A common question about brand story telling is
‘If I’m the face of the brand how do I show my personality and keep consistency when I am interested in so many things and besides I am always changing.’
A polymath, complicated and loaded multiple personality question for sure. And you’ll be delighted and relieved to hear there’s a simple answer.
While you are the face of the brand, your brand is not you.
You see your personal brand is the integration of your personality, your skills, experience and unique gifts (and let’s not forget you need some consistent sharing) but your personal brand is it’s own entity.
It has its own identity, its own spirit and it’s own reason for being and for many brands its own products too.
You see while your work comes through you it is not you.
It’s easy to think your brand is you, especially if it’s a ‘personality brand’ and it can be difficult to separate its accomplishments, challenges and setbacks from yours but making this distinction will help you and help you craft your brand story much more easily. The secret is to be personally impersonal.
Think of your brand as your expanded self, not your red carpet self or your ‘perfect’ self but your expanded, lit up, in flow self. It’s the part of you that knows what you want and who you could be and is laser focused on creating that you. The part of you that shines, the part of you that serves your brand that in turn serves your clients. The part of you that calls you into stretching yourself just beyond your comfort zone.
You, as the creator of your brand story choose which aspects you will show and which aspects are best kept for your private onesie parties.
As you envision your brand it will extend your present identity into your future identity. Your brand should inspire you to expand into the behaviours required to serve it so with practice you incrementally become it. As you evolve into this expanded and future self your brand is already there cheerleading and supporting you to become it and building the systems and environment that will help you sustain it. Remember, plan for your success.
I get it that right now, you might feel a little intimidated by your brand’s projection (which might be why you keep chopping, changing and polymathing) and that’s normal, because . . .
A vision is not a place to be right now but a place that inspires that deep part of you into stepping forward to become it. As David Whyte says anything or anyone who does not make you feel alive is too small for you.
In my InsideOut Practice we create a container for your business which establishes boundaries for your business so you get to live your multi-faceted and multi-passionate life and your business gets to confidently do its good work profitably in the world so while you serve it, it in turn serves you.
I’m all about win, win, win, win. If you’re ready to step out of confusion and into clarity let’s do this
I can’t wait to meet all of yourselves 🙂 and think of what fun it will be to decide which parts of you, you will choose to tell your best brand story?