And as absolutely nobody followed me from my high school into my college experience, I got to start over. It was my first encounter with the concept of "personal branding." I am not generally one to worry about my reputation without worrying more about the substance and integrity behind that reputation, but I can admit that they are both on my radar. I always prefer that people associate me with happy and safe thoughts. If I can control it (which I usually can't) then I want people to think of me as trustworthy, compassionate, thoughtful, thorough, creative, and nurturing. And if I'm being honest then I also prefer that people associate me with good food and well-thought-out gifts.

( Me with two awesome ladies whom I suspect will totally understand what I mean, even if they also think I'm silly.)
And so each time we move and "start over," this is the personal brand that I set out to establish. I inevitably fail, but hopefully the overall themes are similar to those intended.
Somehow, this go-round, I am failing more than usual. My best attempts at creating and sharing good food have been especially ill-fated. Either entropy sneaks into my kitchen, or I manage to misgauge my audience so as to produce a perfect version of their least favorite food.
Which is all a very round-about way of mentioning that one of my favorite soups fared rather poorly at the ward soup-and-chili cook-off tonight. Not only was it not awarded any honorable mentions, but worse I brought back home more soup than I would have liked. I am silly for caring, and I know that. And so I am writing this to confront myself and shake it off. But I would really like, someday, to have established an effective enough personal brand that people want to eat something just because I made it. I want to be perfectly worthy of such a reputation, but watching people look forward to my food and my gifts is my favorite sort of compliment. It's a compliment that I still need to work to be eligible to fully earn, but reaching that point is awfully high on my list of things to do-and-be.
So, apart from thinking I'm crazy or vain, or both, what sort of a personal brand are you working to create? What do you want to be known for? Remembered for? Missed for? Do tell.
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