How Faith and Branding Can Ignite Your True Potential

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Terms and conditions apply. Hiring? Do it the right way with Indeed. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the show. We have a tremendous conversation for you with Belle Rape.

Belle is a branding specialist. She helps you find your brand, find your style, and earn what you are worth. Belle is an incredibly dynamic individual. This is a wonderful conversation, and if you are struggling to make a connection with your audience, with your prospects, with your marketplace, with your peers, inside your industry, if you are struggling to make that connection, oftentimes it's because your brand is misaligned with what you are trying to achieve, and Belle helps you find that connection. You're gonna love this episode.

It is packed full of both high-level insights and ideas as well as tactical guides to get your brand where it needs to be to earn what you are worth. You're gonna love Belle Rape just as much as I loved this conversation. With that, let's get on to Belle Rape. I, I know, I should, I should hit record. I was actually, when I was researching for the show, I, um, I was watching, like, a YouTube video of a show that you were on, and they did that.

Like, you would... It was like, got you sitting down and getting your cup of coffee, and they're like, "You didn't realize." And, um, I, I, I have a cat now for some reason. Oh, see, my phone- For everyone listening at home, if you hear a random meow in the background, it's because I now have a cat. I'm not necessarily a cat person, nothing against that, just not necessarily.

But, um, my girlfriend got a cat. She brought the cat here, and my children fell in love with the cat. So then she was like, "I can't take these, this cat away from your kids," so now the cat- Yeah ... lives with me. So then did she have to get another cat? Is that how that worked?

No, it just gives her a reason to visit. Um- You know. Because you're not enough. No. I'm like...

Uh, all right, let's get into the interview. So I have, uh, my first question for you is, uh, y- you say on your website that, uh, leaving corporate was an act of reclaiming yourself. I would love for you- Mm-hmm ... to talk about exactly what that means and why you felt that way. Yeah, absolutely. Well, first of all, thanks so much for having me on.

We talked about before we started that, like, we kinda match, unintentionally. I wanna be like, yeah, R- I called Ryan. I, I didn't call him and tell him what to wear, and he didn't call me, so I really love this. Um, and that kind of conversation I never could've gotten away with in corporate America, but that's my personality. Um, so I say, yeah, I, I am a corporate dropout.

Um, I used to be so ashamed of that because I felt like I just completely failed at my last corporate job. And by that I, part of that was, yes, I lost my identity. Um, I was trying to fix myself into this, it, it was classic square peg, round hole situation that every day for three, three and a half years I was trying to be something that, a, a leader in a position I was never meant to be in. The position was never meant for me. Um, I took it because it kinda seemed like the right fit at the right time, and I was chasing money.

And I was like, "I can do this." And after I got into it, it was just drudgery, and I, I was just like, I, I can't continue to do this. I truly lost myself in that position trying to find and figure out something that I was never meant to be. Um, and that is heartbreaking, especially if you're someone who is type A, a go-getter, very driven, never says no. Like, I had no boundaries either, and that was another part of losing myself, is that I was working, like, seven days a week, which is stupid.

Dumb. I mean dumb. As passionate as I am about the work that I do now, and I love what I do, I don't work seven days a week 'cause your girl needs a rest. Everybody needs a rest. So yeah, I was just so unbelievably lost, and I'm so fortunate that I was able to kind of reverse engineer finances and what I was doing to be able to leave that job, thankfully.

Thankfully, thankfully. Yeah. And figure out who I am again. The good news is that you're in good company. I am also, uh, have, uh, dashed myself up against the rocks of corporate America multiple times, only to realize that I was not built for that world.

Mm. I think, I think to your point, what I found myself doing and was Getting good at playing the corporate game versus getting good at what I was supposed to be doing in my role. It was like, how do I play politics around this person, and how do I position myself here so that the thing that I want gets done? Not let me create the best thing in the position that I was in, let me focus on my work, let me dial in. It's, it's okay, if I want to get this little thing here and take this territory and add more head count, I gotta come around here and schmooze this per- and I'm like...

And I found the same thing. I'm like, "I don't wanna do all these things." I, most of these people are assholes. Like, I don't even wanna, like, I gotta kiss this guy's butt, and I gotta go to her cocktail party, and I gotta be on this task force. And I'm like, I don't wanna do any of those things.

Like, I, I, I hated every second of it. And the part that I would love for you to dig in a little more is I also felt shame. When I, not fitting into that world, I felt like, well, all the people everyone admire have these, you know, CMO of this position, or CEO of this company, and that's how you get known, and that's how people respect you. And when I couldn't fit into that world after multiple tries, I also, I, I had tho- that, that shameful feeling of like, "What's wrong with me?" So, like, how did you deal, how did you come through that?

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Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done. Good mentors? Did you do mindset work? Like, how did you come through that kinda natural evolution of feelings to get to where you are today?

Yeah. Oh, man, you, you like hit the nail on the head. And it, you just reminded me of, so you've seen A Christmas, uh, no, not A Christmas Story. What is it? Um, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Mm-hmm. So, um, Clark Griswold, he's wrapping up his last few days of the Christmas year, or of the year. He's getting ready to go on Christmas vacation, and the big boss comes by, and there's, like, all of the peons following him in a row. And he starts out like, "Yeah, Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays.

Happy Hanukkah. Happy Kwanzaa." I mean, all the things. And by the time he gets to the end of the line, he's like, "Kiss my A. Kiss this.

And you folks can... " I'm like, "That's how it goes. That's how it goes." Yeah. I feel like it's such a game, and it really did get to be a game.

And I found myself talking differently to different people in the company, and I'm like, "Why can't I just be me? I just wanna be me." And so, um, um, Ryan, I kid you not, so when I left that job, I put my head in the sand for a few weeks, and by meaning that, like, I just kinda like sat on the couch and I was like, "I can't, I can't bell right now. I'm not even at my best to bell enough." And th- that is not me.

So I just, I needed to rest. I just needed to rest. So I allowed myself that grace period just to, to rest. And thankfully, like, I was able to do that. I know, like, my husband and I don't have children, so I didn't have, like, that to continue or to contend with.

I mean, being a parent is hard. It is hard. Yeah. And then, you know, so I was able to, like, feed myself and clothe myself and take care of the basic necessities and figure it out, and I know that was all God's planning. It was his divine timing.

It was his plan for my life to be able to do that. So I did it for a couple weeks, and then I was like, "Okay, I know I can do this again." So I started just kinda networking again and talking to people. The more I was really open and honest with how I was feeling, the more of those similar stories started coming out. And I started talking to more entrepreneurs and people who were really trying to break out of the corporate world, and saying, "What is w..."

I, I started asking those deeper questions. I wasn't afraid anymore to ask those deeper questions. I wasn't afraid anymore to be like, "What if? What if I leave? What if I fail?

What if I tank?" I just started asking them those questions. Like, "How are you feeling? How does this make you feel?" I wanted to really get to the core of, like, finding my tribe, honestly.

We all want to find someone who is similar to us. Like, please acknowledge that my feelings are legit. It's like legitimize my feelings right now of what I'm going through. And if it's not, like, okay, then tell me that it's, that it's not, like, what I should, how I could be feeling in the moment. What was your experience?

So I started asking more of those questions. Um, I just allowed myself to rest, and then I put myself back out there. And by the grace of God, I just, I got ... positions, like contract jobs, and which was great. And I was like, "Ooh, I think I can do this." Dude, and then, bro, bro, let me just say it like kiddos say it, bro, COVID hit.

Had I known that COVID was coming, I probably would not have had enough gumption to leave my job. I st- I, I would've still been there. I would've suffered through it. Um, but I just took it as an opportunity, like, "Hey, the world is shutting down. I can figure out a business to make this work now because I know I can do my job from just about anywhere.

You don't need me sitting in your office. You don't need me to hold down real estate that you don't wanna pay for anyway to have a position to do my job with excellence." So yeah, I just kinda, I got my feelings validated, had a good cry, got a snack, put my big girl, big girl panties on, straightened my crown, and kept going. I love that. Kept going.

Yeah. I, um, I don't know how I d- didn't know this before, but, um, there's one phrase in the Bible that, uh, is written 365 times, and it's, "Do not be afraid." Yeah. "Do not be afraid" is in, is written 365 times, and I don't, I don't think that 365 times is a coincidence, right? Yeah.

Every day, do not be afraid. He will guide you. And I think the fact that you, that faith is such a, a large part of both your business and your life is incredible. I think that more people, um, I hope more people have the strength, the, uh, the guts to, to talk about their faith and to integrate their faith into their business, whatever that may be, right? I, I try to as much as I possibly can.

Mm-hmm. W- how has that aspect, how has faith played a role in guiding this, this new chapter, right? It's, it's all over your website. It's part of your, it's part of your message. I've heard you mention it many times in other places.

Like, it's obviously a huge part of your life, and how do you use your faith to guide you through, you know, becoming an entrepreneur, coming out of the corporate world? Yeah, yeah. Um, so in the corporate world, it really wasn't something that I was open to talking about as much. It was kinda poo-pooed. Um, it just, you know, it wa- it was never a hard written, stated rule like, "Do not talk about your faith.

Do not talk about, you know, your beliefs." Um, it just wasn't something that I felt like I could be super open about. No one was really receptive to it. Um, but it really dawned on me one day when, I think I was listening to another podcast, I can't even tell you what it was. It, I listen to so many podcasts and listen to so many books, that there was a phrase in it that said, "You know, at the end of our life, we all want to get to that point where you get to the pearly gates and you hear God say, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.'"

Done is still action, and I knew that I had to continue taking action on my life. There was still so much to be done. I just didn't know what. And maybe this is it. Like, I feel like I've hit the jackpot doing what I do right now, and I, because I get to talk about my faith.

I get to o- be open about that, and I've lost followers. I know there's clients that I haven't gotten because of it. Look, I don't care. I don't care because at the end of the day, I know I'm gonna be provided for. I am still, I'm alive.

I'm healthy. If I weren't alive, I know where I'm going, which, like, that's not a bad place to be either. I'm going to heaven. Really? Not bad.

So I kind of, I really try and take that, that step back, and it's a hard look at, what does my life look like without my faith and without my religion? I'm, I'm dust. I'm dead. There's nothing. And when I get to talk about my faith and my religion, I know that I light up.

I get to ignite myself and ignite others to have that ability to go out and do what they were designed and created to do. I was designed and created to do this, and when I work on personal brands with my clients, I get to ignite them to go out and do what they were designed to do. And when I put it in those terms, they completely understand it. Like, look, we're all, we're all matches. When you strike a match, that is your personal brand, like, coming to life.

And then you have this confidence in what you are doing and who you are, which could be the backbone, like, you lean on your faith. You lean on your family. You lean on your friends. That gives you that confidence to shine even brighter, even brighter, to go out and illuminate the world that we are in. There's so much darkness.

Like, why be, why contribute to that darkness when we are all light? Go and be a light and do what you were designed to do. Yeah. Yeah. So I get to talk about my faith, and it's an honor to.

It's a blessing to, and we're, we're called to talk about our faith. As Christians, we're called to talk about our faith and build God's kingdom. So I have a platform, and I'm gonna do it. I love that. Uh, one of the things that I find so interesting about people who have not embraced branding, have not built a brand, who fight the idea of doing that type of work, even, even what I think is kinda derivative work, which is marketing, right?

You, it's very tough to do marketing without a brand. Uh, almost impossible. It often doesn't work. Uh, you're just kinda wasting dollars. But when people ask me about it, and I'm not a, a branding expert in any regard.

Uh, um, my side is much more on the tactical marketing side. I've been a CMO and a CEO, and I, like, I don't ... It's s- it's such a struggle for me because to me Brand is so obvious. It, I... And when people ask me about it, I'm like, "It's a filter.

It's the filter." Like, you wanna know why you have crappy clients? Because your brand isn't strong. You wanna know why people struggle to buy from you? Because your brand isn't strong.

You wanna know why they're, you, your closing message doesn't connect with prospects, with vendors, with partners? Because your brand isn't strong. When your brand is strong, clear, and actually is a representation of who you are or your business is, then- Yep ... the people who connect with that message just self-select in. They just- Yeah ... they're like, "Yes. Yeah, that's the one right there.

That, that's me." Like, "I want that." Like- Yeah ... that either whether it's filling a gap in their life that they don't have, or it just immediately connects with who they are. And it's so obvious to me, yet so many people struggle to grasp that concept. Wh- why- Yeah ... do you think that is?

Like, why is it that companies will go spend, you know, $100,000 on a marketing campaign with a brand that's mushy, and gray, and, and all over the place, and antiquated, and, like... And then they wonder why they're getting this terrible ROI when it's no one knows what to connect to. Right? Because you, you spent money on a fancy graphic on a, for a Facebook ad, and you think that's just gonna change everything? Like, what is it about the concept of branding that it feels like people either get it or they don't?

And how do we start to turn the people that don't into believers? Right. I mean, that is a ama- an amazing question. So I think people still, like, two-part, people still think branding is for influencers. So they're like, "I don't want to be the Kardashians.

I don't want to be the next, you know, Brady family," or, you know, whatever that influencer is. They don't think that they want to be that influencer status. When I say influencer status, I don't want that either. I want to have a super strong brand that magnetizes my tribe, my audience of people towards me. I want to be attracted to them.

I want to fill the gap of what they need, which is what you said. So I think that it's, it, the, the pendulum is starting to swing a little bit more towards a more positive sentiment of having a personal brand, because I truly think that, like, the statistics are getting out there. So 70, 74, 75% of Americans trust someone with a personal brand. The higher the trust need, the more you need to have a personal brand. So what I mean by that is, so someone like a, if you're gonna hire a doctor, dentist, lawyer, most of the time the first place that someone is gonna go to is your social media, you know, your, or look for you on a website.

They're gonna see. They want to know who you are. If I'm gonna have a surgeon cut me open, I wanna know that they're not hanging out in the club the night before. I don't need someone trying to cut me open with a laser with, like, a shaky hand, you know? Like, I wanna know who they are, what kind of bedside manner do you have, what's your reputation?

So, um, your, your personal brand is, it's your foundation of who you are, and most people still have that idea that they don't need a personal brand because they aren't an entrepreneur, they aren't a small business owner, they don't have a product or service that they're selling for themselves, when the, when in fact the opposite is so true. If you have a, if you're sitting in a job in a cubicle, and if you ever have any hopes or aspirations of moving to a higher position, you need a personal brand, because you need to start developing that voice within you and s- have a, a public place to share your expertise. You need to show that you're an expert in the industry. So also, I think that having a personal brand is extremely important for teenagers. Look, I have nieces and nephews who are teenagers now, and while I'm not a huge advocate for them being on social media, we can talk about that in a little bit- Mm-hmm ... um, because social media can be very dangerous.

But it is a way for them to start building their digital footprint and their digital resume, and they need to do it in a way that is well thought out, starting when they are young. Look, I didn't have social media growing up. Thank the Lord. Thank God. I didn't have social media growing up, because so many stupid things would've been captured- Mm-hmm ... that now that stuff follows you.

It's never permanently erased. So if you want to get into college, get that job, like, I, I've turned down people for jobs because they looked great on paper on their resume, but I looked at their social media and I was like, "Mm-mm. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. I, I can't, I can't work with that, and I'm not going to."

So developing your personal brand is the foundation of who you are. It allows you to show your expertise in whatever industry you want to be in, to talk about, to show. And your marketing is all the, the pretty things. It's the aesthetics of your brand, which will rarely, if ever, be right if you don't have your personal brand completely solidified. It just won't.

You can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on your logo like you were talking about, but it just won't be right unless you know who you are. Yeah. So your personal brand is your i- Yeah. No, I, I love your idea of almost, like, brand training for teenagers that they have- Mm ... a clear picture of, like... 'Cause, 'cause, uh, the company, I just exited from a company in, uh, November of last year. Uh- Mm-hmm ... and, you know, we were constantly hiring.

I never wanted to see a resume. Mm-hmm. I, I just assumed that, like, look, like, you're, you're- ... interviewing for the job, like, you're probably, like, a reasonably intelligent human being or it was insurance industry, so the bar is pretty low. Um, sorry all my insurance friends. But, you know, what I wanted to see was, like, who is this person?

Are they gonna come in and be a problem? Like, are they gonna go all, like, you know, wokey on us when they get in here? Are they gonna cause problems? Are they, you know, like, what are they doing? Are they gonna take a ton of time off?

Like, you know, we're, we're a startup. Like, maybe in a company of 1,000, that's perfectly fine, it's all good, but, like, this is grind time for us, and when we're hiring people, we're telling them, like, "You're not gonna work seven days a week," 'cause I completely agree, "but you're gonna have to put in a solid 45, and those 45 are gonna have to be dedicated hours. Like, you can't be screwing around. Like, w- uh, we need to get things done." Then we can go to their social media profiles, and you would have a real clear picture, like, maybe they work out a lot.

Maybe they have a hobby they're super into. Like, I don't need to know you're great at the thing I need you to do today, 'cause I can train you for that. I need to know you have the skills, character, qualities of someone who can become good at my company. And I think today that is m- especially for hiring, as more and more important than it is- Mm-hmm ... the actual skills to the job. Obviously, you know, if you're blasting rockets into space, you need to know, be a rocket scientist.

But, like, outside of some certain very technical professions, most things can be trained or learned, and what we really need to know, I think, today, is who are you? What am I getting, right? And our, our company cultures today, especially in a remote world, and, and I'd love your feedback on this. In a remote world, your brand, your brand is oftentimes goes hand in hand with your culture. And if it doesn't, that causes all kinds of problems.

But if it does, your brand is going hand in hand with your culture. So if you have a, a s- a brand that represents who you are and that matches the culture, then the types of people that wanna work in that environment, they ju- they're the ones that, that interview, right? I, I have a lot of friends that say, uh, especially in the insurance in- I, I came out of the insurance industry. That's kind of the industry that I've been in for the last 20 years. And, um, every little boy's dream, just so you know.

Uh- The problem is you develop this... Here's the thing. One, insurance is phenomenal. I love busting chops, and everyone who's in the industry that listens knows that it's fun to make fun of ourselves. But, uh, you develop this arcane, like, language.

Like, you, like, there's, like, a language to insurance that once you learn it, it doesn't apply anywhere else. So, like, if I were to take ... There's, it's not transferable in any regard 'cause the words are u- it's, uh, doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. But here's my point.

I have all these friends and, and people, and I get asked to speak a lot, and they'll be like, "Oh, you know, you, you say all the time that hiring is easy." And I was like, "Yeah, the hiring was easy." And they're like, "Well, we can't find anybody. There's no good talent out there." And I was like, "That's because your, your brand blows.

Who would wanna work there? Like, who would wanna work there?" Like, look at it. Your logo looks like it was made in a, in a, a dot matrix, by a dot matrix machine in the '70s, right? Yeah.

Your office smells like mothballs. Your building hasn't been updated since the '90s, right? Like, who, who would, who's like, "Yeah, I, I can't wait to go work at that place. That place looks awesome"? You know what I mean?

Like, there's no... Your social media stinks. There's n- or nonexistent. Like, no one knows what they're getting, so they don't wanna come in. So I would love for you to, uh, uh, maybe ex- expand upon your thoughts of all this little diatribe that I went on and, and really I, I'd love for you to connect kind of this idea of brand and culture and, and how it equates to the people that we ultimately find.

Yeah, yeah. Well, and I said it, I previously said it. Like, your, your brand attracts your tribe. We are, as much as we think we're, like, business to business or, you know, business to consumer, customer direct, you know, directly, we're still human. We have to have that human interaction.

We were designed that way. God designed us that way very specifically to want that human interaction, and I think that, you know, the pandemic, um, elevated that or es- escalated that, um, in a manner that we crave that human connection. So whether we're in the same office space or not, we still crave that human connection. Like, I love having these, you know, Zoom calls with clients because you see parts of expression when you actually get to see someone versus just talking to them. So having a brand and having a well-curated brand of what you see on your social media feed is what you're expecting to get also.

So you want to be real. You want to be authentic. So there, there does definitely have to be that connecting point. You don't wanna meet someone in person and be like, "This is not, this is, this is not connecting the dots for me at all." Um, so you want to make it seem as appealing as possible to your audience.

Part of your brand is knowing your audience. Your brand is not to serve you. It's not to serve Belle. My brand, Belle, is not to serve Belle. Ryan's brand is not to serve Ryan.

It is to serve other people. What you do is a service. It is a product for other people. You've gotta keep that in mind because that's the way that you attract the people who want what you have to offer, whether it's a service or product. The fact is that, you know, I, I'm not doing anything revolutionary.

How I do it is revolutionary because I'm the only one doing it the way that I do it, and the same with you. So I'm attracting the people who are like-minded, who have something that they want to, um, engineer, re-engineer, reconfigure within themselves that, 'cause they see something in me that they want a part of that if they're not already like it, or I attract people who are, who are like me. They're like, "Well, I have this. I just don't know how to bring it out on social media." So we all want that Human attraction.

It is that human attraction that really brings us together. And if we're not serving others and showing up in that way, we're never gonna attract them. So, do it in a, an attractive manner to attract other people. And everybody's attractive manner is different. You know, mine is, you know, I put a little, I put some mascara on and lip gloss on, and I wear, I, I, I love clothes, so I dress in a way that attracts my audience.

Your audience is different. Everyone's audience is different. They are seemingly okay with me wearing a dirt brown sweatshirt while I am with you people. Although, I think we agreed it's called earth tones, but yeah. Earth, the earthy tones.

Earthy tones. Yeah. Well, I want the audience to stop for a second and go back, and, and, and I'd love for you to expand on this thought, 'cause this is so powerful and, and I love the way you put it. What you're doing isn't what makes you unique, it's how you do it 'cause it's specific to you. Can you expand on that- Yeah ... particular thought? 'Cause I think that nuance is so incredibly important and very powerful.

Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, there's thousands of other people out there doing what I do, honestly. You know, again, like, I'm not Elon Musk. I don't have that brain.

I'm not sending rockets into space. I'm fine with that. But I am one Bel. I'm only one Bel. So how I do something truly is, it's my, it's my personality.

It's how I come to life. It's how I get to illuminize myself that I get to then shine that light onto other people. It's what sets me apart. It's my uniqueness because of my personality. It's, it's how I speak.

It's the tone that I speak. It's, you know, I'm a little bit jovial with most of my life, and I'm bubbly. So I attract those people who want that. And consequently, I repel the people who don't want that. And that repelling was a lot of, in the corporate world.

I did, I did great in an agency environment. I've worked in, um, an ad agency environment, and I did great in that environment because we were so creative and we were always thinking, and there was a lot of other people in that environment like me. We were all like-minded, and we got the job done. But in a corporate environment, the corporate environments that I was in, it was a little bit more buttoned up, and that just was really confining to me. So I wasn't able to really have the Bel personality every day and in every situation that I wanted.

So I, I knew, like, there was something that I, I was repelling it. Like, internally, I was repelling it, so I knew that came out in an external manner. So yeah, I think that, back to your original question, I mean, we're not doing anything that's super original, but it's how we do it. It's our personality that comes to life. We a- allow your personality to come to life, and you're gonna attract the people who want to be attracted to you and who want what you have to offer.

Yeah. I, uh- Yeah ... it's fi- it's funny. Um, and I think w- I wanna share an anecdote with you and, and, uh- Yeah ... because it's my show, I can do whatever I want. No, I'm just kidding. Well, yes, but no.

Uh- Yeah, go for it ... doing, doing that. But, um, I think, you know, talking to your corporate, to the, to the corporate environment piece, and there's a lot of people that listen to the show who are ambitious, driven people, who are stuck in corporate situations. So I, I'm, I'm sharing this story so that they understand. I think a lot of times corporate environments will suck you in because they'll tell you, "Hey, we love your, how you're bubbly. We love your energy.

We love your viewpoint on the world, and that, we need that here." And, and, and, and I think they honestly believe it when they say it, and I'm talking about they as this big entity because the people who live and are successful in those environments, particularly the middle and lower levels of those environments, oftentimes have assimilated like the Borg, and it becomes this groupthink methodology. And what's funny is I, my company that I, I told you I exited from in November, uh, the company that purchased me, when they purchased me, that was the pitch that I got, right? "You're honest, you're upfront, you think forward, you know, visionary," all this kinda stuff. "You have these unique ideas on how things should be done, and, and we've been around for 50 years, and we need that.

We need that in here, and we're gonna..." You know, and they added me to the executive team, and I got invited to one executive meeting, and then I was never asked back. And in that meeting, um, I'm sitting there, and this is my first one, and I'm like, "Oh, I wanna contribute, and I wanna be part of the team." And, and I also can't help myself. I have, um, I, I, my brain is broken in a lot of ways, and one of those ways is, like, I can't not participate.

Like, if I have a thought that I think can add value, it's probably a better corporate move to just keep that shit to myself, but I can't do that. So they roll out this new brand, and they're all so excited, and it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. And, um- I know where this is going ... it was fucking terrible. It was the worst god-awful, like, lack of energy. Like, like, like, the guys who really need those ED pill commercial things, it's what I think they deal with every day.

That's what I imagine when I think of this brand- Oh ... is, like, a guy struggling with ED. I mean, it was- There's just no gumption. Not to get gross. I don't know why that's the example that came to my head. I apologize.

Um, but it was just that weak, that li- it was just nothing to it. So, so they go through the whole thing, and I stood up and I said, "I kinda like the original brand better." And they're like, "What?" And I was like, "Yeah, it's old, and it looks like it was made in the '80s, but it's also got a ton of character to it. Like, and everybody knows it.

It's immediately recognizable. It's been around for 50 years. Like, you know, and I think we could play on, like, the s- ... how it is, like, got s- you know, 17 different features to it, and it's like this weird thing. I was like, "But it's kinda got some personality." Mm.

I was like, "This has no personality. Like, no one is gonna look at that and feel emotionally connected to it." Yeah. And then I sat down. Yeah.

And it was like I just dropped a bomb in the middle. Like, no one knew what to say. Like, nobody. The, like, they're looking around, and, and I started this, and I started to get that feeling of like, I probably should've kept my mouth closed because then, like, you know, someone in the hallway was like, "You know, it was really, really, really bold of you to come in like that." You know, like they're trying to, like, pump me up, and I'm like, "That means I'm fucked.

Like, I'm completely screwed. Like, it was not the right thing to do. I should've never shared my opinion." And then I was never invited back to another meeting. But, um, I, I- But- It's funny, like you, you know, to your point, like, I think I have two thoughts on that.

At the time, I, at the time, I initially felt bad, not bec- 'cause one, I felt like I had hurt the people's feelings who created- Mm-hmm ... the brand. Mm-hmm. It's not their fault that they did a terrible job because I think they were probably given a groupthink vision. Mm. And they were trying to mash this groupthink vision the best they could.

Like, they're not untalented people. Um, the work product they came out with was God awful and still is, but, but, you know, it's not their, I don't wanna blame them. I didn't want to make them feel bad. I thought I was helping. Yeah.

And I think I could've conveyed the message better, but w- what I took away, and this goes to your branding, is that this is who I am, right? Yeah. They wanted this. This is who I am. They got exactly what they wanted, and if w- they don't actually want it and they don't invite me back again, I'm gonna be okay with that because th- I'm not gonna make the mistake that I made in previous lives where I kinda succumbed to the borg and allowed myself to be boxed in.

Like, I'd rather be the, the black sheep than- Yep ... than f- just fit in with the crowd and, and bow along like everyone else. Mm-hmm. You have taken that and, and created this amazing brand, and guys, if you go to Belle's website and check out the work that you do and how you present yourself, it's phenomenal. Like- Thank you ... how do the people who a- who, who, who believe what we're talking about, right, they're bought in, they, they, they're listening to you, they believe it. Yeah.

Where do they start with this? How do you start to, to do as y- as we started with? How do they start to reclaim themselves if maybe, maybe they don't have the, maybe they don't have the, um, they don't have the, the, the, the full power today to go all the way, right? They're not just gonna jump out of their corporate job today. They're not ready to make that move, but they wanna get start, they wanna start to build.

And I know you're not advocating for that, but right, they, they wanna get started. How would you... Is it start playing around with an Instagram channel? Is it maybe start journaling? Like, how do they start to kinda get their hands around what they would want their brand to be and, and t- play around with it a little bit?

Yeah. Well, let me back up just a second. And there was something that really hit me. It just, like, oh, stick the knife in and twist it and pour salt in it, and, oh, all the things. Um, first of all, if someone asks you your opinion on something, they have got to be prepared for what you say.

You can have your delivery be honest and kind. And I mean, I, I learned that one the hard way in my 20s, um, because I did something very similar. I was in an ad agency, and the designers asked me what I thought of an ad, and I was just like, "Yeah, I don't get it." Like, I, I could've been a little bit more, um, tactful, but I just, I was like, "I don't get it." And they were like, "What do you mean you don't get it?"

And I was like, "I don't get it. Like, I know the brand, but I don't understand what you're trying to say with this ad." And so again, I could've been a little bit more tactful, but I knew I hurt their feelings. Like, it, these were senior designers, they'd been around the block m- many times, knew what they were doing, created award-winning campaigns, and this just missed the mark. I w- 'cause they were like, "What do you mean you don't get it?"

I was like, "I don't get it." And so they restarted. But w- if you, if someone asks your opinion, give them what, tell them what you think and be kind. You can still be honest and kind in your delivery. If you're not invited to any more meetings, fine.

But w- I was just so triggered by what you said because I have done the same thing so many times. I haven't been invited back to those meetings, and my feelings were hurt because I wasn't invited back to those meetings, but I've since had time to reflect and go, "I wasn't invited back because I gave them my opinion." I'm not a yes man. I'm not. And if you wanna hire me to work on your personal brand, like, I, I'll be, I will be friends with you.

I will love you. I will be, I am your biggest cheerleader because I want you to succeed, but I'm not your yes man. I have done that for so many years, and I know what it's like. I know what it's like for people just to say yes to me, and I'm like, "Mm-mm, no. I want you to be honest."

So always be honest. You've gotta be honest with yourself. So let me answer your question. If you feel like you have something else in you, like if there's another product or service, um, that you want to go in on, start small. Look through your Instagram feed.

Your Instagram feed, your Pinterest, all of your social media follows an, a very specific algorithm. It feeds you the things that you are interested in. So can you find a common thread of what you're looking at that's something that you're interested in, uh, from a business perspective? Um, you know, it, you wanna look at those things. When I left my job, seriously, I was, my last corporate job, I was this shell of myself, and it took me a while to say, "Okay, well, maybe I'm just gonna, I'm gonna blow everything up.

I'm gonna burn the ships, and I'm gonna do something completely different." And I was like, "What do I wanna do?" And I never landed on something that I really felt as passionately about as marketing and branding. Like, it's in my DNA, it's in my blood. I'm one of probably the very few people who went, who went to school for something and is still doing something in that vein.

Um, so it just took me a while. Like, take a minute, breathe, and like, what do I really, what do I love? No one's asking you to do it for the rest of your life. Come on. We don't live in that generation anymore.

I mean, my parents stayed in their jobs for 30, 40 years. No one's asking you to do that anymore. You have an opportunity to do multiple things, but also don't hop around every, like, year or so, like, or every six months. Figure out what you really wanna do, and have your why. What is your why?

I do what I do because I want other people to go out and do what they were designed to do, with excellence, with an impact, making an impact to build God's kingdom. That's my ultimate why. This is why I was designed. So just take those baby steps. Like, it doesn't have to be anything massive.

Create a vision board. Like, there's nothing wrong with creating a vision board. But have actionable steps to make those things come to life. People will allow you to work for them for free, believe it or not. They will allow you to do this.

Some places will give you a little baby paycheck, or there's some perks to doing something. Like, if you think you wanna be a sports analyst, go shadow someone for the day. I had so many internships growing up, but such fun experiences. Like, I was a DJ one summer because I wanted to be on the radio, but- You scratching the ones and twos? Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. But it was classic rock, so I was this, like, this... I was 18 years old, long, long, long blonde hair, like, but I worked at a classic rock station, and they were like, "Do you even know what classic rock is?" And I was like, "Yeah, I do." So I did it.

I was morning drive time radio personality with these old guys. I mean, they were, like, in their 40s, Ryan. They were ancient. There were times I was like, "You guys are so old." And now I'm that age.

I'm like, "Ooh." Oh, I know. Time to be age. Yeah. I know it.

My, uh, my kids the other day said... So I'm 43, and my kids, uh, the other day made a reference to me being old, and I'm like, I had to, like, stop for a sec 'cause I was like, in your, in my head I'm still a kid. Like, I still think about myself like a kid, you know? 'Cause I'm like, I look at my dad, he's like 68, you know what I mean? I mean, he's old, you know? I'm not old, he's old.

My kids are looking at me calling me old. I'm like, "I'm still a kid. What are you talking about?" I still listen to rap music, you motherfucker. You know?

I don't know. I- Mm ... you know, it's just funny. It's funny how all that works. But, um- Yeah ... no, I think your, I think your point is, is dead on, and I really like the idea of, like, if you wanna be this other thing or a hobby or if you think a hobby could become a side hustle, you know, one of the barriers that, that I, I try to break down when I talk to people is there, there's this, especially in suburban America, and I think this is particularly true with men although it may be true with women, I just deal with a lot more men- Sure ... is that the idea of a side hustle or a second job feels somehow like they're failing, right? Like- Mm-hmm ... if they, if, you know, 'cause, 'cause, 'cause I had a buddy, actually, the sports analyst thing is what, is what picked this up for me, is he, he, he really loves sports, and he likes talking about sports, and he's like, "You know, I've always wanted to do, like, a, an Instagram channel where I broke down," you know, I think he's, like, I think he's, like, a Giants fan or whatever, but not just them.

Okay. And, and I just was like, "So, so go do it." And he's like- Yeah ... "Ah, you know, I, th- what?" And I, and I'm just like, "Dude."

Yeah. It, this is, like, the... I was like, "This is, like, the easiest thing in the world for you to do." Mm-hmm. Literally buy, you can, you, you, you need a, you need a tripod for your camera.

It'll cost you $2 on TikTok, and you literally have everything you need to do analysis of games and throw it up on Instagram and see if people like it. Yeah. Here's the best part. Do it for six months, and if no one likes it, guess what you can do? You can just shut it down.

Right. And if they like it, this is, like, your favorite thing. And- Right ... and you c- like you said, you can test branding and, like, that's the beauty. I feel like people- Mm-hmm ... because of the lo- and, and, and, and I'd love for you to maybe just expand on this as we kinda, uh, run to the end of our conversation here, 'cause I sometimes get the sense from people that the permanent nature of what we put online, that every single thing we put up needs to be curated and on, you know, on brand and perfect and, you know, and when you look at the people who grow the fastest, who have the most influence, the most, you know, engagement with their content, yeah, they have some of that curated, highly produced stuff, but it is always mixed in with, like, look at Gary Vaynerchuk. This dude- Sure ... tests more crazy ideas in social media, and he just throws it out there.

And- Yeah ... he'll even tell you, like, some of the stuff doesn't work. Yeah. And then he just doesn't do it again. And he, and it's still out there. The crazy post that didn't work, it's still sitting in his feed.

Yeah. But no one even, no one cares, and, like, I guess, uh, you know- Yeah ... 'cause I, I don't know that I even have a question coming out of that. I just- Yeah ... I feel so passionately about, like, just do something. Like- Yeah ... there's no reason to sit every day with this anxiety and this, this sense of, of miss between, you know, I, like, uh, someone asked me one time, uh, actually it was my son, my, my older son.

Uh, my kids go to a Catholic school, and, uh, my older son, uh, enjoys the faith side of it. My younger son does not, but my older son loves the, is really, he really enjoys the faith side of it. Okay. And he was asking me, like- Um, "What do you think hell is, Dad? Do you think hell is, like, really like a pit of fire?"

And I said, "No, I do not." I said, "I think hell is when you get to the gates of St. Peter, uh, the version of you that God intended is standing there waiting for you, and you have to measure yourself against it." Mm-hmm. "And hell are the people who that, who, who look at what they could've been and can't handle the difference."

Yeah. And, um, I don't know if that's true or not. Mm-hmm. That's just the way that I visualize it. But I was like, "The only way to get to be that version of you is to do shit."

If you're just standing, you know, sitting in place, like- Yeah ... man, it just, it kills me. Yeah. Yeah. Same. Same.

I, I don't sit still. Like, there, there are moments where I'm like, "Okay, I ne- I need a break." Like, so I ran, this past year, this was my husband's challenge, and I somehow adopted it, along with multiple of our other friends. He was gonna run the Spartan, uh, Trifecta this year. Do you know what the Spartan races are?

Yeah. Yep. Um, okay. So it's, like, running mixed with all these obstacles, and so our goal is to do the Trifecta this year. So we did The Beast this past weekend, which was basically a half-marathon with 30 obstacles.

So we did that Saturday. So Sunday, or yesterday, I was like, "I need a minute. I, I just need to, like, sit down and veg out for a second." So I did that. Like, let yourself rest.

But if you have an inkling of something that you wanna try, are, are you... What's, what is the worst? Ask yourself what's the worst that could happen. What is the worst? Are you okay with that?

Are you, are you harming yourself? Are you harming others? If the answer's no, okay. Then go, go try it. Like, life is too short.

You could create something amazingly beautiful that is going to impact other people's lives. Like, because I took a chance on adopting my husband's, um, goals this year, I have deeper friendships because of it, 'cause our friends did it. Like, this beautiful group of people who I know if I needed them at 3:00 or 4:00 AM in the morning, they would be here immediately. So without saying yes to something, like, I don't know if I would've developed those friendships in that manner. Same with the business that I have right now.

If I hadn't have said yes, then I wouldn't be here. I'd be in another job, not as happy as I am right now. I, I, I would be thriving. I know I would be thriving, but not like I am right now. Like, look, I'm not the richest person on the planet, but I am so rich in happiness, and I'm so fulfilled by what I'm doing, and I, I love what I'm doing so much that the money is a byproduct of that, that then I get to use and use in different manners to go influence others and build God's kingdom.

Like, win-win. Win-win. Go do something. It's not permanent if you hate it. It's just like the example with your friend.

Like, do it for six months. If you hate it, shut it down. Okay, what did you lose? Nothing. He probably ended up learning more about the industry, and someone might end up picking him up for a full-time job when that, one day.

Okay, great. Yeah. Like, be passionate about something, just anything. Pick something, be passionate about it, and go do it. We've gotta stop being so lazy, and having a second something, whether you're passionate about it, like, hav- having a second passion, like, that's not a failure.

It's because you have something that you want to better yourself as a human being and impact others in a better way, too. Go s- It's a service. Here you are. Again, it's a service. Go serve.

There's nothing wrong with that. How are you losing? How in the world? Someone tell me, how are you losing? You're not.

You're not. No. Belle, this has been incredible. I appreciate you. Huge fan.

Where can people find more about you, connect with you, and get deeper in your world? Absolutely. So I would, I would love to hear more from your audience. Like, what do they want to know about their personal brand, their style, their faith? You can find me on Instagram at bellerape, B-E-L-L-E-R-A-P-E.

Yes, that is my last name. I married into it 21 years ago on Strong Baby. And, um, so you can find me there. And, um, on my website, it's blueprintbybelle.com. Uh, and I've linked in links also- Guys, we have those links in the show notes, too, so you can connect, uh, where you're listening, watching.

Just scroll down. You'll find, uh, those links. Highly recommend the connection on both, uh, Instagram and, uh, your website is phenomenal. There's, like, a couple pictures from your clients there. Like, one is the guy with the blue suit.

It's a Black dude, and you got, like, the upshot with, like, a badass car, and I was like, "Man, I fucking love that picture. I wanna, I wanna be standing in that picture." I love it. So, uh, appreciate you. Thank you so much, and, uh, just thank you for the time.

Thank you so much, Ryan. I am truly appreciative, too. Thank you. Thank you. This has been so fun.

Awesome. Happy holidays. Want to give your host a gift? Consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing the show this holiday season. It really helps the show grow.

From all of us at Believe, have a merry Christmas, everyone, and a happy holiday. If you liked the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening.