How to Be Your Authentic Self and Define Your “Life” Brand
Imagine working with your closest friends. Think about how it would feel to always love your work. Consider how energized you’d be if you could be your authentic self all the time — at work, home, or in the community.
All of that describes my good friend Paul Batz. He doesn’t believe in work-life balance. He does work-life blending. He works with friends, loves his work, and is always authentic.
But it hasn’t always been that way.
On March 17, 2009, Paul got a phone call from his grandmother, a dynamic woman whom Paul had always gravitated toward. He relates the story:
She said, “Paul, I’m tired and I have a message for you. You’re a good man and the world needs good men like you to spread goodness.”
It was the last time I talked to her. She died later that day.
What does a guy do with that? My life at that moment was pretty awful. I didn’t know how to express the goodness that she saw in me. So I decided to live it — everywhere: at home, in the community, and at work.
Ten years later, I run my own business and it’s exhausting. I can’t imagine the added fatigue of trying to be a different person at home and at work — which I realized is what I’d been doing before. Now I’m not afraid to talk about my values and who I am. I’m not afraid to talk about my faith, my flaws, or anything else. Nothing would ruin my credibility faster than not being real 100% of the time.
From my grandmother’s declaration to subsequent research we’ve conducted, our company has come to believe that leaders who radiate goodness outperform those that don’t. So I will radiate goodness every day. That’s my life’s mission.
Paul didn’t tell anyone about that conversation with his grandmother for six months. The weight of that call, coming at the darkest of dark times, was scary.
But he talked to a lot of people who were afraid. And saw that when he talked to people about this concept of “goodness,” their body language changed.
“Everything about my life got better as I clarified the concept and it became my brand/mission,” Paul said. “I thought people would laugh at me for talking about ‘goodness’ as my brand…so it took me a while to declare it. Now people say, ‘Tell me more.’”
What Is Your Life Brand?
From Paul’s example, I can see that living an authentic and flourishing life means displaying your brand everywhere. It dictates:
- What goes in and out. It determines what Paul chooses to read, which influences what he writes. What he writes influences what he says. Are you using the qualities of your brand to filter what you consume and produce?
- What people see. Paul has defined the characteristics of goodness as: excellence, generosity, fairness, and positivity. He translates this to “brightness,” so his office environment, everything the company produces, even his wardrobe all mirror these qualities. “If I wear my charcoal sweater with a dark shirt,” he says, “people give me crap about it.”
- Which friends to keep. Paul carefully considered the people around him. He and his wife decided to stop hanging out with consistently negative, self-focused people. Do your friends reflect your brand or values?
- Which clients to leave. Paul and his team declared that they would only work with clients “we believe someday will be friends.” If they don’t believe a client reflects their values, they will resign or not take the work. It’s part of their commitment to each other to not do anything out of being afraid. As he puts it, “We clean the weeds out of the garden to give the healthy plants more sunlight to grow.”
Last May, a team member called Paul, concerned about a client.
“Why are we hanging in with these people,” she asked. “I’d prefer to have the time back and give away the income. All I do is talk them off ledges. We’ve lost our ability to make a difference.”
It was approximately 20% of her income and important to the firm from a revenue standpoint. But Paul had to honor that call. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been honoring the brand.
Paul and his company are thriving because of their consistency in all things. It requires courage and discernment. It’s a constant effort to know and live your brand.
How well do you know and live your brand?
Check out Paul’s latest book How Goodness Pays here.
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