As we approach these first weeks of Q4, in the middle of bullwonky stuff like school starting, distance and hybrid learning, fires, a pandemic, family shenanigans, and, oh yeah, the upcoming holidays, we need to talk about something. We need talk about your brand – your siren call. We need to talk about….
You. (Yes, that is code for “brand”, you amazing hunk of fabulousness.)
I know you aren’t so hot on talking about “brand”. Still, because it’s my job to irritate you to action and clarity, I’m going to make you.
We know that we are supposed to know, “My brand is the story I tell.”
But deep inside? We feel “my brand is the lie I am telling.”
We feel we have to put on a great face, show everyone how amazing we are, prove ourselves, and level up from the person next to us. We feel this, and we hate it, because we are not those things.
“I am just me! Why can’t I just be me?!”
In response to this assfoolery, we say we hate branding, don’t want to talk about it, and refuse to own one. Because it feels bullshitty.
Let us reframe, shall we?
Branding is not about hiding who you are in order to get clients.
It’s not about wearing a mask or trying to be what other people want you to be.
Most certainly, it is not people pleasing.
Branding isn’t about being smarter, more tech-savvy, having better lighting, or having a prettier studio. It’s not even about what colors or fonts you use on your website.
Having a strong brand means that you aren’t worried about who and what you are not. It’s about living out loud who you are. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the gorgeous.
We feel gross about our branding because we feel gross about ourselves.
If we truly are our brand, and we don’t even trust ourselves as people living in the world, how can we live fully in our brand?
If we don’t accept ourselves, we cannot make space to be accepted by others.
There is a weird sort of aha moment we all need to have to really understand our branding.
Our Brand is our Siren Call.
Being willing to be misunderstood is the greatest freedom there is.
We all have aspects of ourselves that will polarize. THIS IS GOOD.
Allow those things that are polarizing about you to be your call to the world that you have something unique to bring to the table.
Trying to cover up who we are is exhausting at best and mentally devastating at worst.
When we are at peace with who we are we don’t go around asshatting people out of our woundedness and our deep need for acceptance.
When we are at peace, we aren’t jerkfaces forcing our opinions on others as though they MUST learn from us and our way is the only way.
When we are at peace we are open. Authentic. Generous. Okay with being wrong, or not a good fit.
Those who are inspired by our story will join us in our story… and that is the glory of strong branding. It’s the siren call that compels those who we are best equipped to serve to follow us to their demise. The demise of the version of themselves they no longer wish to be. We woo them with our siren call – our brand.
Will you do me a favor over the next few weeks? Will you take the time to make a note of who you are when you are most alive? Reflect on all the parts you feel compelled to hide?
And then, would you invite those indicators back into your biz? I can’t wait to meet you, again for the first time.
Multiply Your Talents,
P.S. Asshatting to be silly is different than asshatting to be mean. A good snarky comment can really help you find and define your people! After all, that is how I found some of you. Oh, who am I kidding? Most of you. teehee
P.P.S Brand is also about your promises to your peeps and the expectations folks have of you. We’ll talk about those soon. After all, I’ve chosen to make this month about branding!
P.P.P. S All month, in The SpeakEasy Cooperative, we are focusing on branding. What *is* it? Really? At our Tuesday Training on 8/8/2020, we’ll have the training and Q & A. If it’s the right time for you to join us, please do! You can also watch this training on the backend of the website if you choose to join later.
P.P.P.P.S Sara Campbell will be running her branding bootcamp again in October, I think! You can learn more about Sara, here.
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