Do you love your personal brand? Or does your online presence leave you feeling disingenuous or not authentic? All of the work you’ve put in—tending to how you appear online—has been important, for sure. But in the quest to create a brand, have you lost yourself? Perhaps now is the time to step back and make sure that who you are online is really who you are.

The truth is, as we endeavor to reach our target audiences—customers, readers, colleagues—we may be leaving some valuable parts of ourselves out. Under the guise of a personal brand, have we settled for shallow shells of ourselves? Even worse, are our online brands not even us at all? Another truth: as online audiences become more sophisticated, experienced, and discerning, many can spot a fake a mile away—a fluffy resume, a stagnant website, a boring obligatory “business blog” (insert collective cringe here). Even the most die-hard personal brand proponents will tell you that shallow shells don’t sell. (Say that ten time fast!)

Yes, we already know that our online presence should be a top priority in our business marketing plans. In today’s business climate, all of the marketing rules that we know about branding—like the importance of tending to first impressions and perception, telling our story well, and defining our market and niche with precision—apply to our personal brand.  But behind all of that must be a real person who does something well.

Is your online presence more than just a shell of an image?

Does the real you shine through?

If not, take an inventory of your websites, blogs, and social media, and give your online self a makeover. Even if you already love it, your personal brand should never be static—your online you is always a work in progress. Check out these links for helpful hints and useful perspectives:

Chris Curtis Managing Your Reputation Online

Kyle Lacy Ten Truths about Powerful Personal Brands

Olivier Blanchard R.I.P. Personal Branding

Gina Carroll began writing, blogging, and speaking after leaving a large corporate law practice to became a stay at home mom, raising her five children. She is now nationally recognized for her coverage of the parenting and family landscape, including relationships, digital fluency, parenting adolescents, and getting into college. She is a passionate spokesperson and blogger for MomsCleanAirForce.org. On her sites, Tortured By Teenagers, ThinkActParent.com and ThinkActEat.com, Gina also advocates for literacy, dropout prevention and the importance of the family meal. She is a graduate of Stanford University and U.C.L.A. Law School.

Our human behavior of taking the easy path actually makes no sense. By chasing easy pleasures, we lose happiness.

Study after study has found that passive activities, such as surfing the web in your pajamas or watching a marathon of Mad Men episodes, actually makes you unhappy compared with doing something active. Kids, for example, are much happier playing a sport instead of parking themselves in front of the television. In fact, they experience a higher level of enjoyment that brings increased benefits to their mind and body (what researchers call “elevated excitement”) when they play sports.

Despite that fact, when given the choice, kids are four times more likely to watch TV than head outside to kick a ball around. You are exactly the same. You love it once you are exercising, cleaning out your closets, or working on your resume, but knowing that fact is rarely enough to push you off your ass to do it. Why would we spend four times more time doing something that has less than half the chance of making us feel good?

2011 speaker Mel Robbins is host of the daily syndicated radio show, “The Mel Robbins Show” and best-selling author of ”STOP SAYING YOU’RE FINE: The No BS Guide To Getting What You Want.” She is also a monthly columnist for SUCCESS Magazine.

The advertising industry is acutely astute at telling us what we should want, feel and need – and making a lot of money in the process. They are even getting progressively more creative in finding new nooks and crannies to “insert ad here.” How do we self-identify when we don’t have time to think and feel for ourselves?

In the 1970’s people were exposed to roughly 500 ads per day. In recent years, the average person can be bombarded by as many as 5,000—each day. The truth is, these major advertising firms are bullying their way into our subconscious with the hope of doing our thinking for us.

Loving yourself, loving who you are, having good self-esteem—these are concepts we are told to procure long before we can even fully grasp what they mean. Part of this, I believe, is the cornerstone of the problem. We can be told that we should love ourselves, and we may even openly try it, but we can’t truly love ourselves if we are constantly judging others. A “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality invites comparisons, and as my mother used to say, “When you keep count, you lose.

Therefore, the crux of the “self-esteem” movement is actually not self-esteem. It is self-respect. Esteem by definition means holding something in high regard. In order to do that, typically, we must have the capacity to compare it to something else, to establish a control variable, then note what makes it different. When we respect something, we value it for what it is—a quality or attribute worthy of admiration.

I issue a challenge for all of us: respect yourself. Do not give into what others would have you believe is reality. Do away with the stories that are told to you, and embrace your own. Only then can you truly love yourself and be the person you came here to be.

2011 MA Conference for Women speaker Gina Otto is the award-winning author of the children’s book “Cassandra’s Angel,” international speaker, producer, social entrepreneur and children’s advocate. Her ongoing mission is to engage, educate and empower children to live their greatest lives and achieve their full potential.

When she was four years old, my daughter, Madison, often saw her friends leaving their after-school program to go to soccer, ballet, piano, and other activities. One day, when I picked her up from preschool, she said, “Mommy, please don’t overschedule me. I just want to play after school and relax on weekends!”

I said, “Okay, tell you what: I’ll suggest some activities now and then, and when you’re ready to do something outside of school, you can choose.”

A few years later, when she was six, we went together to her best friend Rachael’s dance recital. The program featured ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop for girls from three to twenty years old. It was a three-hour production — and Madison sat on the edge of her seat the whole time, completely enthralled in every minute of it.

“Mommy,” she said after the recital was over, “This is what I want to do! Can we sign up right now?” So we did — she signed up for a class that combined ballet, tap, and jazz for her age group.

Some time later, we went shopping for a leotard and shoes in preparation for her dance class. After Madison picked out a few different styles, we made our way to the fitting room, where she tried on each one to see which felt most comfortable. Finally, she made her choice: sleeveless and black with a matching skirt.

As she stood in front of the mirror, assessing her new outfit, her face lit up. “Mommy,” she exclaimed, “I am freaking out with joy! I was born to dance!”

That was three years ago. Madison has since danced in several recitals herself, and she is totally engaged in her dance class. In fact, it has become her favorite part of the week. She prepares her dance bag the night before each class session to make sure she doesn’t forget anything the next morning. After her first spring recital, when the dance studio shut down for summer recess, Madison said, “How am I going to live this summer without dance class? Dance is my life!”

Ask her what she wants to be when she grows up and she replies without hesitation, “A dancer!” If you’re looking for Madison, chances are good you’ll find her in some part of the house practicing her dancing.

Madison’s love of dancing reminds me that it is those times in our lives when we are freaking out with joy that give us the greatest clues about who we are and where we genuinely belong.

There is a unique, almost magnetic quality I’ve often noticed in people who wholeheartedly love what they do, and over the years I’ve come to recognize that quality as authenticity. When Madison’s dancing, she is not only genuinely happy, she is also being fully Madison.

2011 MA Conference for Women keynote Betsy Myers is the author of Take the Lead (available on Amazon).

Save 50 percent using the CFW discount code on their upcoming “How to Get a Job You Will Love” bootcamp this Feb. 6-17, and their course on “The Big Idea: Discover Your Passion and Make it Your Business,” which will take place this March 5-30.

How to Get A Job You Will Love – Feb. 7-17

Regular Registration Rate: $95

Conference for Women discount rate – $47 (code: cfw)

The course: BrazenU’s two-week How to Get a Job You Will Love online bootcamp will teach you how to form a successful job search strategy, how to leverage social media in your search, insider secrets on how to interview with top recruiters and create a stellar network, how to shape your resume and cover letter, and much more. You’ll also have a chance to workshop your resume with professional consultants in a live, one-on-one speed resume review session.

Here’s more of what you’ll get for registering:

·      7 hours of LIVE web conferences with top job search experts
·      1 hour of LIVE Q&A with recruiters on interviewing
·      1 hour of online speed resume review and personalized career coaching
·      2 hours of online networking events to build your network
·      2 exclusive job search strategy videos from career experts
·      Access to all course materials for one year

Find more information about the course and to sign up click here, and make sure you use code CFW to register at the exclusive $47 discounted rate!

The Big Idea: Discover Your Passion and Make it Your Business — March 5-30

Regular Registration Rate: $225

Conference for Women discount rate: $125 (code: cfw)

The course: This course will help you turn your big idea into a business and make an impact. In 4 weeks, you’ll know how to turn that lightbulb moment into a venture with potential for profit and impact.  The Big Idea: Discover Your Passion and Make it Your Business will offer a pragmatic approach to launching a business, from your initial concept to securing investors.

The biggest detriment to entrepreneurs is often focus, lack of resources, and not knowing where to start. We’ve brought in top experts to help you with all of that. You’ll learn how to identify and leverage your resources, develop a compelling story and a clear business message, and learn how to pitch your idea to potential investors.

Here’s more of what you’ll get for registering:

·      4 weeks of engaging, structured coursework on how to turn your idea into a business
·      Over 8 hours of LIVE web conferences featuring successful entrepreneurs, investors, and innovative business experts
·      5 exclusive recorded videos
·      Personalized investor feedback on your business plan and pitch
·      2 hours of online networking events with speakers and your fellow participants to build your network
·      Challenge exercises with review to help you progress your plans
·      Curated reading recommendations
·      Access to all course materials for one year
·      And more!

Find more information about the course and to sign up click here, and make sure you use code CFW to register at the exclusive $125 discounted rate!

1. Twitter helps you maintain loose relationships and strengthen strong relationships. Technology allows you to keep a better handle on friends, acquaintances, and virtual acquaintances. Far more than ever before, I’m vaguely aware of a huge number of people, some of whom I “know” and some I don’t “know,” and although that sounds overwhelming, it makes my life warmer and richer.

2. Twitter allows you to pursue your passion – even if only in your imagination. A key to a happier life is to have fun; people who regularly have fun are twenty times as likely to feel happy. But if you can’t find the time, or if you’d like to spend even more time on your passion, Twitter is a great source of conversation. If you love cheese, Mad Men, green technology, or knitting, you can find other people who are interested in the same thing, day or night.

3. Twitter lets you help other people. Do good, feel good. If you have friends who raise money for a charity, who write books or articles, who perform music, who advocate for a cause, or otherwise want to direct attention someplace – or if you want to help strangers who are doing these things — Twitter lets you shine a spotlight on their activities or on issues that you think are important. I periodically try to persuade people to commit to being organ donors.

4. Twitter makes gathering information easier. If you follow people who share your interests, they’ll help you keep abreast of everything happening in that area. And if you have a general question, crowd-sourcing it to Twitter is a great way to get an answer.

However!

Twitter has one major drawback for happiness: it uses up time, and time is in short supply for most of us. It’s true, it’s an efficient way to scan headlines, keep up with passions, and connect with people, but the fact is, it may tempt you to spend too much time engaging with it, or to procrastinate from doing other, less enticing work. Use it well.

2011 MA Conference for Women keynote speaker Gretchen Rubin is author of the #1 New York Times and international bestseller, “The Happiness Project.”

Making connections is one of the most important aspects of owning and running a business today! Whether it’s a hot dog stand or a makeup company, it is all the same. You must get out there and make as many connections as possible. You never know who you are meeting and what value they can offer to enhance your business, whether you are flying next to someone on an airplane or sitting down for lunch at a cafeteria.People love to talk about themselves and what they are doing. As long as you can remember to let them talk and let you know what they do and what they are up to in their lives, it just might fit in with something you are doing or they might have connections for you.

I have met more interesting people in my travels then you could imagine. Everyone brings something to the table and if you can be receptive and positive, you would not believe what can happen when you are not even thinking about growing your entrepreneurship. It is important to give them one of your cards and make sure you have an email address on it, not just a web site. Get one of theirs and if they do not have one, write down their information. I always have a little pad and pen in my bag for just this. When you get to a computer in the next day or two, write them a note—a short one is fine. Just mention who you were and when you met. You have to follow up!

This is how I came to write my autobiography, “I Can Do This”, The Bloody Mary Story. I talked to many people on airplanes and they heard my story and said, “You should write a book” So I did. My feedback was so positive, that I figured why not! Remember, you have nothing to lose by putting yourself out there. If you do not seize the moment, it might just pass you by!

At 46 years old, 2011 MA Conference for Women speaker Bobbie Weiner, a.k.a. “Bloody Mary,” started a new career by going to makeup school in 1993 for the film and TV industry. After her first horror film, “Pumpkinhead II,” she was nicknamed “Bloody Mary” by the crew. Today Weiner owns and operates a multimillion-dollar makeup company.

by Linda Dorcena Forry, State Representative of the 12th Suffolk District in Massachusetts

I was thrilled to see women of all ages and cultures come together under one roof for the 7th annual Massachusetts Conference for Women (MCW) this year. The MCW is the pinnacle event for women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs to learn from each other about best practices and advance their professional careers. One of the highlights this year was the new concept, only in its second year, of a Local Leaders Meet Up Corner. Speaking with attendees at that event, I was able to offer insight from my experience as a state legislator and in my role as the House chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business.

It was wonderful to see more women aspiring to become political, business, and civic leaders within their communities. There is a lack of women’s voices in government at the municipal, state, and federal levels. Out of the 200 members in our legislature in Massachusetts, only 49 are women, and of those only five are women of color. We need more women in the public sector not only because women advocate for and support the issues most important to women, but because we bring unique perspectives and talents to every issue.

Despite spending my entire career in public service, the thought of running for office never really occurred to me and that is not unusual. Studies show that women are significantly less likely and less willing than men to run for elected office, but when they do, they have an equal chance of winning. I first ran for office in 2005, won as an unknown, and have won ever re-election since then.

So in the spirit of the MCW, my suggestions for those thinking of becoming more actively engaged in the public sector or growing their small businesses are these: discover and know the currently available resources around you; start building relationships with others who have the same interests; and most importantly, get involved in your community. If you have any questions, you can contact my office at (617) 722-2080 or visit lindadorcenaforry.org.

Statistics indicate that one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. If detected early, the five year survival rate is 97 percent. The American Cancer Society, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Radiology, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure® continue to agree that breast cancer screening should begin at age 40 – even earlier if a woman is at greater risk for developing breast cancer.

Hologic, Inc. is committed to the fight against breast cancer. In offering 3D breast tomosynthesis digital mammography, we provide the latest in imaging quality.

You can now find a facility near you that offers digital mammography and breast tomosynthesis.

Help yourself. Help your girlfriends. Help a woman in need.

The Promise to Me project was founded on the belief that by empowering women to make their health a priority, we can start to reduce the numbers impacted by treatable diseases. Through promisetome.com, we are asking women to make the promise to take care of their health and to pass this message on. For every promise made and passed, Hologic will donate $1 towards preventive healthcare for underserved women.*

With our help, you can set up e-mail reminders for all your annual exams so you’ll never miss that annual mammogram, Pap test, or bone density scan that you’ve been putting off.

Follow @promisetome on Twitter or become a fan of our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PromiseToMe. What are you waiting for? Make the promise!

This was it – the maiden voyage of an expert exchange on Strategies for Successful Transitions and Second Acts – we knew it was interactive – but would participants do it? After all, it was the last session of an incredibly full day. Would people have any energy left or would they stare at us vacantly, causing us to wonder whether this was really such a good idea? With the moment of truth upon us, we explained the process, “You have 1 minute to tell the person next to you a defining moment in your life, ‘Go!’” The cacophony was deafening, the cadence intense – there was laughter and tears, new friendships were forged and old ones were deepened. No one in any of the three states wanted to change partners for the next two exercises. Instant bonding materialized, emails exchanged, mentors were found and dreams were shared – fearlessness – that elusive feeling of power and connection that had been discussed all day was understood, internalized, and practiced. People came in from the halls to see what the buzz was about…there was magic in the air. Share your story of conference connection with us – we’d love to know… www.themiraclechase.com

2011 Massachusetts Conference for Women speaker Joan Luise Hill is co-author of “The Miracle Chase: Three Women, Three Miracles and a Ten Year Journey of Discovery and Friendship” and was host of the Expert Exchange Session: Strategies for Successful Transitions and Second Acts.