What’s the story with the orange Hawaiian suit?
Overcoming the number one challenge of personal branding
I took two suits to the photoshoot.
A stylish blue business suit and my orange Hawaiian party suit.
When I wore the blue suit I felt restrained, even a bit sad. Like I was retracting into my old self - holding myself back to fit in. I wore a fake smile and I felt a tightness in my chest.
When I wore the orange suit my smile naturally emanated from me. I felt free, alive, a glow shining from inside me. I was poised ready to step up into the truest expression of me.
I really noticed how much what you wear impacts how you feel and are able to express yourself.
As I worked on my personal branded website I browsed over the images. I was naturally vibing more with the photos of me in the orange suit and not surprisingly the photos looked much better.
But I had that sinking feeling - what will people think? A guy barefoot wearing an orange Hawaiian suit - will someone take me seriously?
Honing your own website and personal brand is probably the toughest project you will work on. Putting yourself out there can feel daunting.
How do you present your authentic self?
Throughout my life, I have been a chameleon. Dressing to the customer, to please others and blend in. With different target audiences across individuals, startup founders and corporates, it made me question how I relate to each and be consistent?
Looking at other personal branded websites there was a level of manila that just wasn’t me. I am way more colourful than this.
After peeling back the layers of fear - I realised the answer was simple. I need to ‘be’ me.
I was inspired by Seth Godin’s book ‘Purple Cow’. He says that the key to success is to find a way to stand out. Just like if you saw a purple cow in a field of black and white ones.
Can you imagine seeing a guy in an orange Hawaiian suit at a conference?
Whenever I wear this suit in public I always get attention. It makes people smile and they love to comment ‘great suit mate!’. It’s like you're giving permission for others to be more of their authentic selves by being more outlandish yourself.
My personal brand is all about inspiring the ‘fun’ and ‘joy’ of doing what you love and expressing yourself in life and work. So surely I need to be an example.
And clearly, I am not your conventional guy. Hosting big dress-up parties where I play the lead role as ‘host’ in costume - whether that be the ringmaster or the captain of the Space Pirate ship!
For years I lived a double life turning up to consulting gigs straight-laced while I rocked colourful costumes on the weekend.
I realised it’s my true essence that makes me stand out and enables me to shine and achieve my purpose. My offerings are after all focused on me stepping up to inspire people and businesses to search more within themselves.
As a brand, authenticity is what people engage with most, over and above anything else. And in my case, showing up in an outlandish suit speaks to my purpose. I am leading by example. Just like I hope to inspire everyone to step up into the brightest version of their authentic selves.
Sure, some clients or company’s may find me too wacky! But I only really want to work with clients whose values align with mine.
Or maybe the fuddy-duddy companies actually want more of an injection of ‘Jasper energy and creativity! Perhaps they are ready to take a serious look at their purpose and culture. Maybe I am the guy they need?’
Here is the thing - not everyone is going to love us. But that's ok - many will.
What's the number one thing that holds us back from emanating our brilliance?
I conclude it's ‘fear’. Fear of what others think. So we stay small, we tone ourselves down, we blend in.
So here I stand in my orange Hawaiian suit. Ready to step up into offerings I have created to help you or your business step up into your potential of impact (and fun, joy and growth!).
ps ok so you really want to know the back story of the orange Hawaiian suit?
Post an amicable divorce in 2013 I followed a spiritual path that turned into an adventure of a lifetime.
It began with 10 days of silence at a Vipassana Meditation retreat in the Blue Mountains ( I wrote a blog about it). I then flew off to the Bali Spirit Festival to experiment with the best of all spiritual experiences from the worlds best teachers. Both were immensely healing and transformative experiences.
This led to a 4-month adventure hiking and exploring the Himalayas of Nepal and North India. Fortunately surviving the Nepal Earthquake literally while driving a Royal Enfield motorbike into Kathmandu (that’s another story!).
I ended the trip in Sri Lanka to enjoy some beach time before returning to a corporate role I had lined up (not again!). Exploring beautiful Kandy in central Sri Lanka, I had a moment of inspiration - I should take the opportunity to get a tailor-made party suit. I searched the markets for material I could take to a suit tailor, as they just had the usual greys and browns. The orange Hawaiian material stood out amongst the plethora of materials in the market stall.
I took it to this hole in the wall suit tailor with only enough space for him to work. After some confusion as I tried to explain I wanted a suit made of this material. I explained “I am a party host” - his eyes lit up with a big smile. He took great pride in making this suit for me. Little did he realise the places I would wear this suit. Many dance stages and parties. And now here it is - a little weathered from many festivals, on the website that expresses me to the world! He would be so proud.
