I met with someone recently who told me that I needed to decide whether I wanted to focus on being a branding expert or a coach. He said that without pouring my whole heart and soul into one thing, I would never thrive in either.
Later that night I watched Saturday Night Live with Justin Timberlake as the host. He acted in hilarious skits. He sang a wildly popular song. He danced up a storm. I thought to myself, “It sure seems like he didn’t make a choice between acting, dancing and signing.” Then I thought to myself, “I wonder how Justin Timberlake would describe himself.” It seemed to me, he was a “performer.”
So maybe, I thought, I just needed to find that one word that would describe who I can be if I pour my whole heart and soul into something that spans both coaching and branding…and maybe other aspects of my life too.
The word I came up with was, “inspirationalist.” Now this was a term I was never going to share with the public. It was a title I gave myself that I thought would be my own private mantra about who I wanted to be. (I only share it with you now in hopes that it will inspire you to find your title.)
After I gave myself the title, the next thing I did was think about how I would “be” an inspirationalist. It reminded me of a story I heard about Jerry Seinfeld. When he decided he wanted to become a comedian, he told himself that he needed to write a joke every day. Just giving himself the title of comedian inspired a disciplined daily behavior that would help him become one of the best comedians of all time.
I decided that if I wanted to be an inspirationalist, I would have to do something that inspired people every day. What I have found is that when I am living into this Inspirationalist title, I am productive, I am bold and I feel great.Some days I do big things that I hope will inspire lots of people and other days it’s a small thing that will impact only one. But the days that I conjure the Inspirationalist inside of me are by far my best days.
I have noticed that when my coaching clients find a word that encapsulates how they want to show up in the world, they live into it, and great things happen.
If you want to create your own title, go through these steps:
- Think about how you want to show up in the world.
- Give yourself a title that will inspire you to be more of that person.
- Ask yourself what you can do every day to prove to yourself you are that person.
I hope this blog inspires you. If it does, I will have earned my title today.
What title did you come up for yourself? Share in the comments section below.