Evolving your philosophy and viewpoint over time (includes two real-life examples)

This week I Googled a phrase I use often and up popped an interview I recorded for the Bluewire Media podcast back in 2014.

I checked out the show notes from the episode and was interested to see that while some of the ideas I talked about had come and gone - real moment-in-time stuff! - there were several concepts and philosophies that have remained with me to this day, albeit my thinking has sharpened and evolved over time in order to ensure message relevance.

I provide a couple of examples below to illustrate what I'm talking about, but the key thing to highlight from a professional personal branding perspective is:

Put another way, the philosophies you develop around your work, your profession, the industry in which you operate - these should become pretty steadfast over the years, but the examples and tactics and stories that bring those philosophies to life can/will/should change with time, and that's okay. Indeed, it's encouraged :)

Okay, here are two examples:

EXAMPLE 1 - The importance of building a 'body of work' (something I discussed in the aforementioned podcast interview)

This has been a favourite concept and message of mine for well over a decade, and it's something I have always encouraged business owners and thought leaders to bear in mind as they write articles, produce videos, deliver presentations, and give interviews for podcasts and the media.

In short, your body of work is your legacy, and something that helps underpin your reputation in the marketplace.

Rather than relying on one-off marketing tactics, I'm a big advocate for an ongoing commitment to producing valuable content and sparking interesting public conversations over time.

This collection of work becomes a tangible representation of your knowledge, expertise and experience, serving as an asset that continues to provide value long after it's created.

This idea of building a body of work is a drum I continue to bang over 10 years later, and is as relevant today than ever, maybe even more so!

But the channels we use and the content formats we produce have changed a lot over the past decade - along with people’s consumption habits - and so it’s been important for me to update this message with new ideas and examples.

EXAMPLE 2 - I was asked in the 2014 podcast interview: "What would you do if you were starting from scratch?"

Aside from creating a body of work as per above, I said I would start a blog to bring clarity, focus and form to my insights and ideas.

Today, conceptually, I still believe that: blogging is a great place to start your authority-building efforts.

BUT, today it's less about the platform you use (i.e. a blog); more important is that you embrace the process of writing to expand, and then sharpen, your thinking and ideas.

Yes, this could be a blog that sits on your website, but it could just as easily be an email newsletter (think: Substack, or Beehiiv), a regular series of posts for LinkedIn (and/or a LinkedIn newsletter), or you could use a platform such as Medium.com.

So you can see, my thinking hasn't changed in a philosophical sense over a 10-year period on this topic, but the execution around that thinking has evolved to stay in lockstep with today's fast-moving, digital-first world.

What about you?

Have you got any concepts, ideas or philosophies that you used to promote years ago but potentially have been assigned to the metaphorical bottom drawer?

Maybe it’s time to dig ‘em out and update them for today’s audience?

Just a thought :)

Good luck out there!

TY

In case we haven’t met yet …

Hi, I’m Trevor. I help purpose-led business owners become clear and confident in how they leverage PR, content and digital communications for profit, impact and legacy.

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