CENTAURS, WOODLAND NYMPHS AND ME BY CAROLINE BAKER

Personal branding has been incredibly taxing for me. The more introspective I get, the more I feel like I have no idea who I am.

The problem is not that I do not know who I am, the problem is that I am trying to limit myself to one word. To one color. One brand.

The only thing I am sure about is this: I am so much more than one thing.

I was totally overthinking it, making myself insane.

While sitting at the kitchen counter frustrated to tears trying to create my personal brand, my dad looked up at me and said “just like centaurs and woodland nymphs”. I looked at him and he looked up from his computer and took his glasses off. He reminded me of my college essay:

I am a left-handed redhead with blue eyes making me physically

different than more than 99% of the global population. As far as mythical

creatures go, I am as rare and majestic as centaurs and woodland nymphs.

“Sweetie, you’re a unicorn everything about you is unconventional and magical.” I know he has to say this because he is my dad but, I finally saw my problem.

Overthinking. I overthink and overanalyze anything and everything. I struggled to define my personal brand because I was limiting myself and putting myself into a box.

What I was trying to create was not who I was, it was inauthentic.

My personal brand? Authentic.

You may not get the same presentation from me in everything, you may get a version of myself that is not the happiest, but you will never get something I am trying to make myself. Something inauthentic.

Stop focusing on personal branding, wake up and live your life, be who you are always. Stop trying to be your brand and start living your brand. Be you, don’t try to put yourself in a box.

Be the unicorn: be unique and uncommon.