You, the Brand

Always on the lookout for something to help me along my journey of becoming a writer, my dad recently bought me the book, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This: Success Secrets Every Gutsy Girl Should Know, by Kate White. Not only has Ms. White authored several of her own books, she was also the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine for 14 years. Needless to say, this woman knows her stuff! I was curious to dig into it and see what I could learn from her.

I’m only about halfway through the book, but I already feel better prepared for how to navigate through and become successful in my future career paths. And what I love most about the book so far is White’s blunt and uninhibited honesty on all matters. She tells it like it is--what she’s been through, what she’s seen, and what she’s  learned from others---all in a straightforward manner that not only makes you laugh but also pay close attention.

One chapter in particular stood out to me, perhaps because I’ve been self-consciously working on it in the past year. The chapter was called “You, the Brand.” Basically, White encourages the reader to develop their own brand identity, which is comprised of the values that make you who you are. The theory is that once you develop your brand, it will begin translating over into how you dress, how you act, and what you go on to do with your life. And once you figure out what your brand is, she stresses the need to keep reinforcing it at every opportunity. White declared her brand to be one based around “no-nonsense.” It wasn’t until I was in the middle of this chapter that I realized I was already working on developing and advertising my brand....I just didn’t quite know that “personal brand identity” was the name for what I was doing. 

Last summer I took a picture of myself wearing a tutu and posing on my dirt bike. I blew it up, framed it, and gave it to my dad for Father’s Day with a special engraved plaque underneath it. The plaque read “Happy Father’s Day 2012 To the Man Who Raised a Daughter with a Little Bit of Grace and a Little Bit of Grit.” It was supposed to play off of the ironic fact that while I did 13 years of ballet I also have always been a tomboy and loved my motorsports. Although I loved the phrase “little bit of grace and little bit of grit” when I first composed it, it wasn’t until I saw the whole picture and plaque put together that I realized I just might be on to something.

About six months after I gave that picture to my dad, I started this blog. And I titled it “A Little Bit of Grace, a Little Bit of Grit.” Ta-da! My brand was carrying over into my next step as a writer. Now, I am constantly thinking of ways to incorporate that brand into my everyday life and the work I do as a writer.

It’s so easy nowadays to follow a popular trend or celebrity style rather than digging into your own identity and creating your own brand that others will want to follow. I have moments where I love to twirl around in tutus comprised of layers of airy tulle. And I have moments where I love to kick up the gears on my bike and go splashing through a mud puddle. I am graceful and yet have a grittiness about me. And the more I write, the more I realize that my writing reflects those same qualities.  I’ve written about a lot of amazing people, some who have gone through terrible ordeals. They have a grittiness to their life as well. But I use my talent as a writer to bring a piece of beauty and grace to their story.

Ultimately, I know now what my personal brand is, and it is my goal to continue developing it and playing it out in my life in every way possible. And I highly encourage everyone else to do the same. You might feel like a rock star when you’re decked out in designer labels and are keeping pace with the trends. But you’ll feel like a god when you own who you are through your own personal brand. And I guarantee you’ll turn some heads doing it.