# 🧭 Cheatsheet: Personal Identity and Personal Branding in the Age of AI

By Better Wise

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A lookup card for the whole course. Use it while building your portfolio, not as a replacement for the lessons.

## Course Map

| Module | Focus | Core Output |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Identity Foundations | Values, strengths, lived experience | Values list + strengths map |
| 2. Positioning & Storytelling | Audience, niche, narrative | Positioning statement + story draft |
| 3. Capstone Portfolio | AI as critic, assembly, review | One-page brand portfolio |

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## 1.1 Personal Brand vs Performative Self-Promotion

| Credible personal brand | Performative self-promotion |
| --- | --- |
| Built on evidence you can point to | Built on claims you cannot back up |
| Consistency between words and actions | Persona that shifts to please the room |
| Helps a specific audience | Broadcasts to everyone and no one |
| Shows process and learning | Shows only wins and polish |
| Invites questions | Avoids scrutiny |

**Quick test:** For any claim you make, ask "Can I show the receipt?" If no, cut it or soften it.

> **Note:** 
> A brand is a reputation you earn. Promotion is a message you send. The course builds the first.

**Reflective journaling prompt:** Write one sentence describing how a person who worked with you would describe you. Then compare it to your online profile.

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## 1.2 Values Clarification: Naming Your Core Values

**Method:**
1. Brainstorm 15-20 candidate values freely.
2. Group near-duplicates.
3. Narrow to 5 that feel non-negotiable.
4. Rank to your top 3.
5. For each top value, write one concrete moment you acted on it.

| Value | Proof moment (lived experience) |
| --- | --- |
| Example: Craft | Rewrote the onboarding doc three times until a new hire finished setup alone |
| Example: Fairness | Split credit publicly on a team project |

**Decision rule:** If you cannot recall a moment that proves a value, it is aspirational, not core. Keep it as a goal, not a claim.