How to create an alter ego for your personal brand (7 Tips)
Are there things you feel you can’t possibly do or achieve? That’s okay. Because maybe your alter ego can. Unleash the other side of your potential through your alter ego.
Do you struggle to put yourself out there for something you wish you could? Don’t let the stigma around egos deter you from creating your alter ego. Your ego serves your self-importance. But, your alter ego is where the magic can happen for your personal brand.
In Latin, alter ego means ‘second I’. Merriam-Webster defines an alter ego as:
A second self or different version of oneself, such as
a: trusted friend
b: the opposite side of a personality
In my experience working as a personal brand coach, contrary to some popular belief about personal branding, excessive self-importance is rarely the problem - self confidence is. So, couldn’t we all use a second self to step into to achieve those big things that don’t always feel authentic to our first self? A trusted friend - a yang to our yin?
Adopt an alter ego to help you set free the superpowers of your superhuman self.
Bruce Wayne has Batman. Clark Kent has Superman. Peter Parker has Spider-Man.
But, it isn’t just fictional characters that have harnessed the magic of alter egos. Some of the world’s biggest superstars created alter egos to unleash their full potential. Think Beyonce and her Sasha Fierce alter ego. The star, who sometimes appears quite reserved, steps into her bolder Sasha Fierce energy to help build her evolving stage persona.
Beyonce isn’t alone in adopting an alter ego. Basketball legend, Kobe Bryant, famously created his Black Mamba persona following a tumultuous period in his life. Based on the deadly snake known for its speed and accuracy, it allowed Bryant to develop a more fierce competitive edge on the basketball court.
While your ego needs to be kept in check, your alter ego could be the secret to your success. Psychologists say it can help boost your confidence, determination and performance. And it might just be the healthy antidote for any imposter syndrome, to help you fake it till you make it.
Here are my top tips for creating an alter ego for your personal brand:
1. Embrace Your Yin and Yang
The idea of an opposite side of your personality reminds me of the ancient Chinese symbol of the Yin and Yang. It’s an enduring symbol of duality - that opposing forces form a whole.
The black Yin side, among other things, symbolises the dark, moon, water, cool, softness, femininity, passiveness and stillness. The white Yang side represents light, sun, fire, warmth, hardness, masculinity, activeness and movement.
On each side of the Yin and Yang, there’s a small circle representing the opposing side. Meaning each exists within the other.
So, think of your alter ego as not an inauthentic version of yourself, but the other side of your personality. Compared to where you’re most comfortable, it’s the other side of your potential.
2. Name Your Alter Ego - ‘The Batman Effect’
Your alter ego needs a name. There’s science behind why.
By now, you’ve likely realised authenticity is trending. But, instead of an ‘I’ mentality, try thinking about yourself in the third person. Psychology researchers tried this on three groups of children. Those who were referring to themselves in the first person performed the worst. The second group who referred to themselves in the second person performed better. The third group, who associated their work with their favourite hard-working character, like Batman, for example, outperformed the rest.
So, what is your alter ego’s name? Who is it that comes out when you’re ready to give a presentation, show up on social media or work a networking event?
Your legal name can be ‘repackaged’ for your public personal brand. Some of the world’s biggest creators and celebrities have created personal brands around their alter ego personas rather than their actual names.
Catherine Kaputa shares in her book, You Are A Brand, several name ideas. I discussed this in detail in my blog about rebranding yourself. Here are just some of them:
Use your middle name as your brand e.g. Angelina Jolie Voight became Angelina Jolie (meaning pretty in French).
Use a quirky nickname
Spell your common name in an uncommon way
Hang your hat on one name e.g. Oprah
Simplify your name e.g. Jennifer Anistonopolous became Jennifer Aniston
3. Wear Your Batman Suit
Transforming into the supercharged version of yourself can be easier said than done. How do you just switch on your super self?
Superheroes adorn costumes to help transcend their day-to-day, and you can too.
Transition routines in your daily habits move you from one stage of your day to another. Think, taking off your suit jacket after work. It helps shift your mind frame.
So, what physical thing helps signify your switch into super you? Maybe, it’s a certain pair of glasses or your favourite tie. Or like me, maybe it’s a pop of your favourite lipstick.
I’ve always been a lipstick lover. But, a few years ago for my sister’s wedding, I tried a lipstick shade I normally wouldn’t. My now husband adored it. On other occasions, friends would also comment on it. I decided to wear it for my own wedding. It’s now what I wear for most of my YouTube videos. This tiny tool is supercharged with positive memories. When I’m getting ready to film, it’s a tiny technique that tricks my brain into knowing something special is happening.
4. Ask Yourself, “What Would Your Alter Ego Do?”
Your alter ego is more than a look - it’s a mindset.
Bryant developed Black Mamba into a trademark part of his personal brand. He articulated it even further through his Mamba Mentality. This included:
Be Passionate.
Be Obsessive.
Be Relentless.
Be Resilient.
Be Fearless.
How would your own alter ego behave? What are their personality traits? I once heard a successful YouTube creator describe how her self-talk would tell her she could never do something she wanted to try in her videos. She’d then assure herself, that was okay because her alter ego could.
5. Mentally Rehearse First
Visualisation, as it’s understood in Neuro-linguistics Programming, argues that the mind can’t distinguish between a vividly imagined experience and a real experience. So, detailed visualisation for desired outcomes becomes a form of mental rehearsal. By consistently visualising, you rewire your subconscious to align your thoughts, emotions and behaviours with your goals.
Mental rehearsal is what the best elite athletes and performers have mastered.
In Brian Tracy’s classic book, The Psychology of Selling, he says:
“Visualize this thing that you want. See it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint, and begin to build.”
6. Build in Silence
If there’s one thing superheroes do best, it’s fight crime anonymously. You don’t have to build your ‘authentic personal brand’ publicly. You can build your persona publicly.
Do you want to start a YouTube channel, podcast or blog and you’re afraid of what your friends, family and colleagues will say? You don’t have to tell them. Build in silence under your alter ego’s name.
You can build faceless personal brands if you choose to - a growing trend on YouTube.
Sometimes sharing your goals with your nearest and dearest sets subconscious limits on what you’ll share. So, build your alter ego’s personal brand in silence if it helps you navigate new possibilities.
7. Detach from Your Alter Ego
Like Stoic Philosophy encourages you to detach from your ego, remember to detach from your alter ego. From the highs and the lows. From the praise and the criticism. From the victories and the setbacks. Remind yourself, this is only for the persona the public knows. It’s not the whole of you.
No matter how much success your alter ego achieves for you, remember who you are as a whole. Dr Wayne W. Dyer put it beautifully in The Power of Intention:
“Let go of your reputation. It is not located within you. It resides in others’ minds.”
The next time in your career or business something feels like it’s something you can’t do, ask yourself - but, can my alter ego?
