I have a friend who puts up her Christmas tree early. I don’t mean the day after Thanksgiving early, I mean she’s shoving trick-or-treaters off her front porch with boughs of holly. I love the absurdity of it, but even more than that I love her genuine love for that absurdity. She’s the type of the friend with a bigger than life personality. The type of friend whose jokes leave you choking with laughter. She’s extreme, exaggerated, over the top and yet is so perfectly herself; unashamed, humble, and real.
My husband’s bff epitomizes the DGAF attitude. He may have written the book on it. We have pictures of this guy casually peeing from his beach chair into a hole the children dug in front of him, apparently for this purpose. (Don’t worry, there aren’t any kids in the hole at the time!) He’s the kind of person who always seems to find his way to front of the line, to the secret entrance that may or may not have been locked before he found it, to the VIP room, into the roped off parking area. But let’s be honest, he gets shit done. And if he’s dragging you to the front of the line with him, you know you’re going to have a good time. He’s also the guy that will stand up to defend you, that won’t take anyone’s crap, the guy you want on your team.
Another friend babysat my youngest son during the first year of his life. She hardly knew me at the time and yet volunteered to help me when I needed it most. She’s the person whom the phrase ‘it takes village’ is coined for. She’s the friend who calls you instead of texting just because she hasn’t talked to you in a week, who watches your kids last minute, who organizes a meal plan for the home bound. She’ll drop off Starbucks on your birthday because she knows how much you love that pumpkin spice frappayappa mocha soy racket but won’t go get it yourself.
We all have a million reasons why we love those closest to us. There is something unique about each person that captures us, endears us to them.
It’s their brand. And if it appeals to us, we’re loyal to it.
We all know what brand loyalty is: the reason we patronize the same stores, buy the upgraded versions of the same products, wear the same pair of jeans until they turn into shreds. Well that and the fact that your butt looks great in them!
Personal brand is something I’ve become more and more keen about lately. I study it and offer advice on it. I even gave a presentation on it recently.
But lately I’m struggling. Struggling with my own brand.
Maybe it’s the time of year. Or my new role at work that is light years away from anything I thought I would be doing. Or that I haven’t written anything beyond an email in months. Or that my ‘to do’ list keeps growing. Or that some of my relationships feel strained. Or that I feel like I’m in a fog while others are celebrating their success.
It’s like I just can’t get it together lately.
I made a list of all the things that are bugging me. Alone, each item is ridiculously minor. But combined, they all rest like a burden on my back, a weight on my heart. Sometimes I feel like I can hardly breath.
I know, it’s dramatic! And that bugs me, too. I just want to go back to being that confident, self-aware badass persona I thought I had nailed.
It’s usually at this point in my blog that I offer suggestions for solving a problem just like this. I wish I had one of those! Anyone?
Several months ago I built this new blog site. And then did nothing with it. This #fail is weighing on me, too. Here I am telling people to evangelize themselves, create original content, and have a side hustle to help build their personal brand while I’m sitting here doing a whole lotta nothin’.
I realize this is probably the most terrible way on earth to kick off my new blog site, but, welp, this is how I’m feeling right now and if I’m good at anything, it’s saying how I really feel.
My hope is this step forces me to move forward, jolts me back into the current, ignites a new spark inside me. At the very least, I hope this can serve as an example to others in a similar rut.
If I can do it, you can, too.
Stay well my friends,
E
I’m glad you’re back at it Erica! This is why we love your writing… be it personal branding, tech, marriage or motherhood… you make it real #notafail.
Thank you! Seeing you at the store and hearing your feedback on my writing was a nice push for me!
You really are a badass for writing such an honest blog. I share your fondness of people’s individual brand. But mostly I relate to your brutal honesty about feeling less than. Six months ago I thought I could rule the world. Now I find myself clientless, in debt and worst of all, my boyfriend is paying my bills. One thing he is always saying is.. “write about it Tricia” and so you have inspired me to do just that. I want to reclaim my badass status ASAP!
Thank you, Tricia and I’m sorry you are going through some challenges right now. But I know this is temporary! I agree with your BF< write about it! So many people could relate and you never know how sharing your story can help you network and find new opportunities!
I was just sitting at a bar last night with one of our colleagues talking about how much I love working with you. When Veeam was looking for a slogan, they crowd sourced it and found “It Just Works.” So here’s my unsolicited brand feedback for you:
I seek out projects to work on with you because you are a pleasure to work with. You have an internal compass that drives a project forward, cutting through competing priorities from disparate groups to find the right path forward. All the while, you have an approachable, down to earth attitude that creates an environment of innovation by making it okay to swing for the fences. Your unpretentiousness make it okay to suggest the zany idea because unlike so many others, you don’t see that as a weakness. In short, you bring the greatness out of others to achieve extraordinary outcomes.
All of that is why I think you’re in a great role! But you would likely rock at anything (well, maybe not rocket science.)