There was a moment not too long ago when I was feeling rather emotional and a little lost. I was facing so many challenges in my business. I felt like a failure as a leader and a CEO. I was being so hard on myself. I felt untrustworthy and curious about why God had called me to this work in this field. Me, a college drop out with half an education. Me, a femme. A woman. Skin, black. No support systems outside of my immediate partnership and chose family. I could see myself spiraling into a story of victimhood. My mentor told me to go outside and surrender my body to the earth. They told me, "Go and lay in the dirt. Naked, if you can. Surrender. Let the earth restructure you."
And I did that. I woke up the next morning. And it was like my body knew what my soul needed. I walked out into the enclosed backyard and I stripped completely naked. and I lay my body against the cold wet dewy grass. The dirt underneath me felt like a sponge for my body. And I remembered.
I remembered that I was apart of everything. I remembered that it wasn't about me. That this was an "us" thing. Me and earth and my guides and the plants I consume and the air I breathe. I remembered that I was apart of a bigger story and I baptized myself in that ocean of belonging. I surrendered my tearful, hiccupy breath to the dirt.
I remembered that everything I needed had already been provided. Everything I need to know, the earth held. And it was time to pay attention to her guidance. Her wisdom. Her cycles.
It's because everything we need to know in building business is a mirror of how Mama Gaia operates.
You have everything you need inside of you. Even when it all feels elusive and unclear. Slow down. Clear the space. Make ritual. And Listen.
ABOUT SLOW BRANDING
Register Here: https://www.braveschool.co/slow-branding
Slow Branding is an invitation to connect with the real-life stories your community of customers are living.
Gone are the days where white-walled feeds hold long-term relevance. And though there's nothing wrong with constructing highly aesthetic Instagram feeds and investing in expensive visual identity systems and packaging, if it does not center the relationships that we're developing with the people we're serving, the stories they are living in, or the resources they are looking for, aesthetic marketing is little more than manipulation. Slow Branding is about the willingness to slow down and listen to our audience's real desires and challenges while speaking wildly specific truths to their needs.
Despite popular belief, your brand is not your logo. It’s not your color palette or photography or the aesthetics in your Instagram feed. Your brand is the story your customers believe about your business. Slow Branding is an invitation to see how the story of your business intersects with the real stories your customers are living. Profound beauty and real solutions can be found in the tensions your customers are experiencing. Your brand is the story that meets them there.
In Slow Branding, you'll learn to...
- Craft a value proposition that speaks the language of your community’s desires and needs.
- Conduct human-centered market research that enables your brand to provide relevant solutions to the right people.
- Deepen the relationship between your business and your community with intentional culture, iterative design, and somatic wisdom.
