Most people don’t know where to start when it comes to their personal brand. If they do manage to stitch some words together, they often focus on things like their profession and their accomplishments.
This is a good start, but personal branding is so much more than just what you do for a living. A great personal brand encompasses our values, passions, and beliefs—it reflects who we truly are, what we stand for, and what impact we hope to have on the world.
For as long as I can remember, I have been infatuated with human curiosity and our ability to break barriers in the pursuit of a dream. It was through that obsession that I realized I was seeking my sense of identity, my purpose, and my reason to be alive.
Sport has allowed me to realize that purpose and has served as an incredible platform for me to pursue my wildest dreams. I get to do what I love, travel the world and meet interesting people. In doing so, I realized I needed to create a space where I document my journey and find my voice.
My personal website has been invaluable to my brand. It is a platform that I own and control, and while my brand will evolve over time, my website provides me with the opportunity to reach out to my audience whenever a new project comes to mind. My goal is to help those in search of their purpose, which means that my brand and my website are about much more than just athletics, they are a unique representation of me.
When you go to sekoukaba.ca, you are taken to a platform where I control my image, my content, and what the world thinks of me. It’s a powerful thing. In the past, I have sought information on athletes I admired only to come up against Wikipedia pages and dead ends. I realized that securing my personal domain, and owning my brand and content, were the key to capitalizing on my digital presence. My website gives friends, family, fans and potential business partners an idea of what I believe in and where I am headed in life. My personal domain and website have provided me with a number of opportunities outside athletics that I would never have attracted otherwise.
My website clearly demonstrates my Canadian pride both through its design and the use of .CA for my domain. Canadians are respected around the world, including by our opponents, so to represent my country online was as natural as wearing the maple leaf on the track. My website keeps my fans updated on my recent competitions, training camps, speaking engagements, and other news that provides insight into my daily life—I even provide regular updates on my favourite music!
My personal brand allows me to leave a positive digital imprint on the world and continue in my mission to realize my dreams and help others overcome obstacles in their lives. Personal branding may seem like an insurmountable hurdle, but once you get started you will realize it is a positive force in your life to help yourself and others.
A .CA domain declares your business is proudly Canadian
Sekou is a 110-metre hurdler who made his Olympic debut in Rio, Brazil, in 2016. In addition to being a hurdler, Sekou is a motivational speaker and personal trainer.
