Branding and Sustainability
How beginning small can help you grow yourself, your business and your connections to our world.
OR
A branding perspective on Buckminster Fuller’s maxim, “think globally and act locally.”
It has taken me a very long time to embrace the word, “branding”. It makes me think of an overriding marketing phrase that indicates something made just for the sell. But isn’t that essentially what we must do in order to get and grow our businesses? But how do we sell something authentic, how do we know what that is?
We must dig deep inside to discover what that is, to discover an authentic voice that actually jives with who or what it is we are. The work can be daunting. What if we miss? How do we find this voice that is always true, even as we grow and change?
Now, “sustainability”. Here again, where to even begin? Install gray water lines, solar panels, purchase a flex fuel vehicle? Waste versus change. No matter what you do, it seems like you haven’t considered enough angles, covered enough bases.
But what if we just let go of some of that fear? (We can always come back to that, right? It’s always there if we want to go there…) What if we just go with that voice of authenticity?
And what if we forget about adding up the cost of being sustainable throughout every aspect of our lives – giving up plastic, buying in bulk, gardening our vegetables – and just do what we can do right now?
Somewhere, deep inside, is a voice that says, “here I am, I am here.” Simple, concise. And now we know who we are, but we have to focus on it so as not to lose sight. This focus, this awareness, can be applied throughout every aspect of our lives, seamlessly, without even trying. Because it’s our truth.
Because it is true, it is sustainable. It can be maintained. We just need to remain aware.
Now that we are aware, we can see how we act, how we speak, what we do, how we feel. Being now aware, we can choose to make more sustainable choices in our every day lives. Start with the next thing that you do, and make that action matter, because it is a reflection of YOU. Think of the things that you possess, that are always available to you. Your own thoughts, feelings, smile, your voice, your knowledge. Use these things to make your next move. Maybe you can smile a little more. Maybe you can acknowledge another person that you have been avoiding. Walk around more. Say hello. Make eye contact. Eat more healthily from locally-procured sources. Our world today offers us an enormous number of choices, we can use our authentic voices to help us choose what is in our own best interests.
You will notice that these small choices add up. We are all on this planet together, whether we notice it or not. Now that we are aware, we have a safe place from which to notice. See your life become richer as you interact more from your space.
Maybe you will notice how, one-by-one, small gestures of conscientiousness and kindness contribute to days that feel less overwhelming. That you really do have time for these small actions, you do have time to reach out with something as uncomplicated as a smile, or walking outside just to walk and listen and not for exercise per sé. You may notice that no time is lost in your day. Conversely, you have just expanded your day. You as an individual became increasingly more authentic and present, and you are now living a more sustainable life.
What we are given by nature are those things that cannot run out. A smile, a nod of acknowledgment and respect for others, a greeting – we can give these out all day long without losing anything of ourselves.
Living a sustainable life doesn’t have to be monumental or overwhelming. It can begin with what we intrinsically own. This, incidentally, is the foundation for an authentic brand.
From this point of authenticity, we can nourish and grow ourselves. At same time, we cultivate and encourage our connections to others and to the world around us, and continue with ease to contribute sustainably from that which we authentically possess.
Tamara
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/branding-sustainability-you-tamara-gould