Within the span of a few months, Terri Funk Graham lost her mother due to complications from a stroke, her father from cancer and her long-time career in marketing at Jack in the Box.

Though all of those challenges, the former chief marketing officer and current corporate board member said she kept forging ahead.

“I know the ups and downs of life. How you deal with it truly shows your true character,” Funk Graham said in front of an audience of hundreds of women executives at the 2015 Women of the Channel event in New York City. The event is sponsored by ITBestofBreed's parent, The Channel Company.

Those types of experience and background are one key element in developing your personal brand in the workplace, Funk Graham said. Adding to that brand architecture are your core values, vision for where you're going, positioning to determine what makes you unique and special, and a general sense of purpose.

To find out what those brand architecture components are, Funk Graham suggested asking key questions. Who are you? How has what you’ve experienced shaped who you are? What do you believe in and what is your guiding light? Where are you going? What makes you special? What is your “why” or purpose in life?

By answering those questions, Funk Graham said the women in the audience can better understand their brand and what invaluable traits they bring to the table.

“Take time to think about what is your purpose [and personal brand] and what it is you want to achieve,” Funk Graham said. “I promise you that when you start to put it on paper and put it out in the universe, it’s amazing what will come back to you.”

That personal brand influences others, Funk Graham said. When developing a personal brand, she said women should keep in mind how facets of that brand, those she called the mind, body and soul pieces, are touchpoints for those around you. That includes how you inspire others, and what’s in your personal life and your social network. It also includes how you feel physically, as well as your personal style, confidence to know when you’re at your best and mental aspects such as skills, knowledge and talents, she said.

The last component of the personal brand is attitude, Funk Graham said. Keeping a good attitude is especially important, she said, in times of adversity and when unexpected curve balls come your way.

“The only thing you control in life is how you react to things that come your way,” Funk Graham said. “Your attitude is everything and the power of that is amazing. Don’t forget that.”

The bottom line, Funk Graham said, is that pulling together all of the components of background, attitude, values, influence and more into a personal brand are all part of developing an understanding of who you want to be in the workplace and where the next step in your journey will take you.

“It’s really a matter of understanding who you are and what you want,” Funk Graham said.