claim your identity

EPISODE NO. 6

OF THE DARING ROMANTICS

you know that infamous question that you get asked at parties —

the one that comes after the obligatory “what’s your name?” and “where are you from?” the question that makes you say what you do for a living… yeah, i used to dread that question.

five years ago, if you would have met me at a random party and asked “what do you do?” i would have cringed inside and given you some random answer that went kinda like this — “i’m a jill of all trades. i’m a real estate agent, i do social media for local businesses, and i do graphic design on the side.”

in all reality — graphic design work was my bread and butter.

real estate was sucking the life out of me and social media clients were fickle as heck.

the money was coming from graphic design.

yet, despite the fact that that’s where the money was coming from — i never felt comfortable claiming my identity as a designer.

i was embarrased — because calling myself a “designer” meant that i had to be good.

and, what if i wasn’t? what if i sucked?

i questioned whether i was worthy of the name “designer”.

and i was so concerned about what my talented designer friends would say about me — what they would think of my work.

it felt much safer to say “i do graphic design on the side.”

after all, if it’s just a side gig— no one expects you to be good. and if you are — well, then, they are pleasantly surprised.

i would rather people be surprised then disappointed.

for years, i let shame / fear / people’s opinions keep me in a corner.

until one day, the light went on and i realized,

“I AM A DESIGNER. I NEED TO SAY I AM A DESIGNER.”

this moment —of claiming my identity —changed everything for me. when i began to claim who i was — a graphic designer — i gave myself the permission to grow, to expand in my capacity, to be known, to act and think differently, and to be successful.

because — there is power in a name.

i went from sheepishly saying “i do graphic design on the side” to boldly saying “i’m a graphic designer”. claiming my identity was my game changer— it allowed me to go from “barely making it” to building third story apartment up to a be successful web + branding studio with a client list that spans the globe.

when i claimed my identity— i gave myself the freedom to know how i was, know my worth, and recognize the value i had to add to this world.

this week on the daring romantics, i’m pulling back the curtains and going in-depth into how claiming your identity can transform your life, business, world, and even finances. and why it’s so important for us to kick fear and shame to the curb in order to claim our identity an be who we were created to be.

throughout the episode, i’ll walk you through all the steps and share some tricks that i took in order to get from barely making it as a designer to a wildly successful business owner. and, don’t worry— whether you’re an entrepreneur or not — there’s something in this episode for everyone.

cause, at the end of the day — we’re all human, all in the process of becoming, and all here for a divine purpose with big dreams inside of us.

there’s power in a name, my friend.

tune in on iTunes.

CLAIM WHO YOU WANT TO BE UNTIL YOU BECOME IT.
AND DON’T LET FEAR STEAL OPPORTUNITY FROM YOU.

cheers and xo’s,

LC