Where were you at 25 years old?

Before we tackle personal branding, you need to do a little research...on yourself. So I need you to think back to when you were 25 years old. Where were you? What decade was it? What were your favorite songs, haunts, restaurants? Who were your friends? What was your dream? The big plan? The thing that you were going to reach out and grab?

When I was twenty-five, I had moved from Montreal to Toronto, ready to grab the world by the horns and make my mark as a theater director. There were no limitations. I could do anything, be anyone, invent and re-invent myself as I needed. I wasn't afraid of risk because I hadn't faced any greater hardship than trying to figure out where the next month's rent was coming from. And it never occured to me that anyone would dare to evict me. Working from job to job, 18 hours a day for $150 a week, I was in heaven. Paying my dues but with a certainty that I'd make my mark and hit my dream.

Where were you?

What was your pie in the sky?

So think on that a bit...dust it off and hold it up to the light.

Now fast forward to today. Is that goal the same one you have today? Did you deviate from that path? And if so, was it a deliberate deviation or did life just take you somewhere else? Are you happy with that direction? If not, do you want to recapture your path?

Looking for work at older than 50 is tough. The market is tough, recruiters judge you on a resume...up against hundreds of other resumes, your potential bosses are likely younger than you. So you need to deliver a clear and consistent message -- your brand.

But before you can define your personal brand, you need to know where you are right now, and where you are heading. If you aren't sure of your goal, then before anything, you need to set a clear direction for yourself so that as we work to create that personal brand, you do not waver from your path. I'm a firm believer in manifesting your own destiny. The US and Canada are great countries -- anything you want, and are willing to really work for, you can attain. So before we set off on creating a map to your goal, take another day and make sure you are clear on what that dream was when you were 25 years old and how that fits in with your dream today.