The unromantic truth about launching a personal brand

I am such a sucker for a romantic origin story.

You know the kind I am talking about.

Here are some examples-

Person A?is going through a hard time and all of a sudden they have an idea that becomes the foundation of a worldwide bestselling product.

Person B?wakes up one morning and starts writing, it as if the entire book writes itself and ends up becoming a New York Times bestseller.?

Person C?is stuck in a dead-end job and decides to start a side hustle, sales start flying in and within a year they are living the dream.

I could go on and on and on.?

We want so badly to believe that success will unfold like a great 'love at first sight'?romance tale. It reminds me of the book, 'That Will Never Work' written by Co-Founder and first CEO of Netflix, Marc Randolph. In it, he writes about the fact that the real story of any success is messy, however, "when you're talking to the press, to an investor, or to a business partner, people really don't want to hear it. They want a version that is neat and clean with a bow on it."

As a result of all these neat stories we hear in the press, we often find ourselves waiting for our romantic story. Our moment where we have 'the idea' that will change everything.?

Truth is, our big idea might be out there, waiting for us to put ourselves out there also. Just like David Bach, who while presenting a finance seminar and talking about how much can be saved when you look at the little things like buying a cup of coffee, someone in the audience called out "it is the Latte Factor". That idea, that wasn't even his own, became a movement (and a New York Times bestseller no less).?

The point is he was out there in the trenches hustling so to speak, not sitting, and waiting for the BIG idea to come first.?

I suppose it is like all great love stories, you can't have the beautiful romantic moments, without the hard, messy, and challenging ones alongside it.?Personal branding is precisely the same. You don't get the upsides without riding out the downsides.

Life is not neat, and we can't put a bow around it, but it is a gift and when we embrace it in its entirety, that is the story that counts.