I just watched a webinar that made several of its points by sharing example after example of personal stories. All of them were great, actually, and really added to the understanding and purpose of the presentation. However, they were all introduced as, “John Smith, The Word Guy” or “Jane Doe, Mrs Spreadsheet” or “Suzie Homemaker, The KitchenAid Queen!”

After the fourth or fifth example, I started getting a little squirmy. Since when does someone have to be known as a certain thing? Since when do they need a defining moniker? I’m Annie Sorensen, is that not enough?

I don’t have a “thing” like that after my name. Is that bad?

I have no idea what type of “gal” I am. What do people know me by? I’m a book geek, yes, but I’m also a big fan of the outdoors. Do the people that know me as a book geek also know me as a fan of walking out in the sunshine?

I like to write, but only those that read my blog or steal my personal notebooks would know that.

I love coffee and wine, but how many people are really around me morning AND night regularly enough to identify me that way? Surely, not many. And plus, I’m not an expert on either, I just happen to love and enjoy them. Does that matter?

And where do my skills with functional software design, customer service, business coaching, network marketing, real estate, communication, interior decorating, listening, or procrastinating the folding of the laundry come in? I would shoot myself in the head if I was known as the Software Design Girl, yet it represented years of my life and remains a strong skill.

If it were up to us, why would we choose to brand ourselves with such a limitation?

Don’t put a label on me. I’m not going to be a certain type of person, or limit how I’m known to one piece of my experiences. I’m me, that’s the brand I represent. Annie. And everything in it.

Or maybe that’s the answer. Maybe I can simply call myself That Annie Sorensen Character and call it a day.

The worker bees here at [anniesorensen.com] have worked their magic and my logo is featured today – along with 25 others – on IWearYourShirt.com. Fancy, eh?

This is Angela from IWYS. And that, on the top-right, is my logo. Wohoo!

A huge thank you to Jason Sadler and everyone on the IWYS team. If you’re not familiar with Jason or his business, the short version is that he wears t-shirts for a living. Every day of the year a different brand or business is represented, and not only are they visible on the t-shirts of everyone on the IWYS team that day, but their message and brand is spread worldwide for 24 hours via live-stream, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and more.

It’s, in a word, awesomeness.

If you’ve landed here from IWearYourShirt.com, hello! Welcome! I’m your fearless leader, the goofy one who reads books all the time and works in her hoodies from her home office relentlessly finding ways to inspire others to do bigger and better things. Nice to meet you. Please, leave a note in the comments introducing yourself, letting me know how I can help you with your journey. Mmkay?

Also, there *might* be a few things I’m giving away today to those who act fast. Check out the details on that here.

So with that, I’m off to spend the rest of my Sunday morning with my nose in a book. (Just broke the cover of Tim Ferriss’s new best-seller, The 4-Hour Body (aff link). STRONGLY recommended.)

Thank you for stopping by.
Thank you for being you.
Thank you Jason and IWYS! Cheers.

Are you on Tumblr? I’ve had an account for a while, as I think it’s one of the most powerful blogging platforms out there (with all of its integrated social networking snazzyness), but since this site is my home base I wasn’t quite sure how to use it.

I think I’ve figured it out.

AnnieSorensen.com represents who I am as a brand, everything live-your-best-life-everyday. My personality is most definitely a part of that, but the content here still has a professional bent. I will be using Tumblr as more of an unfiltered version of what I present here. Still me, still my brand, but a bit more rag-tag. Perhaps a bit goofier, a bit off-topic or inconsistent, but still swirling around my passion of inspiring you to live just a little better, to do a little more.

Stop by and say hello, won’t ya?

The other day I was honored with the opportunity to share content with Rod Villagomez and post an article on his blog. Rod is a professional broadcaster, passionate social media enthusiast, and one of the nicest guys on the ‘net.

My guest post covered one of my most passionate topics – the power of your personal brand. Go check it out, and be sure to say hi to Rod while you’re there, ok?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about DNA. Behind successful people in every niche are many years of growing and developing, personally motivating themselves to develop into the type of person that CAN be successful. Only gaining the success (and often, in turn, the money) up to the point that they have developed themselves. Millionaires are millionaires, they say, not because they’ve found a way to earn a million dollars, but because they’ve developed themselves into the type of person that’s worth a million.

However, even with all of the personal evolution behind every major success, they have a hard-coded, unique DNA. The rules, so to speak, that foundationally drive who they are as a person, their interests and their passions. You can’t ignore your DNA, and it’s this that I think is so important NOT to forget.

I think so many people get energized and excited about business idea after business idea, starting this one, switching to that one, trying this fad, that hot topic. And you know what? No matter how much they learn, no matter how many books they read or keynotes they watch or successful entrepreneurs they interview, they will never find their elusive success if they ignore who they truly are when chosing their niche. NO MATTER WHAT. Because there could be the biggest business opportunity around right-handed jibjabs, but if you don’t care about those jibjabs, if they wouldn’t be what you’d say when you answer the age old “if money and time were no object, what would you do with your time?” question, if your passion isn’t there, it won’t work. It’s not worth your effort, and it’s definitely not worth your valuable time.

If you love crochet, if you spend ten hours a day thinking about The Simpsons, if you just can’t get enough peanut brittle (woo!), be true to that! Step up, tell the world of your love, and be honest with yourself. Be honest with your DNA. Build your business around THAT passion. Not only will it lead you, when coupled with continual learning, closer to your picture of success, but you will be a thousand times happier while on the journey.

What’re your thoughts about DNA and it’s impact on entrepreneurs? Are you currently building a business around your passion? Do you think it’s more difficult to be successful when you don’t love what you’re doing? Or do you think it’s all the same?

Another fantastic video from personal branding superstar Gary Vaynerchuk. I love how Gary brings up topics that the vast majority of the business world has never specifically stated, yet are so simple. Common sense, even. I guess they are very much like a great personal development book in that sense. Today Gary passionately responded to the “legacy vs. currency” debate and there’s no question on which side of the fence he falls. Do you spend your time and resources on creating short-term profit and “quick-wins?” Or do you selflessly build relationships, network, and perfect the purpose of *your* personal brand? Watch it here.

I’ve thought a lot about what I believe my purpose is – to encourage as many people as I possibly can that yes, they can live a better life – but does every detail of what I do on a daily basis support that legacy? Good question! I hope it does, but will definitely be meditating on the topic in the days and weeks to come.

Exciting stuff.