Today we say goodbye. Goodbye to a man who made a big difference in the world through small kindnesses. He may not have bragged about his work, but he knew that he was making an impact. I don’t think he knew the depth, but we sure hope he knew something. I can tell you that he would have been happy to know that if there was a house he was living in next to this cemetery, he wouldn’t have been buried here. Because he was still living … his favorite joke years ago; now, a chance for us to laugh a little – which would have made him happy.

But today we look back over a legacy left behind by a man who followed his faith, who worked hard to provide for his family and who tried every day to make a difference. From his work with veterans to his men’s group at church … from his one-time weekly calls to his aging grandparents to his simple love of his daughters and wife, this man impacted lives so deeply, that his absence may feel like a hole for a long time to come for many. And he never did these things for the credit – he merely wanted to leave the world a better place when he left it. And he did.

To those who knew him, puns were his lifeblood. Though they weren’t the death of him, it was a close call at times. I remember one time he tried to out-pun a stranger on a train, only to nearly be thrown off that train. It would have most certainly been a moving violation, but not a very moving tribute.

So with a flourish and a funny, we say goodbye to Dan Moyle. We’re sure going to miss you dad. (And look, no grammar mistakes!)

This my friends, is how I’d like to leave the world. That’s how I envision my daughters writing my eulogy.

And that, is where my personal brand journey began for me. I thought about how I want to be remembered in the eyes of my daughters.

Who am I? What am I? Well, I love to work with people, helping them along the way.

My Twitter profile – make sure you’re following me for marketing updates…

…veteran stories, Pure Michigan passion…

…motorcycle trips and cat pictures…

…lots of cat pictures…

– my Twitter profile lays it out as: serve, educate, love people. I consider myself a compassionate educator of sorts.

In thinking about nailing down a brand, it all comes back to helping and serving others. What does that look like every day? It’s serving consumers through helpful marketing instead of spammy junk mail.

It’s serving my daughters by teaching them to be strong, intelligent and compassionate humans.

It’s serving my wife by speaking her Love Language … and doing dishes. And leaving her alone to read sometimes.

It’s serving those who came before me and blazed a path through their service – veterans of World War II, the Korea and Vietnam Wars.

It’s serving my community through organizations like Patriot Guard Riders, Habitat for Humanity, March of Dimes or community service at church.

So my hope every day is that when you think of Dan Moyle, you think of servant leadership, helpfulness and compassion. And dad jokes. Always leave them with a smile. Which reminds me – who is bigger. Mr Bigger or his baby?

His baby. Because she’s a Little Bigger.

My Personal Brand Journey

This year at work, I was fortunate enough to enter my second year of leadership training and coaching. With this second year came a new challenge: a personal brand presentation. This was mine. I presented it to my peers and the senior leadership team at AmeriFirst Home Mortgage. Each leader in my peer group faced the same challenge. It was an amazing experience. I thought I’d share it here. Thank you for reading.

[This article was originally published on The Inbound Evangelist December 26, 2016]