On Branding, Cattle, Tattoos, and overcoming a fear of labels.
In my post, I am not a Brand, I share my beef with branding. But I forgot to mention:
Branding began with cattle.
That says it all. If the purpose of branding cattle is to make a living thing into a permanent, fixed property, Why would I want to do this to myself?
I don't even want a tattoo. I'm evolving, fluid, free. A cow is inherently wild.
There is a cultural double-standard:
We crave a title, yet we admire people who defy genre.
I'm discovering that my brand is not a label applied to property. It's a rich story with innuendos and subtleties as layered as any relationship. I like tattoos that are iconic—a circle on a wrist—clear, simple, mysterious. When a tattoo is obvious or derivative (spidermen, butterflies, hearts) I'm less interested.
How will I overcome this fear of labels? For me, it started with a name. I didn't even know what I would do. But the name had a mystery and a familiarity all at the same time. Then, I took a leap of faith. I sacrificed the freedom of being unidentifiable for the power of a name.
MORE BELIEF is familiar. We all seek to believe in something more than we do—usually ourselves. But a friend recently noticed that it has the word REBEL in the middle. I like that. The power in the name keeps informing me.
The label actually gave me more freedom than I could have imagined. Creating a limit also provides an opportunity to expand.