Yes,

This is what Cindy Lauper sang more than 30 years ago. The song resonated with me because I saw this interview of Michelle Obama where she said:

“Marriage still ain’t equal, y’all. It ain’t equal. I tell women, that whole, ‘You can have it all’ — mmm, nope, not at the same time, that’s a lie. And it’s not always enough to lean in, because that shit doesn’t work all the time.”

I always knew this. You can’t have it all at the same time. I love that she said that because at the end of the day this is why some women give up their careers. They want it all to be perfect and they just want to have fun all of the time but that is just not the way life goes.
It won’t be fun all of the time. And still you can advance in your career, through good and bad. Michelle Obama came from humble beginnings and became one of America’s most inspirational women. Over the last 10 years she has been in the public eye and through it all she has built a personal brand based on veteran support, health, and support for girls education. She became America’s Sweetheart.

She has what I call a SUPER brand.

Let me explain why I call it SUPER. Or better, let me use Michelle’s own words to explain.

S is for Self awareness
“Not being afraid to be wrong – I had to learn how to do that.”

U is for Unique
“We as women, we have to understand that we know more, just even instinctively, than we think we do.”

P is for Personal
“Through my education, I didn’t just develop skills, I didn’t just develop the ability to learn, but I developed confidence.”

E is for Extremely honest and open
“One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals.”
Or when she said
“My clothes, I was learning, were an extension of my voice”

R is for Really authentic
“Authenticity means Michelle Obama is the same Michelle Obama you see here and with my girlfriends, walking the dog, being First Lady, it is the same person, and it’s a lot easier because I don’t have to pretend.”

At the end of the day these 5 things are super important if you want to have a brand that resonates with people.

Now tell me, what have you learned from Michelle Obama?

XOXO,

Nancy

P.S. my Free Personal Branding Masterclass is coming up on January 6th, did you register yet?

(photo: JStone / Shutterstock.com)

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