The question, which will have the most effect over your life, is a very simple one, but I bet no one has ever told you what it is.

7.6 billion people are breathing every second, but not many of them are truly living.

That’s because they’ve never sat down and thought about this question and its significance.

All of us look at innumerable ways to reach success in life. Millions get lost in the pursuit for this illusive feeling called peace of mind and lasting satisfaction, but I want to share with you the way I approach life and how I make the daily effort to put myself in the position to be totally comfortable at the end of each day.

You don’t need to search for any mysterious ways to make your life work because once you answer, with great detail, this one question, your mind will begin to come up with practical ways to make this a reality.

This very important question is: What is your brand?

You see, we all know many iconic commercial brands, such as Cadillac, Harley Davidson, Nike, and Disney, but the biggest and most determining factor of where you’ll be in 10, 20, 30, and 40 years from now, is what your personal brand is.

By this, I mean that you must define exactly who you are and act it out, fully and sincerely.

When you begin to do this, your confidence level will skyrocket, which is a genuinely attractive quality, and you’ll become even more synched with your brand.

You must lose all fear of criticism.

Formulating the Brand

The measures of a brand, which will make you successful, are that it is based on facts and that there is an overall plan to back it. The opinions of others, who tell you that something cannot be achieved, are to be utterly disregarded.

The brand is the vision you have for your own life, and I want to point out important topics to think about when you decide to take this seriously and formulate it.

For me, the basic and most fundamental part of my brand is whom I share my life with. Love is by far the highest priority for happiness and therefore, in my mind and on paper, I put into words how I should be in my relationships with others. Build this vision for yourself; make it a point to write in detail what exactly you’re looking for and how you plan to achieve it, starting from where you are right now.

This exercise, for example, caused me to stop using my Smartphone, while people are speaking with me.

Next, think about where you want to be, location-wise, because if you can envision the perfect place for you, your mind will begin to become alert to opportunities to get there. Personally, I’m not a fan of big cities, so my brand includes being in nature and residing in smaller towns. I spend most of my time away from the concrete jungle, and I love the power behind the decision to say NO to all things outside my brand.

Think long and hard, for instance, about how you want to spend your time and about the division of hours in your day. Between sleeping, eating, resting, and running errands, we all have only 12-15 hours of productive time each day.

Brand your life, so that every decision you make reflects your commitment to this – life is full of opportunities, but you can’t seize them all. In fact, the more you understand the nature of success, the more you’ll realize that creating your brand means limiting your life to a specific trajectory, which will make you positive and enthusiastic.

You see, success originates from specialization, rather than generalization.

I remember vividly how a close friend of mine, much smarter than me, was shocked to learn that I don’t know how to run Excel spreadsheets. He said that this will be a major stumbling block for me and I then realized that he was caught up in trying to learn everything, instead of outsourcing as much as possible, while zooming in on one skill and fully monetizing it.

It’s perfectly fine to be ignorant on my topics. In fact, it’s a sign you’re on the right path, if you don’t know many things that others are preoccupied with.

My personal brand also includes travelling to 10 countries a year with my wife and daughter, so my mind is always attuned to other people, when they speak about incredible places they’ve been to. We’re headed to Costa Rica right now.

You must become a machine, which is solely focused on achieving its goals, and let everything else happen, without attempting to control it. That’s the pinnacle of efficient living – you will not waste a single breath on non-productive matters or trying to correct others. Instead, you will direct all of your potential to act out the play of your life.

Another great example is nutrition. While my father, mother, and two brothers have all dealt with weight issues their entire adults lives, my brand includes looking sharp, staying active, and eating healthy. Food is so abundant in the western world that by not having a plan, you’ll most likely become overweight – the food industry is based on this destructive behavior.

Think of your character as well, since nothing draws opportunities to you more than your personality. Your brand must include room for dominating traits – for me, flexibility and having a sense of humor are the two I sharpen and accentuate the most.

This means that I adapt quickly to changing circumstances, without loss of temper and I’m able to laugh and take all matters in proportion.

The reason that building your brand is so advantageous is because it is the only level of existence, in which you are in full control of your own actions. It leaves no room for excuses, since you had created it. Then, life becomes the great game of constantly refining it and rejuvenating it.

Respect yourself – envision your life, every little detail of it. Then, start living it now. Execute.

This will transform you, if you do it wholeheartedly. You’ll notice the change immediately and the results will follow suit.