Received an interesting email yesterday. One of my “mentees” from the UW SEBA mentor program asked me a question. He is a super sharp doctoral candidate and taking in internship with the World Bank this summer. He is anxious about how he will fit in a large office of a large organization with tons of outside interaction. Pretty natural stuff. He wanted to know if I had any advice for him. Here is my reply:

1) Be yourself. Your hard work and friendly personality got you the job. Don’t forget that.
2) People like to work with people they like. I have found this to be true working on 4 continents.
3) It is easy to be liked when you are being yourself.

Also think about what you want to accomplish from the internship. What will make it a success for you? Then work towards those things as best you can and it will be easy to be yourself — anywhere.

Then this morning in my Inbox was this very timely newsletter from Steve Yastrow. Yastrow goes in detail about the great Tom Peters article, “The Brand Called You.” My mental hamster-wheel turned over to generate a spark. There really is no difference between “Brand You” and being yourself. Simple stuff, but true. Even a snake like Polonius figured it out, “This above all: to thine own self be true.” So very true.

Big news that Joel Spolsky is ending his Joel on Software blog as announced in Inc. The money quote:

To really work, Sierra observed, an entrepreneur’s blog has to be about something bigger than his or her company and his or her product. This sounds simple, but it isn’t. It takes real discipline to not talk about yourself and your company.

It is true. It has to be bigger than yourself and it does take a lot of time to blog. A lot of people are disappointed. He has a company to run. His choice. The audience will move elsewhere. The video below is a re-post but relevant on the power of blogging. I find myself talking about my tiny little blog more than I ever thought I would. It is true that my traffic is tiny and likely irrelevant. I blog to build my brand and make me better. The blog forces you to think and stay relevant. It is mental pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups all in one.

Joel Spolsky @ Inc: Let’s Take This Offline

Brier Dudley: Celebrity blogger says he’ll quit, questions marketing value of blogs

Great video above on the power of blogging. I find myself talking about my tiny little blog more than I ever thought I would. I blog to build my brand and make me better. The blog forces you to think and stay relevant. It is mental pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups all in one. When I discuss blogging, the conversation turns into why I believe that everyone should blog. The video above sums it up. I have been reading Tom Peters since high school thanks to my father, an entrepreneur. Peters’ statement in the video is powerful and compelling.

Blog on.