This will be the last personal site that I create for myself (unless I can get a hold of lautenschleger.com). No more catchy, branding names, just my real name. My business brand? My personal brand? How about my brand? Acting different around different people? How about acting like me around other people?
I created a website moniker of Achieving Millennial. I thought it’d be an online persona about someone who’s a millennial (great branding for my generation, by the way), and wants to achieve things. Intuitive enough. Catchy, but kind of embarrassing because it’s not about me, but what I aspire to be. And because it’s not me, it never seemed personal enough. (I stopped using it a while ago, and would really only add things like major, major events or race reports — it didn’t fulfill its intended purpose).
Recently I watched a tutorial about a photographer stating that all of his images have a certain look, and that your images should always have that look. But what if your life doesn’t necessarily have that certain look? What if your life isn’t contained in that neat, little box? What if your mind goes in a million directions at once? Isn’t that, then, your ironic, “certain look”?
You should be you. Go with your gut. Your intuition. Something that logic, reason, and stats say it isn’t so, but your belly feels that it’s right. You can’t make everyone happy or like you. The more you try to please everyone, the less you please everyone.
My life is running, photography, finding freedom, and a bunch of other random thoughts, activities, and insights. That’s who I am. I do what makes me happy. I see too many people who aren’t and I wonder why. I want to live up to my expectations, not yours. If you don’t like that, then that’s on you and we probably won’t click. That goes for online and offline. There’s billions of people out there, you can more-than-likely find a few people who like you.
My brand will be me. It will be mine. Not a company, not a moniker, not someone-I-wish-I-was. In a busy online world, stand out by being unique. Be yourself.
