Godin’s philosophy centers on the idea that success stems from the ability to find and share your unique voice, to know and act on what makes your work unmistakeable, and to allow your core to drive your creative process and business strategy. This makes sense to me.

If you could choose an archetype or extreme, what do you want your brand or work to be known for? (I have bolded the words I believe describe my voice. There was no limit placed on the number of words that could be chosen.)

daring calm confident friendly edgy knowledgeable passionate proud responsive sentimental trustworthy accepting caring dependable giving ingenious logical observant quiet gruff shy warm adaptable understanding dignified happy intelligent loving organized reflective glamorous silly wise bold clever energetic helpful bohemian mature patient relaxed sensible spontaneous witty brave complex idealistic kind modest powerful intense sympathetic

List 5 ways you could express these attributes

Continue my commitment to service

Service has been a cornerstone of my life. As a child, I was active in service through my church. As a young adult, I was in AmeriCorps. As a high school drama teacher, my students served our community. As a program evaluator, my worked focused on helping organizations make communities safer, smarter, and healthier. Continuing to serve connects me with many of the above attributes. I will be practicing those attributes through my actions, and strengthening my community in the process.

Surround myself with mentors and guides who embody the above attributes

I want my writing life to center on the above attributes. There are people that practice those attributes. There are people who breathe those attributes like air. Learning from those people is an important step on my path. Learning from like minded others can sustain in times of hunger, inspire in times of doubt, bring faith in times of fear.

Get and be healthy

Being healthy is the heart of living the above attributes. My health journey has been filled with starts and stops, success and failure, and highs and lows. (I suppose most people can say the same thing.) I ran my first mile at the age of 29, so I came to exercise as a reluctant adult, rather than a motivated child. I always took an ostrich approach to my health, because of fear related to living with Turner syndrome. Today, I know everything stems from health. I am working toward those goals.

Be consistent

Showing up everyday cements the above attributes into the foundation of life. Maintaining a practice of care, dependability, kindness, bravery, and understanding, for example, makes those things real, tangible, and evident in the world. By being those attributes myself, I am authentically being the person I want to be, building the self I want to share with the world, encouraging the best in others, and creating the world in which I want to live.

Be resilient

In the background of the attributes that I highlight is the willingness to try, fail, and try again. Failure becomes a way to strengthen our skills, improve our understanding of our core desires, and deepen our belief in our ability to succeed. I am reminded of when I crossed a marathon finish line. After almost 7 hours of exertion, having felt every possible emotion and crossed many physical boundaries, I became steel. I knew I would never again doubt my ability to stare fear, doubt, and negativity in the eye and choose differently. It is not about never experiencing those things, it is about choosing differently.