I am mostly careful when picking books from the self-help genre. There are lots of idea and concept crossovers that sometimes makes you feel as if you are reading the same book even when you have gone through 15.

Being You is a work that promotes authenticity and becoming who we are in our core being (sorry if you have heard that before). The authors tell us that being ourselves is the best thing we can do when building a brand.

Being You touts the notion that everyone ought to define what success means to them. The author emphasises that while money and fame are good, not everyone defines their existence or goals around that. Being You exhorts us to build our brand around values that we deem important to us.

What this book does well is how it delves into profiles of famous and well-known celebrities who have used their uniqueness to create what the author calls a successful brand. The book cites people like Malala Yousafzai, Opray Winfrey, Roger Federer, Ed Sheeran, etc. as examples of those who built successful brands around what their uniqueness.

Unfortunately, the downside of Being You is that while it tells us to find our own unique definition of success, it still manages to promote one narrow brand of success - fame and wealth. You will find no scraped knees or twisted ankles here, just a gallery of humble beginnings, cliched hard work, great decisions, strong convictions and voila! Success.

There are no up and coming artist or sportspeople whose struggles are plain to see. No failed brand that crashed but managed to find its purpose. The people we see in Being You are in places that common people would find almost... unattainable.

Being You is a useful book. This is a book for those who know who they are and are looking for practical advice on a few things. Many will find tactical advice here on public relations, social media, design, etc. But those who are on a journey to finding who they are might find themselves feeling a bit helpless and depressed by the end of the book.

I work in a university where I lead a woman’s network, hence the reason I requested this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I must say it is a definite read for any females just needing a little direction about leadership, or looking to progress in their career or starting their own company. I highly recommend this book and I will be recommending it to all my female friends. Thanks for the ARC.

This is an excellent resource for anyone who is building a public image, and/or creating a business. I've searched for similar information online and found bits and pieces in different places. Maggie Eyre gives all of it in one place with this guide! The exercises provided are useful for breaking down who I am and what I want to put forth as my public image. I appreciate being forced to examine my personal values in relation to my work online, to make sure everything I put forth is in alignment with who I am. This book is going to help me not only create a meaningful personal brand, but to improve the content I create.

As a current stay-at-home mom to a 5-year-old, I don't think this book was truly designed for me, but with volunteering for not only my spouse's club, son's co-op school, and even within the community, there are bits here and there that I can take from. Overall, if I still had my career as a legal secretary, then yes, I would benefit from this book immensely. There is a lot of great advice and testimonials, but it just seems it is geared more towards working individuals. The parts I was able to take away from are stopping to think about what you are going to post on social media, be authentic everyday (which I am), and when I do start looking for another career is to write down everything I have done on my resume - i.e. volunteering for my spouses' boards at our duty stations, holding a chairmanship at son's school which is a co-op, or even within the community. This is a well written and thought out book and I am glad that I had a chance to read it.

Thank you to Exisle Publishing and Ms. Eyre for allowing me the chance to read an ARC.