The truth is—you already know this answer. You might just need to peel back a few layers to uncover it. Here’s a process to help you get there
1. Look at Your Career
Make a list of everything you’ve done professionally that you’re incredibly proud of. Don’t overthink—just write down the moments, projects, and milestones that felt meaningful.
2. Look at Your Personal Life
Now do the same thing with your personal life.
- What do you enjoy consuming content about?
- What hobbies or personal projects have lit you up?
- Where do you lose track of time?
3. Revisit Your Past Selves
Sometimes clarity comes from remembering who you were in earlier chapters:
- In college, what were you obsessed with?
- In high school, what did you love?
- In elementary school, what could you not get enough of?
4. Make Connections
Write everything down on notecards or sticky notes and spread them out. See what themes connect. Which words, ideas, or experiences repeat?
My Example
Here’s what this exercise looks like for me:
- Career: I worked in advertising, did communications for an arts high school, and handled marketing and design for a museum.
- Personal Life: I love nostalgia, long walks, and using neuroscience to better understand myself.
- Projects: I launched a culture magazine in New Orleans, cofounded a creative entrepreneurs’ conference, wrote a book about my mental health journey, and make illustrations and memes about daily life.
When I put all this together, I start to see a theme: mental health, creativity, and the pursuit of joy.
Those became my three content pillars and a loose idea of what I want to be known for.
Do the Work
Finally—don’t just think about it. Write, draw, speak, record, design…whatever your creative form is. The only way to discover what you truly want to be known for is to practice, create, and let the patterns reveal themselves.
The point isn’t to have a perfect one-sentence brand right away. It’s to start noticing the threads of who you already are, and then follow them until they lead you to clarity.
