self worth, and at a very fundamental level.

Assuming that we believe that we're here on this earth for a purpose, or we believe that even though we're here by accident, we'll make the very best of that fact, we can develop ourselves better if we decide on our basic purpose in life. What's the 'market need' we are intending to fill? In this sense, it doesn't matter so much where we're coming from, but rather where we're going to!

Development means focusing oneself to achieve something specific. We need an outcome, a 'deliverable', a focused result, to help us decide how to invest time, effort and resources in ourselves and in our future. If we have no focus, we're spinning our wheels – an unproductive and very frustrating experience. It takes us nowhere.

Development requires some forethought if it is to be effective. We are, and will surely become the sum product of all of our past and present habits. As we sow, so shall we reap, especially in terms of the quality of our life. In this light, we need to shape as many good habits as we can, and to change and/or eliminate as many 'not so good' habits as possible.

One of my friends is a smoker. She only smokes ten cigarettes a day – has done for the past twenty years. She keeps it 'under control' she says. By my calculation, that's 73,000 cigarettes to-date, and I have to believe that, in the future those 73,000 cigarettes will make a difference to the quality of her life. I also believe that another thirty-six thousand, over the next ten years, will add to that difference.

Now we come to packaging and promotion. With products this is easy and intuitive. We all can recognize when something is brought to our attention in a meaningful way. It's also easy to understand and accept that not all packaging designs impact on all people in the same way. With people this is only a tad more difficult to 'wrap our minds around'. Why would we expect to have a consistent, even universal appeal to everyone we meet? Being 'all things to all people' is clearly not practical, so why should we invest time and effort in this way? Everyone of us is unique – just like everyone else.

This uniqueness is worthy of attention – our personal attention. Leading products and services are controlled by means of a Brand Image. A great deal of resources are invested to keep that product 'special' in the eyes of potential customers through advertising and promotion. Just think how much is invested by the makers of Tide, BMW, by Molsons or SunLife, in keeping their products 'fresh' in our minds. Are we, as people, worth less than a retail product?

I'd like to recommend that we each put together a Personal Brand Statement. This is a short description of what we intend to be, the value that we would like to deliver to others, what makes each of us different from others, and what benefit others will gain from 'buying' us as a friend and/or colleague – in short, our 'reason for being'.

When we meet others we can deliver this Personal Brand Statement as a 'story'. My example would be: “Some time ago I realized that I could use words, both written and spoken, to influence others. This ability allowed me to help them to get more out of life. Some people seemed to value what I could contribute to their lives in this way so I've made it my business – literally.”

You can see that this is a comfortable response to the universal question, “What do you do?” But it's a lot more than just a succinct answer to a social question. It's a template or guideline that I can use in my life to focus myself, to get real value out of everything I do, and a way for me to assess whether any course of action is appropriate for me at any time.

How about you? What would you say is your unique Personal Brand Statement? How would you prefer to convey it to others? More importantly, what reasons do you have for investing in your own future?

Do this, and before you know it, you'll be going somewhere that makes sense, not only to you but also to all the other important people in your life – present and future. The consequences of all those 'comfortable' habits will become clearer because now they will have a larger, more focused meaning and context. The quality of your life will definitely improve, and that, after all is said and done, is what this is all about.

When was the last time you visited the Andros Website? Perhaps there's something there that could help you!