You’ll never shine by someone else’s light.
You’ll never magnetize others by trying to please them.
You can’t sound authentic the way she does.
The only path to extraordinary … is your own.
Clients cry in my copywriting consults.
Not all of them. But significantly more than you might imagine if you think all copywriting is, is smart words.
See, creative entrepreneurship packs a transformative wallop. And welcoming someone else into that crucible with you? Is an incredibly intimate proposition.
I get this. Tears don’t faze me. I cry often enough, I exclusively buy waterproof mascara. No joke. (Current fave: this Dior matte black is killer-diller, especially when combined with the primer. #swoonworthy.)
But why does branding bring up so much? Aren’t we just talking about effective sales pages and well-placed calls to action and finely honed elevator pitches?
Uh. No.
Branding is building a bridge between you and your Right People.
This requires, at minimum, three things:
1. Understanding yourself.
2. Understanding your Right People.
3. Understanding what connects you.
That’s it.
But that’s a helluva lot.
1. Understanding yourself is the journey of a lifetime. Getting out of your own way. Recognizing your beauty and superpowers — and all the ways you deceive yourself and get in your own way, dimming your magic.
2. Understanding your Right People isn’t just about customer avatars and demographics. It’s about honing in on what really makes your folks tick. This takes agile perspective leaping and deep empathy. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone. But it is essential.
3. Understanding what connects you and your Right People ~ No, I’m not talking about poking their “pain points.” I’m talking about truly understanding: how do you serve? What Truth (capital “T”) do you unlock in people? What head-and-heart-space should they be in to best receive your work?
When your branding falls flat, it’s often because one of these three things — your self-awareness, your understanding of your Right People, or the bridge between them is weak, undefined, or obscured.
Figuring all of this out — especially as it changes over time — adds up to the ever-unfolding pursuit of self-awareness, empathy, and effective, authentic self-expression.
Some days, this takes everything we’ve got. (Hence that waterproof mascara.) It can make creative entrepreneurship feel like boiling in a crone’s cauldron of challenges.
Money shit. (Ooof.)
Being visible. (Holy shit.)
Assessing your own value.
Speaking truth.
Rejecting the deeply grooved, socially acceptable paths of cubicle nation and what Cosmo says is sexy and doing what others tell us because “that’s just the way it is.”
Saying “fuck off” to the structures … and then instead of succumbing to chaos, creating our own.
This isn’t just self-expression. It’s self-creation.
I work with creative entrepreneurs in pain and pleasure every single day.
I watch their cycles of self-deception, self-realization, self-expression, and renewed self-limitation.
Sure: sometimes, they simply need a gifted wordsmith to write for them.
But often enough, they think they have a branding problem … when really it’s something entirely different.
It’s a being visible problem.
It’s a holding-onto-grief-because-they-can’t-feel-it-enough-to-let-it-go problem.
It’s a being-fuzzy-on-their-own-perspective-because-that-wasn’t-ever-allowed problem.
It’s a placing-their-authority-out-there-instead-of-inside-themselves problem.
These are beautiful problems.
Because they lead us right back to ourselves.
Back to the real reason we started this business, in the first place.
Back to our wholeness.
Back to What We’re Here To Do.
What’s limiting you, today?
What beliefs — that’s just how it is-es — have you bought into?
I have to do that icky telesummit because I have to build my list because that’s just what you do.
What limiting self-talk have you drunk and become sloppy on?
I can’t launch this until it’s perfect.
Is it possible all of this feels icky … because it’s simply untrue?
Take a moment.
Feel the angst.
(No, I mean really feel it.)
Mix it with space.
Give it the gift of your steady presence.
Stop scrambling for the answer.
Just listen.
Let it come.
Receive it.
Trust it.
Then act.
I believe in you.
xo
angela
P.S. If you *get* that business is a self-awareness crucible …
If you *dig* the transformational path your branding can become …
If you’re on the verge of some breakthroughs and need a loving nudge …
I’d be honored to help.
For the first time ever, I’m offering unabashedly transformational coaching.
Our portal: branding and all things online biz.
Our tools: The Enneagram, somatics, deep listening, irreverence, and sexy self-expression.
Our goal: Your authenticity, unshackled.
After years of personal study, professional workshops, and quietly harnessing this powerful system in every aspect of my writing and biz, I’m a few steps away from being a certified Enneagram Practitioner in the Narrative Tradition.
As part of my internship process, I’m offering 2-3 deeeeeeply discounted Enneagram coaching packages (including a Typing Interview, if you’re not sure about your Enneagram type).
If you want to connect more deeply with your audience, yourself, and the whole Divine Enchilada … I’d be thrilled to offer you my intuitive listening, compassionate confusion-unravelling, and heartfelt beckoning ever deeper into yourself and your path.
