I wasn't familiar with Brene Brown until I came across her TED presentation over at Gar Reynolds "Presentation Zen" feed. I didn't watch the presentation initially, but instead focused in on the title of her book, "The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are." Stop. Now, read that again.
I got up this morning with the intention of writing a post about letting go, reinventing, and starting over, and as I scanned through my favorite feeds this came back to the top.
You see, today is the first official day of a new direction for my personal brand, the Parker Brand. For years my personal brand has been walking along side me like a shadow, always pointing the way, while attracting the right individuals into my life. It wasn't a personal brand in a marketing sense. It was a personal brand that I recognized to be the "stuff" that makes me who I truly am, serving as a signpost for me, a guide that reminds me to be mindful, and always cultivate a deep awareness of things.
Some of that awareness has to do with advertising, marketing, illustration, and design, so naturally most would assume that the Parker Brand was just another commercialized brand trying to make its way. That would be the wrong assumption.
I've tried to protect the Parker Brand from that world for a long time, often stating clearly that it wasn't a business, but rather a creative way of doing things. Still, it's hard to keep a the true nature of a thing buried for very long.
Today is a brand new day for the Parker Brand. Today my personal brand does exactly as Brene Brown says to do, "let go of who you think you're supposed to be and embrace who you are."
As I sit here looking at the little mark that those around me know as the Parker Brand I can almost hear it speaking, "It's a brand new day, buddy. Let's do something different. What do ya say?"
I say, "Let's."
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