when life gives you red lemons

years ago in a hustling city by the sea, as i explored possibilities aplenty many names passed me by at the breakneck speed i'm used to living my life with. red lemon.

in the country, culture, and context i grew up around; a lemon signifies auspicious beginnings, wards away the evil eye, and of course quenches your thirst. red also has similar connotations as it often adorns women's foreheads, and also that of gods and goddesses. there has to be a reason the two are seen together right?

design your destiny

what i love most about design is a sense of agency. and the red lemon club was a community that was talking about graphic design. that's pretty much all i remember of it. the name associated with that brand didn't stick tho it was loosely connected.

over a decade later, i crossed paths on the public playground of twitter with a quietly resolute yet eloquent and enthusiastic young man called Alex Mathers. random accidental or incidental engagements occurred on the timeline. until it suddenly struck me that this Alex was the same creator of the Red Lemon Club i still remembered.

why did i remember this? what incident, event or engagement rang strong and true to this day? none whatsoever. we'd never interacted. i'd never used his services or explored his community. yet the name stuck. the emotional association of feelings like creative, energetic, inspiring were powerful to this day.

so when we connected in the dms, i was able to relate past associations however weak to strengthen the present interaction. and we gradually built a warm friendship that led to us almost riding around the Himalayas together. but why it remained 'almost' is a story for another day.

branding yourself

we're all pushing a personal brand to the world even if you think the idea of a personal brand is cringey. look at how the identity trope is virulently in everyone's faces. it's not just enough to know who you are, it's equally important to show who you are.

of course like all art, there's a nuance you want to play towards expressing yourself without being overtly crude about it, or covertly cunning and whispering in the shadows.

you might still be hesitant if you're not one of the many individuals trying to promote a business or service to the world. yet it's amusing how we're obsessively infatuated by how others are broadcasting their identity to the world. we're star struck by major celebrities and now in the era of social media, even minor influencers.

you don't have to shout yourself hoarse or announce your pronouns at every interaction but we become who we say we are. whether thru subtle or crude expression, you're building a personal brand, and the truth is you've been doing so since your birth. unknowingly more than knowingly.

you're an influencer

it's true. the real question is only how large your circle of influence is. not as a brag but as an awareness of how far your expression may reach. if you've been branding yourself since birth unknowingly, it's now time to bring awareness to that game.

with awareness, comes intentionality. you're a beacon. a lighthouse. a clarion call. a soft breeze. you're anything and everything you want to be to the world around you. knowing who you are and sharing that with the world is the only real reason you, me, or anyone else is alive.

to play at discovering our innate potential, identifying it, owning it, expressing it, and sharing it with others in this grand multiplayer game of life. wouldn't you like to know what role you play in this game?

connecting to others

i'm sure everyone around you would love to know. because even if you can play happily by yourself obsessed with your own goals, helping others is the real game. this is something you'll realize sooner or later.

that's when knowledge of what you represent, and what others present becomes the bridge that helps us play together happily and harmoniously. wouldn't that be nice?

world peace is easier than it seems. and if you think that's a silly oversimplification, tell me about it. now you know something about how i think. does that strengthen your image of my personal brand in your perception?

whether you like it or not is less important than clarity of your image of me in your head every time we interact. that's my personal brand. if you don't like that phrase, guess that just means the brand of 'personal branding' doesn't sit pretty with you.

everyone's an influencer

whatever you want to call it, you are gonna want to establish your identity in the public eye. more necessary now than ever before in the history of man. everything you do is knowingly being thrown out on social media increasing your circle of influence far beyond your geographical location.

so if you want to take charge and build that beacon of light that best expresses your intentions, you'll want to learn how. sure, you can figure it out thru trial and error but why struggle and stumble when you can have fun learning from others.

i'm wrapping this stream of consciousness with a plug to Alex's upcoming experience journey on building a personal brand. it's still top secret for now, but you can sign up to his mastery den to get in on the buzz. there might be many pushing their own brand of this but i'm betting on him.

after all, i still remember him after decades and want to continue associated and relating. that's a solid indication of a good connection.

one that i hope will benefit y'all as you join hands and play together and blaze bright.

i'll leave you with Alex's own words on what personal branding is and why it's really more about others and than your own self.

It’s about understanding who I am, what I stand for, what makes me tick, what problems I am driven to solve, and how I can channel all of this into a service that transforms the people I can best serve.