Molding your company vision is an exciting time, and today more than ever. Why? Because you have the opportunity to create a brand with purpose. To craft and mold your business as you do your art, with care, flair and purpose.
You. Your brand…. is your purpose, custom made to doing work you love, that expresses who you are, what’s important to you and the purpose you conceive and perceive. Your purpose can serve through many different venues and forms. If you change your company, change companies or start new ones, your purpose will remain intact as a part of you, and will then be expressed through new vehicles.
Brand purpose is analogous to a painter. S/he is an artists first. Now she may be a watercolor artist. Next year she might take up pottery. Her purpose… why she does what she does might be to express her joy and bring joy to others which is a purpose not bound by the specific expression.
Wow! Imagine that! So, natural… so obvious… so as it should be, but unfortunately, not yet so common. However, creators are changing this.
Your brand is free to express the purpose you conceive and perceive… to express YOU!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Audio Article – A Brand with Purpose
- A Diamond Metaphor
- Discovering Your Brand with Purpose… Your Diamond
- Branding to Purpose – Imperfectly
- Purpose – a Diamond Metaphor
- A Brand With Purpose
- Facets of a Brand with Purpose
- iCreateDaily’s Purpose
AUDIO ARTICLE – A BRAND WITH PURPOSE:
Creators are leading the way in creating brands with purpose.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®
From Sterile Corporate to Colorful Personal
Business is evolving from larger impersonal corporations to the solopreneurs of creators. Artist entrepreneurs are a thing, and are becoming increasingly, a very big thing. Imagine, a world with fewer mega corporations and many—many more—tiny ones.
Brands that are comprised of one or few originators tend to be more purpose driven. It’s easier for solopreneurs to be a brand with purpose… easier to connect to your reason for being; connect to what drives you when it’s your work, your origin, your passion, your purpose.
When the creator is closer to the creation, there’s more connection to purpose… to soul.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder iCreateDaily.com®
A Diamond Metaphor
A clear diamond reflects all the colors of the rainbow, and yet the diamond itself is basically clear. When you get clear on your purpose, to the extent that you can grasp it thus far, that becomes your diamond through which all your other endeavors are reflected.
Another way of saying it is that all your other endeavors will reflect your purpose when you’re clear on what that is. If you’re not sure, don’t worry. We’ll help you discover that next, as well as share with you the purpose of iCreateDaily.
All your other endeavors will reflect your purpose when you’re clear on what that is.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder iCreateDaily.com®
It is in deep thinking that we discover the diamonds in depths unknown.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder iCreateDaily.com®
Discovering Your Brand with Purpose… Your Diamond
The most important thing to remember, is that if you’ve not yet identified a purpose, you’re in the majority, so not to worry.
Most people don’t know their purpose. In fact most never ask. That you’re here reading, reflecting, and contemplating, means that you’re already in the top 10%.
We like to keep things as simple as possible. When it comes to finding purpose, you can discover a lot about your purpose by simple questions and exercises.
Exploring Purpose
To help identify your purpose, consider these three questions:
1. What am I compelled to do above all else?
2. What legacy do I wish to leave?
3. What brings me the greatest joy?
This exercise can be used for you personally, or for your brand building. However, it’s recommended that you use it personally first, for your brand purpose should grow out of your own life purpose.
In this way you can grow whatever you create into an entity with greater purpose. We are moving beyond the era of separation of work and personal lives into purpose driving work as a lifestyle.
Find the intersecting answers and you will be closer to connecting to purpose. You can also create each of these as a Venn diagram circle, and ponder the intersecting center. And remember:
Seeking purpose is as much about creating it as it is discovering it.
Branding to Purpose – Imperfectly
Do not worry about whether this is perfect… whether this is “it”… your big, all encompassing purpose. Don’t worry if you’re not yet completely clear on your purpose.
So if you’re coming up blank relative to the purpose exercise don’t worry! It’s often a journey rather than an arrival, for goals are waypoints and markers to the ever moving horizon of life. This is the beginning of an ever-expanding landscape of the puzzle of your life, and the picture you see today, will evolve to encompass more while growing in clarity.
Find the connecting points to the answers you come up with and work on developing that. Now that you’re asking, pondering and meditating on these questions, the deeper answers will begin reflecting back to you. You will notice people, ideas and things you encounter showing up in your day that will help to clarify your vision.
The important thing in the goals and purpose journey is to recognize these naturally evolve over time. Just like us. We can have a fixed purpose, such as iCreateDaily’s primary motivator as of contribution. However the garments that cloth that purpose… and the vehicles that get us there, naturally morph over time and evolve as we do.
Goals are waypoints and markers to the ever moving horizon of life.
~LeAura Alderson, iCreateDaily.com®
Discovering Purpose – Great and Small
Each moment in time has its purpose, no matter how small. By becoming increasingly aware of our motivators (purpose in the moment), we expand our capacity to become more focused and relevant to a larger purpose.
Each micro moment of purpose, from the purpose to get a task done to the purpose of distracting ourselves, becomes a choice. The more aware we are, the greater the choices and the better the life.
Benjamin Hardy speaks to this very well in his book, Personality Isn’t Permanent, when he says that everything we do has a purpose. However purpose, isn’t always purposeful.
By setting your intention, which is a part of what branding to purpose is, both the conscious and unconscious areas of the mind go to work on helping you make that happen. When we start our day with intention around our goals for the day, it’s vastly easier to stay on track with our purpose for the day.
Goals become our purpose for the time, and they lead us to greater discoveries and awareness around purpose. Invest time working on energizing and planning your vision, then set goals for your week that help you in the journey there.
Visioning and Planning
Weekends are the best time to do this. My favorite is Sunday, for both visioning and planning. When I do, it sets the stage for a smooth and successful week, beginning with an awesome Monday. But if I miss it, I no longer dwell on what didn’t get done but rather, set about creating the plan from that moment forward.
That’s new just this year for I became aware of how much I lamented or anguished over the gaps rather than celebrating the gains. But no longer.
Daily goals help us stay on track with our purpose for the day. When we’re on track with the purpose of the day, we’re vastly more likely to stay on track with a purposeful life.
As Jim Rohn said so well: “
Either you run the day or the day runs you.
~Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author, speaker, 1930-2009
The clearer the diamond the more light it reflects. Same for us.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder iCreateDaily.com®
iCreateDaily’s Example
We’ve been incubating on refining the iCreateDaily purpose and slogans. Like a parent nurturing their child’s growth, we’ve given it structure and purpose with the intent to remain open to whatever it is to become.
When we received a comment in a post from a community member. That comment—which is quoted below—catalyzed the new slogan that fits perfectly with the intent of the iCD brand as the next level of slogan to embody.
The detours—and hijackings—in our lives, aren’t detours on the path. They are the path. It’s not interruptions in the day. They are the day.
~Lynne Hundley, artist
The Day is the Way
We’d been saying these two quotes often:
“The day is the way.”
And
“It is in the journey that the way becomes more clear.”
Because the day is at the heart of the iCreateDaily brand, and because life is a journey. But it’s clunky using two phrases, so for now, the two have morphed into this one:
The day is the way to create the life you want to live.
Lynne did not set out to make a post that would lead to our discovery of our most focused slogan to date.
We did not set out to discover an improved slogan on a specific time, day or way. It is through daily immersion in the journey that sets the process in motion and recruits resources beyond our conscious mind, that precipitate into consciousness over time. Which is why it’s so important to get into the habit of daily doing. Vision, act, reflect, repeat.
Building a business is like being a parent. You give your ‘child’ structure and principles, while remaining open to whatever it is to become.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder iCreateDaily.com®
Purpose – a Diamond Metaphor
For iCreateDaily, our purpose—our “diamond”—is to create, connect and contribute. We express our “colors” through creating, and we do this through the body or vehicle of media publishing of content and support through websites, emails, social groups, challenges, journals, podcasts, and products. Simply put…
Simply, our purpose is to create, connect and contribute daily.
~iCreateDaily.com®
You could say that our “one thing” that we do as a family brand of companies, is content creation. However content is not our purpose, but rather one of our colors or facets. Content is just one of our expressions of purpose.
Our purpose is a steadily refining slogan, as it’s not yet perfectly honed in, but it’s getting closer.
Our purpose is creation, connection and contribution… encouraging freedom and empowerment through creativity and positivity.
~iCreateDaily.com®
A Brand With Purpose
Facets of a Brand with Purpose
This purpose branding process is about identifying purpose and connection with our audience and the form that it will take. Here are the aspect to this metaphor, should it be helpful for you.
OUTLINE FOR HONING IN ON PURPOSE
Purpose = soul ? symbol = diamond
Expression = heart ? symbol = facets
Form = body ? symbol = setting
iCreateDaily’s Purpose
Purpose = (Diamond) is to Create, Connect and Contribute
Expression = (Facets) is Content, Creations and Services
Form = (Setting) is a Media Publishing Company hosting websites, podcasts and products
As we were working on this ourselves, we’ve refined our brand slogans.
iCreateDaily’s Original Slogan
“A movement for creators serious about their art.”
That has now evolved into two variations of this.
The iCreateDaily Podcast Slogan
Conversations for kindling creativity, inspiration and positivity.
~iCreateDailyPodcast.com®
The iCreateDaily Brand Slogan is now:
The Day is the Way…
to create the life you want to live.
~iCreateDaily.com®
The 5 M’s of a Brand with Purpose
We’ve identified 5 facets of our brand identity, that may also serve you as you work on yours. We think of the “M’s” as “mirroring” or reflecting facets of our brand,
- Movement – is your brand a cause, movement or community (now or to come)?
- Mission – what is your brand purpose?
- Mantra – do you have a core theme or slogan?
- Method – is there a method that represents your brand’s mission?
- Mindset – what is your company’s overarching attitude and life philosophy?
IMPORTANT: This is just a guide, should it resonate with you. Do NOT try to force fit yourself into this—or any—approach.
If it’s too complicated, then that defeats the purpose. If you get bogged down during any process, move on. You don’t want to spend more time trying to come up with clever terms you’ll never use or remember.
If you think it will help, write down these five “M” words, to see if they serve your vision for your brand, plugging in the words, phrases and slogans that fit for you. It may be that this will help to jumpstart your own process that you will customize and refine to best fit you.
And remember, If it gets too complicated at any point, then simplify and return to center. “Center” is your purpose — for remember — the point is to be aligning yourself as a brand with purpose.
Here are ours… please share yours! We’ll be glad to share it here too with a link back to your website or social account if you’d like.
iCreateDaily’s 5 M’s
MOVEMENT
A movement for conscious daily creation.
MISSION
To Create… Connect… Contribute.
MANTRA
“The day is the way…
…to create the life we want to live.“
METHOD
Quarterly goals, worked daily.
MINDSET
Freedom and empowerment through gratitude, creativity and positivity.
iCreateDaily Journals and More on Shopify
A movement for creators serious about their work.
The Day is the Way.
iCreateDaily® on Amazon
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Hello! I’m LeAura, owner and co-creator of iCreateDaily.com®. As an autodidactic philosopher, generalist, personal development advocate, entrepreneur, writer, editor, author, ideator, media publisher, and podcaster, I’m passionate about helping others achieve their best possible life! Our small family of entrepreneurs, writers, investors, educators and creators own and run websites around topics we enjoy, such as gardening, health and fitness, creativity and pets, with more to come.
While my greatest teacher is Life… my formal training includes certifications in mediation, fitness, and strategic intervention coaching, including marriage and family. Today, the synergy of creating websites, articles and podcasts, brings together all my favorite things: family, learning, growth, creating, connecting and contributing. To share these with you is a privilege, that serves my lifelong aspiration to help others.
My personal areas of creativity are in writing, masterminding, ideation, synthesis and bringing ideas to life through business and entrepreneurship, all with a pervasive spiritual foundation with a focus on elevating the lives of others.
Want to submit your photos, videos and/or article content for publication? We love to consider your contribution for publication! creators@icreatedaily.com