Greetings!
Have you ever had a customer or client or colleague or friend come up with a nickname for you? Clients give me nicknames all the time. In fact, long ago, one of my clients called me a catalyst and inspired me to name my company! What's the most inspiring thing anybody's ever called you? Over the years, I've been given alternate nicknames: work wife, sherpa guide, midwife, favorite whack job. Each is a complement in some way, although I had to learn more about what a work wife was. Favorite whack job reflects how I turn questions on their heads. The one that seemed to me the highest complement was when a long-standing client called me their muse In this way, my clients and friends tell me what my brand actually is, and, they name it. This dovetails with identity. My colleague Larry Ackerman* has thought deeply about identity. Larry's eighth Law of Identity is The Law of Cycles
A person's various capacities are only as valuable as the perceived value of the whole of that person. For me this means the rewards follow from doing work integrated with who I am, with who I aspire to be, with my process of growth. I am always changing too, so I expect new learning and experiences to shift my identity, and, to put pressure on my brand. My identity supports my behaving to my brand, while my clients, friends, and colleagues tell me forthrightly how I'm doing. Next, they put names to it! My clients keep my brand real. This is the same process that happens with companies, where their customers and employees help them keep their own brands real. What are the nicknames that you've been given? Do these names reflect how you want to be perceived and received? Are you reinventing yourself in any way that will shift your brand? As always let me know what you think! Feel free to opt out, forward this newsletter along, opt in, and provide feedback. Have great days! Leslie | 
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