your brand

I see branding as an opportunity to go deeply inside and figure out what we’re about. We begin, sometimes in a rush and superficially, with a quick logo design or a free website only to become aware, as time goes by, of the need to have a consistent message and look, a unitary way of presenting ourselves to our clients and, ultimately, to the world.

Our businesses are defined at their core by who we are. So, in order to define a brand, especially in a service industry, we need to understand why we are choosing to serve in this particular way and whom are we doing it for. It’s a clear-minded and open-hearted look inside ourselves, followed by a journey to summarize and represent the essence of what we find for others to see and understand.

This is not an easy feat, and it continues all through our life—or at least all through our business life.

“A business based on brand is, very simply, a business primed for success.” ~David F. D’Alessandro
What begins somewhat casually continues to iterate and refine, sometimes change course altogether, following inner revelations or in response to shifts in our outer world as we find and define our place and our role in the larger context of people and concepts we interact with.

Some concrete steps to take as you are starting on the journey to branding your business, particularly for a service role which has you at its core. Begin by answering these questions:

Why are you doing this?
Why now?
Who are you directing your brand’s message towards?
Why should they care? What will make them take notice?
What exactly are they paying for?

Think of (and ask people who know you to send their suggestions) three words which describe your approach or your style in your line of work. Collect these pieces of insight, sift them through your own vision and weave them into the words you used to describe your brand.

Imagine your ideal client in thorough detail. Gender? Age? Give them a name, an occupation, hobbies, a family. This step can feel intimidating to a new entrepreneur, as choosing someone so specifically will feel like you are denying all the other type of possible clients, and so are turning down work and revenue. This is not the case.

You are, however, identifying your tribe, your market niche, those people who will most appreciate what you have to offer. Your brand and your marketing efforts should be largely directed to them. There will be other client types as well, and you could devise a multi-tiered set of offerings, but ultimately, the more you can focus and specialize, the greater an impact you will make, the happier you will be, and the more of an expert status you will establish in that area.

Consider and harmonize the meaning (content) and delivery style (design) of each and every contact point in the dialog between you and your clients.

As they get to know you and experience your work, people will look for uniqueness, inspiration and a well-rounded, identifiable experience. A brand is, ultimately, a feeling someone has when working with you. A thought that comes up as soon as your business is mentioned. Your brand is intangible, yet it permeates everything you do. Approach it as honestly as you would any relationship you’d like to foster for a lifetime, and remain open to what you might learn about yourself in the process of trying to explain others what you’re all about.

“Create your own visual style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.” ~Orson Welles

 

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there you are!

One of my favorite quotes comes from the Zen philosophy, and in my opinion it carries a few different messages. I believe the main meaning of “Wherever you go, there you are” is a reassurance that we carry within ourselves all we need to live our lives joyfully and in awareness.

There is an endless creative source inside each of us, which will provide you with inspiration and guidance along the way if you’re able to recognize it, learn to listen to it and take action. I know many of us can feel that our past is a strong factor in how our future unfolds; however, this need not be the case. There is much value in experience and in lessons learned, and as such the past can be a trusty adviser. However, too often there is a strong inertia binding our steps as we move forward, with no better justification than that things have always been that way or that we’ve already invested so much time/money/energy in one direction. A change of course, however beneficial might turn out to be, can feel like a acceptance of failure.

I am challenging you today to open up to all that the present moment has to offer and to agree to reinvent your future in awareness of where you are, yet freely allowing yourself to dream of where to go next. You have what it takes to make it happen. If you have enough clarity to see it in your mind’s eye, you will also find the resources you need to make your intention a reality.

One way to reset your goals and your perception of what is possible is to use the “begin now” approach. At frequent intervals throughout your life, take an honest look at where you are and where you are heading, and ask yourself: if I were to begin anew today, with all the knowledge and experience I have now, would I continue in this direction? If the answer is no, then find a way to stop and change course. Inertia for inertia’s sake has no value, and it’s simply the drifting cousin of apathy.

I know your mind’s natural resistance to change will kick in as you try this, and it will work hard to justify your current path and highlight all the ways that make a course correction unrealistic or even impossible. Acknowledge that resistance, thank it for its effort to keep you “safe” and continue on. You don’t need to have an answer to the Hows and What Ifs right away. You simply need to visualize for yourself the Why and, to some extent, the What:  the vision you want to make reality, the mission you hope to accomplish.

The details are important, of course, and without the How, nothing ever gets done. But figuring that out has its time, and things often fall into place in ways you couldn’t have imagined in the beginning once you’ve allowed yourself to achieve clarity on where you intend to go.

My own story can show this to some extent. My professional path began in Eastern Europe with the pursuit of education in the field of Physics. My intention then had been to obtain a doctorate in the United States and find a good position with a large corporation in research and development where I could move up into management. I have achieved all that, and I could have stayed on that path for the rest of my professional life. However, after almost a decade, I had reached a point where I chose to take a hard look at where I was and what I wanted to do with my life.  At this time, I chose to focus on entrepreneurship and ways to help people count their blessings. Photography had always been a passion of mine, and it became the natural choice for both a purpose in itself (I love creating art that reveals the beauty I see all around me) and a means toward my mission (through the lifestyle portraits I create together with the families I photograph). While this new focus can seem dramatically different from my previous path, to me it’s all part of my journey of being true to myself and moving toward my soul-fulfilling purpose. I have learned that change is the only certainty in life, and have embraced both the excitement and the uncertainty as constant parts of what shows up when we are being in tune with ourselves, and willing to course-adjust with honesty and joy.

I hope you will find the courage to allow yourself to dream big, to remove perceived limitations on what you can be and do, and life your best life, whatever form that might take today and every day.

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the mundane

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

This, I believe, and try to live accordingly. Sometimes I even succeed:

—-

You control your interruptions. The way you react to a ringing phone -or incoming text message- , for instance, reflects your priorities. Do you continue your dinner with your family? Do you drop everything and rush to pick it up? Who are you with, right now?

Allowing someone else to decide that you will be redirecting your attention to them rather than complete the activity you had chosen for that timeframe is letting yourself drift around, with no anchor and no commitment to your own present.

Be present for your present, and it will fulfill your every minute. Communicate to the ones you’re with that you are here to be with them truly, for this span of time. That other conversation can wait for a time when you can give *it* your undivided attention.

Don’t let yet another “LOL” get in the way of shared, face-to-face  laughter with your loved ones in the here and now. This day is precious.

 

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15 minutes left

If I had 15 minutes before my last breath, this is what I would do and say: I would hold near my closest loved ones. I would gaze deeply into their eyes. I would feel their tight hugs. I would tell them I love them.

I would share with them what I know is true, what I hope would help them and others along their life’s journey from here onward:

 

Allow yourself to be happy. Nobody else can grant you this permission. Nobody can take away this right. You are the only one who can embrace your life, your calling, your unique journey.

Each person you meet is looking for the same basic things: to feel seen. To feel valued. To feel loved. To feel needed. To belong. When you realize this, you understand there is no innate evil in others. Everyone’s actions are either seeded in a pursuit of pleasure – or in avoidance of pain. Joy is pleasant. Fear is painful.

It’s up to you how you move along this journey. There were a handful of times when I received crystal-clear messages in my life, always at cross-roads in my path. The first one was that the one and only way for me to move forward was to help others. This came during one of those dark nights of the soul you hear about, and it came as a beacon of clarity and light. Help others. Things we value in the moment, are often shallow and ephemeral.  Extending yourself toward the need of others is the way to move yourself and others forward. Is the way to make a lasting difference in others’ lives and in your own.

Find what is it that you can do exceptionally well, and find in what way does it fulfill someone else’s needs. Then pursue that – it’s your destiny, and the way you can fill your days with soul-soothing purpose.

Always allow yourself your uniqueness. With the best of intentions toward yourself and everyone you meet, be unapologetic for who you are, what you need, and how you express your truth. Your self-awareness will awaken others to their inner voice, and the whole world will take a step forward because of it. Look at life as you live it, look at what models are you trying to embrace. And question them all. Why this. Why this way. That voice inside of you is real, and it’s aching to be heard – let it speak to you.

Joy is real. Tenderness, closeness to others, are the way the Universe speaks to each of us. Open your heart to the ever-present symphony around you.

And always remember this: your presence in this life, in this form, at this time is all the proof you’ll ever need that you are absolutely necessary. The Universe chose you from all possible ways it could have manifested itself.

You, exactly as you are, are enough. You are enough. There is, in you, all you need to understand your purpose, pursue it with joy, and fulfill it as only you can.

This is it. Your life is a gift to you. A present. The present. Be aware of it as fully and authentically as you can, and it will guide you at every step.

I wish you free-flowing joy, and the grace to embrace this ultimate truth: that you, exactly the way you are, are most wonderful, and utterly needed, and endlessly loved.

This I know to be true.

love it be inspiration

 

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39

This was written almost a year ago, and it makes a good first entry to this journal:

Today I turned 39. It was a wonderful day, whose recurring theme seemed to be finding one’s voice.

The movie King’s Speech, where I was one of the 5 people in the audience, sealed the message.

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The world needs to hear you. There is no bigger waste than dying with your song still in you. There is no sadder use of one’s time than doing very well something that does not need to be done at all.

With that in mind, what is your message? What is that which you believe above all else, which you feel can change the world around you, and must be spoken? Look at what you say and do every day — are your words, tone, actions supporting this message? Do you feel the flow of authenticity as you move through the day?

Being aligned with your  mission, and allowing yourself to speak your truth is a life-giving force which brings radiance to your journey and attracts to your path both people who can help enhance what you have to offer, and those who need to hear what you have to say.

 

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