Why is it important to search for Self in building your business?
Through some offline chats I’ve had with friends and clients this last week, I’d like to take a moment to think about the part that our personal identity has to do with how we build our business.
This publication is in part a way for myself to learn more about the drive of others and how it helped them to build a sustainable business. Feedback is very welcome because I hope that through your comments and questions we can better understand how to find our drive and use it to align us with our business to make it mentally sustainable.
What is your identity? What is your drive? What are your values? Who are you? What is your story? What is your legacy going to be? What are your needs? Who do you need to influence? These are some of the questions that help us choose how we want to lead our business.
Our identity, let’s call it our Self, is something that we are all looking for in our own way and something every entrepreneur will question at some point. Sooner or later we will be confronted with how we see ourselves, and how we want to be seen and by who. To understand that, we have to look for our Why. Why do we do the things we do?
I believe our search for our identity can be split into two parts. One part is an inner search for our Self (meditation, journaling, sports, reflection, etc.). The other is an external search for our inner Self through relationships and community.
Your community Self
Finding your Self through an external search is probably the easiest one because truly objective self-reflection and self-awareness is pretty damn hard when you are at the start of this journey. To examine how you influence others and how you are influenced by others is probably the tip of the iceberg and most “easy” to examine. By reaching out, showing your vulnerable side and opening up (let curiosity be your guide, it will help ease the insecurities and fears of talking about these subjects) you get immediate feedback on how others see you. From this feedback, we can start to learn more about why we act the way we do.
Why is this journey so important?
Through this journey of opening up to others and showing people our vulnerabilities, we find clarity of Self. Opening up to others will make it easier to open up objectively to yourself. Searching how to care for others and what that means to you will create connections that force you to reflect upon your Self. Through this reflection, you will be able to find more clarity, more acceptance, more peace, and at the same time create much deeper relationships. Both will help you make your business more sustainable and more uniquely you.
When looking at branding, a lot of people are looking for the brand core or the brand essence. To look for your drive and perhaps ask yourself the questions, how can I accept myself in my business? How can I accept those around me in my business? How do I take care of myself in my business? How do I take care of those around me through my business? How can I love my brand? How can others love my brand?
