I read this essay today Alicia Keys wrote about showing her true self and I just had to share it with you!
Read her full essay below:
For as long as I can remember, I’ve hidden myself. It might have started in school when I realized that I caught on to things a little quicker, and teachers started to show slight favor to me, or use me as an example. I remember feeling like my friends would make fun of me or look at me as if I was different from them and so … I started hiding. Not intentionally, I didn’t mean to, but I did. Little pieces at a time.
I definitely started hiding when I got old enough to walk down my NY streets alone. I started to notice a drastic difference in how men would relate to me if I had on jeans, or if I had on a skirt, or if my hair was done pretty. I could tell the difference, I could feel the animal instinct in them and it scared me. I didn’t want to be talked to in that way, looked at in that way, whistled after, followed. And so I started hiding. I chose the baggy jeans and timbs, I chose the ponytail and hat, I chose no make up, no bright color lipstick or pretty dresses. I chose to hide. Pieces at a time. Less trouble that way.
I remember feeling that same way when I first started to get recognized as an artist. I had the baggy/braided/tough NY tomboy thing mastered, that was who I was (or who I chose to be) and I felt good there. Then, because of the way I spoke or carried myself, people started calling me gay and hard and I wasn’t gay, but I was hard and although I felt comfortable there, it made me uncomfortable that people were judging me and so slowly I hid that side of myself. I put on dresses and didn’t braid my whole head up, so people could see more of the “real” me, even though at that point I’m sure I was more confused then ever of what the real me was.
I remember one interview I gave had strong social thoughts from a book I just read. The writer misunderstood me and wrote something that I didn’t say. I felt judged by those reading it. Out came the shell again and me under it. Hiding, piece by piece. Little by little. More and more.
I became comfortable hiding, my intelligence, my physical appearance, my truths, my thoughts, myself.
To this day, every time I get out of the shower to get dressed, I swear the first thought that comes into my head is, what can I wear that won’t cause too much attention when I go pick up Egy, or head to the store, or go shopping, or visit a friend etc.
And just the other day it hit me! OMG! Alicia!!! Why are you choosing to be that person?? That is so old and outdated!! STOP!!
You are allowed to be smart
You are allowed to be beautiful
You are allowed to be radical and have strong thoughts that others might not agree with
You are allowed to be tough
You are allowed to be sexy
You are allowed to be bold
You are allowed to be shapely
You are allowed to be kind
You are allowed to be yourself!!
And guess what!?? I can be all these things all at the same time. I don’t have to give up one to be the other. I don’t have to hide anymore, I don’t have to pretend and hold back, I don’t have to think that my intelligence, beauty and sensuality are intimidating to others. Who cares??!!! I don’t have to think my silliness, clumsiness, or Hallmark card optimism, is something I can’t be proud of! Who cares????!!!!
I don’t have to try to go unnoticed
I don’t have to fit in
I don’t have to close up my thoughts and only speak my truth through songs!
I can speak it everyday
Live it everyday
Be it everyday
Dress it everyday
Show it everyday
Grow it everyday!!!
I only got 28,000 of those days. So what the F– am I waiting for??
And dammit that’s what I’m doing!!!!
– ALICIA KEYS
Newsletter : A personal branding message from Alicia Keys
I read this essay today Alicia Keys wrote about showing her true self and I just had to share it with you!
Read her full essay below:
For as long as I can remember, I’ve hidden myself. It might have started in school when I realized that I caught on to things a little quicker, and teachers started to show slight favor to me, or use me as an example. I remember feeling like my friends would make fun of me or look at me as if I was different from them and so … I started hiding. Not intentionally, I didn’t mean to, but I did. Little pieces at a time.
I definitely started hiding when I got old enough to walk down my NY streets alone. I started to notice a drastic difference in how men would relate to me if I had on jeans, or if I had on a skirt, or if my hair was done pretty. I could tell the difference, I could feel the animal instinct in them and it scared me. I didn’t want to be talked to in that way, looked at in that way, whistled after, followed. And so I started hiding. I chose the baggy jeans and timbs, I chose the ponytail and hat, I chose no make up, no bright color lipstick or pretty dresses. I chose to hide. Pieces at a time. Less trouble that way.
I remember feeling that same way when I first started to get recognized as an artist. I had the baggy/braided/tough NY tomboy thing mastered, that was who I was (or who I chose to be) and I felt good there. Then, because of the way I spoke or carried myself, people started calling me gay and hard and I wasn’t gay, but I was hard and although I felt comfortable there, it made me uncomfortable that people were judging me and so slowly I hid that side of myself. I put on dresses and didn’t braid my whole head up, so people could see more of the “real” me, even though at that point I’m sure I was more confused then ever of what the real me was.
I remember one interview I gave had strong social thoughts from a book I just read. The writer misunderstood me and wrote something that I didn’t say. I felt judged by those reading it. Out came the shell again and me under it. Hiding, piece by piece. Little by little. More and more.
I became comfortable hiding, my intelligence, my physical appearance, my truths, my thoughts, myself.
To this day, every time I get out of the shower to get dressed, I swear the first thought that comes into my head is, what can I wear that won’t cause too much attention when I go pick up Egy, or head to the store, or go shopping, or visit a friend etc.
And just the other day it hit me! OMG! Alicia!!! Why are you choosing to be that person?? That is so old and outdated!! STOP!!
You are allowed to be smart
You are allowed to be beautiful
You are allowed to be radical and have strong thoughts that others might not agree with
You are allowed to be tough
You are allowed to be sexy
You are allowed to be bold
You are allowed to be shapely
You are allowed to be kind
You are allowed to be yourself!!
And guess what!?? I can be all these things all at the same time. I don’t have to give up one to be the other. I don’t have to hide anymore, I don’t have to pretend and hold back, I don’t have to think that my intelligence, beauty and sensuality are intimidating to others. Who cares??!!! I don’t have to think my silliness, clumsiness, or Hallmark card optimism, is something I can’t be proud of! Who cares????!!!!
I don’t have to try to go unnoticed
I don’t have to fit in
I don’t have to close up my thoughts and only speak my truth through songs!
I can speak it everyday
Live it everyday
Be it everyday
Dress it everyday
Show it everyday
Grow it everyday!!!
I only got 28,000 of those days. So what the F– am I waiting for??
And dammit that’s what I’m doing!!!!
– ALICIA KEYS
Newsletter : Greece is the word
Let me talk to you about why the BrandedU seminars work for you!
Am sitting, well actually lying down, here in Greece. I had read an article which stated taking frequent short breaks is better for you than one long holiday. So this is what I am doing!
Recently I have been talking to a lot of women who have followed the BrandedU seminar or E-course. It is wonderful to hear stories of women finding their way, taking steps, making progress and I enjoy listening to stories of how the program has been a real eye opener for some of you.
Laura Wubbe said : “Thanks to the BrandedU seminars, I found answers to some questions I had been struggling with. Things have become much clearer for me, which makes it easier to make decisions. I finally know what I want with my career.ā
I was so happy to hear this. The fact that the seminars are functioning as ātour guidesā but also that the real-life role models make the women realise, through their personal stories, that they are not alone. We all are going through the same issues and hearing how some of us have dealt with their career challenges can help us reach our own goals.
Jonneke de Zeeuw said: āThe diversity of women speaking at the seminars and of the women participating was something I had never seen before and the reason I joined the BrandedU program.”
We really aim for a diverse group of participants. From professionals to artists, to freelancers, to career women. We all can learn from eachother, and having the group be diverse often offers insights you might not get in a group of similar people doing the same thing. Funny enough we are all still likeminded, we all want more visibility and are all very ambitious.
Personal branding is the answer to the question: What do you want to be known for? So I leave you with one of my favorite quotes of someone aware of how important it is to cleary define who you are. āIf I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.ā ā Audre Lorde (Poet, Writer, Activist).
So are you ready to let people discover what you want to be known for? And do you want :
– To be inspired by real-life female role models
– To find out how you can make yourself more visible and achieve your career goals?
– An amazing networking experience with likeminded women
Lemme know and I will help you take the steps needed to reach your goals!
As an extra, we have made it possible for you to get your photo taken by the amazing photographer Titia Hahne, a perfect way to update your LinkedIn profile!
See you in September!
Newsletter : Why does it hurt so bad?
Did I ever tell you about the time I worked with Whitney Houston?
This week her daughter passed away and she was only 22 years old. It hurt just as bad as when her mother passed away. The media said she was doomed from the start and that she stood no chance. Do you agree?
I don’t. We all have a choice and what I try to do is educate women who feel there is no way that there is always a way.
It’s like the story of these two brothers whose dad was a bad alcoholic. One brother grew up to be a successful carpenter and never drank. The other brother ended up being a drinker as bad as his dad was. When they asked the first brother why he didn’t drink, he said that after he saw what it did to his father, he could never bring himself to even try it. When they asked the other brother, he said that he guessed he learned how to drink on his father’s knee.
I’ve learned that even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. This is why I believe in sharing stories from real models. Because if girls can see it they can be it! So we have some real models on the 7th of September.
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Newsletter : “Ba de ya dancing in September”
“Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders,
While chasing the clouds away.”Ā –Ā Earth Wind & Fire
Our speakers are:
– Anneloes van Gaalen, Owner Indie Brands
– Esther Verweij, Sales and Marketing manager Coatright at Biccs B.V. & Mr. Brandā¢
– Fatima Koning, Area Director Sales & Operations at Regus
– Marieke Heesakkers, Marketing Manager Berkvens Deursystemen
– Sylvana Simons, TV Host en entrepreneur
– Yvonne Nassar, Head of Marketing & Innovation at Amsterdam RAI
– Yvonne van Sark, Partner/Advisor at YoungWorks
– Dr. Yvonne Thompson CBE, entrepreneur
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