Liza With A "Z"

Identity VS. Personal Brand: Say My Name

Say My Name. Out loud. I wish I could hear your response!

You may have noticed that I moved my blog back to Posterous. I am simplifying the technology clutter as I explained in a previous post, What Works.

I also changed the name of my blog to "With a Z".

Rebranding? No, expressing my identity.

So few people can say or spell my name, so "With a Z" may help remind people that my name is Liii-zaaa, NOT Lisa, Liz, Eliza or Leeza. Liza, just like Liza Minnelli. By renaming my blog, I hope to: 1) increase the amount of people who know how to say and spell my name, and 2) remind readers of the importance of identity.

Click here to download:

identity-vs-personal-brand-say-my-name-HIAHEovvBCizkwHbnBsI.zip (519 KB)

"Identity" is not the same thing as "personal brand".

"Identity" is the combination of values, traits, experiences and countless attributes that make each of us different than anyone else. Each of us has our own unique identity, but it takes a lifetime to fully discover it. Consider a jigsaw puzzle that requires arranging hundreds of seemingly unassociated pieces. Some fit perfectly into place, while others appear to belong to a different puzzle. Those challenging puzzle pieces will not fit into the incorrect position no matter how hard you push.

"Personal brand" is a misnomer - it is not at all personal. It's is the elevator pitch used to define a person or shorthand used to summarize a person in sound bites. A personal brand will never represent even the most transparent, brutally honest person, because people are far more complex than even heaps of communication and content can convey.

My personal brand is not my identity. Defining, discovering and accepting our identities is a messy, complex and lengthy process, so why do so many "experts" claim that we should package our identity in a a neat and tidy personal brand? My solution, I am focusing on defining my identity, and I will let the personal brand take care of itself.

What about you? What do you think?

And can you say "Liza" now?

Loading mentions Retweet

Posted

5 Comments

Are You Having Fun Yet? The Lost Art of Play

Image by lizasperling via Flickr

The Lost Art of Play: Are Your Having Fun Yet?

by Liza Sperling

I am 33 years old. I have spent nearly a decade on Wall Street, two years starting a fund and volunteering as a Mounted Patrol Officer in Wyoming, and I am currently enjoying my second year in San Francisco. I have proven that I can hack it in the toughest of professional and social environments. I read voraciously, DVR Charlie Rose daily, and need my Sunday New York Times, but it recently ocurred to me that these activities had become so routine and feel like a part of my life's carefully planned choreography. I was doing just about everything while focusing on the next rung on the ladder. I had forgotten how to "play".

What is "play"? My definition: to explore or engage in an activity with enjoyment as the sole objective, or doing something for sheer pleasure rather than factoring in the potential learning quotient, monetary gain or the intellectual value the activity provides. Sure, the desire to master, achieve fame & fortune and tackle new goals may result from playing, but it's NOT play if we seek out those outcomes. I set out to relearn the art of play and to have fun for the sake of having fun.

I doodle. Using my sublime set of 36 dual-tipped Copic markers and a massive pad of inexpensive newsprint, I draw swirls, polka dots, whatever comes to mind. I post the doodles on Flickr.com and received an handful of offers to purchase my doodles, but they are not for sale. Instead I give them to friends or use them as wrapping paper. You can see one of my doodles in the photo above.

I take pictures: I bought a point and shoot camera, and I take photos of whatever draws my attention, without any criteria or purpose. I began posting the pictures on Flickr and found others' examples as inspiration that even the mundane can be fun to photograph. You can check out my Flickr feed here:

I Tweet, Friendfeed, check-in, follow & engage online & offline: I am an an active participant on multiple social media networks, and have made a point to take my online friendships offline. Somehow I have managed to make great friends who I would otherwise never know had I been hesitant to engage in these online networks.

I Whuffaoke: Yes, that's me in the Whuffaoke or Bust track jacket, singing without a care in the world.

(I produced Whuffaoke.com, which is an entire post, if not a book, in itself. I will just say that being a part of Tech Karaoke and Whuffaoke is the single activity that you can enjoy without any skills.)

I blog: I do not publish as much as I would like, but when I do a post it is because I want to, not because I have to, and I don't worry about who, if anyone, will read it.

I code (?!): In an effort to learn HTML, I am using a website targeting 10 yr. olds,(www.Neopets.com) My interest in blogging and technology, lead to exploring Wordpress, Posterous, Blogspot and the integrations of tools and widgets like Zemanta, Disqus et al. While incorporating some of these tools into my blog is easy, others have forced me to look at the underlying code. After breaking many templates, it is fun to finally understand the components of a new language.

The big question: am I having fun? Yes! Of course, learning or relearning anything takes time, and many activities are an acquired taste that require patience before the enjoyment kicks in. Many people have been playing since the day they are born, some do little more than play, but there are also those of us who forget the basics as we transition into adulthood.

Don't let any more time pass without asking yourself these questions: Do you know how to play? What do you consider play? As always, I want to hear your thoughts, so please join the conversation.

Want to know more?

Geeky, Smart, Clever & Inspiring

Gather (And Share) Ye Resources

Drool

Tags

Get Updates

Identity VS. Personal Brand: Say My Name

Are You Having Fun Yet? The Lost Art of Play