Look in the mirror and ask yourself, What’s the standard that shapes my brand every single day? Who are you today? What are you grateful for? What are you looking forward to? And what’s your standard?

We celebrate first-time excellence. That’s what got us here. So what’s the standard that creates your brand? And what are you doing every single day to deliver unmatched potential, unmatched performance?

You have a significant choice to make as to who you will be: the standard that you will set, the excellence that you will deliver and the brand that you become. Your clients believe in you because of your brand. They refer you because of your brand. And your excellence shapes the extraordinary impact that you have on others.

Success is not a coincidence; it’s a process that you commit to. These four words, “improve,” “create,” “grow” and “shape,” should be a part of your everyday excellence that you deliver to your clients.

You are helping people shape their future, and that’s the standard that shapes your brand. So every single day ask yourself, What am I doing to improve? You have to show up confident, credible, relatable, empathetic, convincing and memorable. Self-awareness is key. How well do you know who you are in the context of your brand? Specifically, why do people trust you? Why do people remember you? When you are shaping a powerful brand, you build trust, people remember you, you understand why people like and refer you, and you are known for your excellence in what you achieve. You have to know what you want to be known for.

What do superheroes do? They save the day. Someone is counting on you to save the day, to help them with their financial future, to develop a plan, to understand how to live better in retirement. But if you don’t tell people what to look for in you, how and why should they see it?

So tell people what to look for in you. “I don’t just help people with a financial plan. I help people have more confidence in their future.” That statement helps drive the excellence of your brand. But you’ve got to be consistent. What’s the most consistent thing said about you when you are not in the room, when you leave the call? When you build a powerful brand, consistency matters; consistency is more powerful than perfection.

Your clients are looking for the patterns that you deliver, not just when things are going well, but also when things are going not so well. Your consistency is what drives your ability to be known. And if you are consistent at something, you can be known for something. But if you are not consistent, it lessens the value of your brand. Today, people meet you before they meet you. What’s the first thing they do? They Google you. They check you out before they check you in. How often are you Googling your name? Always look at what’s known about you. Because when you walk into a room, someone has already done their due diligence. And you have to do your due diligence on yourself to be consistently connected to the excellence that you deliver.

Most people know what they ate for dinner last night, but when I ask, “How many times did you chew?” they say, “I don’t know.” The things you pay attention to with intention drive retention. Instead of saying, “I’m going to appreciate my clients,” say, “I’m going to make sure that I don’t go a week without sending seven thank-yous to my clients.” I don’t go a week without sending information that can help my clients navigate the economic times. So we have to be deliberate and we have to be intentional, and that’s going to drive our excellence.

Knowing how to accept failures is part of building your personal brand. Learn from the things that were a setback for you, the things that were so difficult to overcome. The things that you learned position you for amazing growth, opportunity, change and transformation. Your clients don’t want to know just what you do. They also want to know what you’ve overcome.

So know how to accept failure as a part of building your personal brand. But also know how you tell your story, how you talk about what you do. First impressions matter. When you are building a powerful brand, it’s that impression that you make that people see and connect with and drives their ability to believe in your excellence, your credibility, your brand. When you walk into a room, they are going to notice something. It could be your smile; it could be the very thing that allows them to want to do business with you. Even if the premiums are higher, it’s first impressions that matter. Clients are looking for the value that you deliver.

Know how to create your own opportunities. Did you ever come back to your hotel room, and you see on your bed towels, roses and chocolates? You didn’t pay for it, but it was there. And because you got this unexpected benefit, you now look for more value in the experience. All of a sudden, the resort is so much more beautiful. Delivering excellence means that you have to become an unexpected benefit to your clients. Give them something that they didn’t expect to get from you, but because they get it, they trust you more. What are you doing to create an unexpected level of value to your clients?

Your brand is about your engagement currency. It’s about your communication frequency, and it’s about your contribution impact. Spend time on building relationships. It helps us to unlock opportunities and unlock understanding.

What’s the question that you wish your clients would ask you as you interact with them? What’s the question they wish you would ask them? Let that question unlock new potential, new opportunity, new growth, new value. Your growth is going to come from the questions that you ask, not just the products that you sell. You’re going to grow your business through the energy that you devote to empathy. Never forget that empathy builds trust, and trust creates significance.

Understand that silence is not an option. Why are you here? What will you contribute? What will they say when you leave? These are questions you should ask yourself before you have the meeting, before you have the call, because it keeps you accountable to delivering your excellence.

Know your expectations, not your limitations. With an awareness of your brand comes an awareness of what others expect from you. Tell others what to expect from you, and they are going to look for the expectation and the work that you do, the excellence that you deliver, the empathy that you have and the results that you create.

And, finally, you’ve got to know your why. Why you do what you do helps shape the awesome excellence that you are. People are counting on you for your excellence. So hold yourself accountable to your standard. Every single day you have an opportunity to detect the improvable circumstances of your clients. Commit to the effort, and believe in the solution. And that solution is you. Have passion for the outcome, and know every single day that your actions are bigger than you.

You are not just an instrument. You are not just someone who helps people with a financial plan or retirement to help their future. You are an amplifier. You amplify their life with energy, with focus, with change, with growth, with inspiration. So never forget this: We can, we will, we must. The world has changed. But what are you going to do to evolve your brand? Go out and be the awesome standard that you are.