Good day to you!
Since publishing the last Local Leadership Newsletter I have decided to publish on a monthly schedule. I have a few other ideas to make it more frequent, but for now you can count on one email a month on the 1st.
As promised the content will continue to evolve in scope and shape but my intention will remain: to encourage, enrich, and empower local leaders through personal insights and expertise sourced from my own studies and professional conversations.
Here’s a quick overview:
Theme: Identity
Being a Visionary
The Alter-Ego Effect
Name Power
Identity is Skin Deep
Strong Com Podcast w/ Amy Pechacek
Final Thoughts
Insist on Yourself
Your feedback is welcome, so if there’s anything about this newsletter that particularly stood out to you, please let me know. I’m also open to other themes you’d like to hear me explore. Feel free to email me at aaron@strongmy.com or comment on this post via Substack. Let’s get to it!
Theme: Identity
Identity
“the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.” (Google)also
“is the qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, and/or expressions that characterize a person or group” (Wikipedia)
Growing up in East Texas, my family spent a lot of time on Lake Tawakoni. As a kid, nothing seemed more fun than jumping into murky brown-green water over and over again. Getting thrown from the tube at 40+ mph, diving for “treasures” buried deep in the mud below, not to mention the peace and quiet of an early morning fish off the dock. While I’m more inclined to spend time poolside or at a nice beach these days, the subject of Identity reminds me a bit of that murky water.
It’s pretty straightforward from the safety of the boat. It’s just a body of water. But I also know there’s an immense amount underneath the surface I can’t see. That’s why some folks avoid it entirely. And others make it part of their lifestyle.
The decision to explore the subject brings to mind the chill my body would feel anytime I’d make the effort to jump in and sink as deep as I could before coming up for air. The deeper you are, the colder the water gets. It doesn’t take long to feel like a fish out of water with a subject like Identity.
But it’s a worthwhile endeavor. After all, you don’t have to be a bass pro to catch a fish, or an Olympian to swim to the buoy and back. We all have the qualities, beliefs, traits, and appearances making up our identity, so why not reflect upon them to a greater degree?
I am always riding the waves of my own identity, looking to make sense of where the wind is blowing so I can better navigate my journey through life.
And while it can feel scary to plunge into the depths of uncharted waters, that’s often where we learn the most.
Being a Visionary
“The problems we have now in communities and societies are going to be resolved only when we are brought together by a common sense that each of us is a visionary. Each of us must come to the realization that we can function and live at the level of vision rather than following some great leader's vision. Instead of looking for a great leader, we are in an era where each of us needs to find the great leader in ourselves.”
- Werner Erhard
I was introduced to the work of Werner Erhard by one of my coaches, Richard Dolan, who worked with him directly. I’m currently reading a book on Werner’s work and am finding him a brilliant thinker. I like this quote because it speaks to identity, leadership, and personal responsibility.
Too often leadership is thought of in the context of an organizational chart when it is actually an approach to life itself.
Erhard has much more to say about leadership and I’m just scratching the surface. I’ll be sure to share the gems I’m able to mine as I continue my studies.
The Alter Ego Effect
The Alter-Ego Effect is a book written by Todd Herman, an author, speaker, and coach who focuses on mental toughness, leadership and peak performance.
I was recently introduced to him and the concept of his book through a 300-day coaching certification program I’m currently involved in. As I learn and apply the theory to my own life, I feel inspired to share it with others in hopes that you too can experience a positive result.
Here’s a snippet from the book:
“Everyone knows that Superman and Clark Kent are the same. But which one is the alter ego?
I’ve asked this question for the past fifteen years, countless times in front of audiences around the world, and 90 percent of the audience immediately yell out, ‘SUPERMAN!’
It sounds right. Because when you think of ‘alter egos,’ you think of superpowers, heroism, and epic battles. All the qualities of a superhero like Superman.
Except–it’s wrong.
The alter ego isn’t Superman; it’s Clark Kent. Superman is the real person. He created the alter ego, mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, as a useful persona to go unnoticed day-to-day on earth and blend in to help him achieve a crucial goal: understanding humans.
Superman would flip between his alter ego and the S on his chest at precisely the moments when he needed each persona the most.”
Since studying the concepts behind The Alter Ego Effect and applying them to my own life, it’s amazing how it does focus and reframe what I’m up to in particular arenas of life. Like Erhard’s quote about becoming a visionary, the creation of an alter-ego I live up to inspires me to make different decisions I otherwise would if I were to just operate on autopilot.
If you’d like to read more, click here.
Name Power
In thinking about alter-egos, I started brainstorming names for what mine would be. Here are the three I’m working with now…which are certainly subject to change over time:
In the domain of Energy (think physical/mental)
Energy identity: Spartan Light
I chose this as a reminder to make decisions how a Spartan athlete would, and “Light” is inspired by what Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest once remarked to Desmond Tutu:
“We are only the light bulbs, Richard, and our job is just to remain screwed in!”
Work identity: 10X Coach
Grant Cardone’s book The 10X Rule has influenced my worklife in a major way, and it serves as a reminder for me that we’re capable of 10X more than what we believe we are, that our goals should be 10X bigger than we typically set them, and that anything we aspire to achieve is likely going to take 10X the amount of effort we believe it will. So take action!
And “Coach” as a reminder to myself on how I aim to show up. A great coach has a masterful understanding of their subject matter, encourages, holds others accountable, and celebrates progress. I am also always coaching myself first.
Love identity: Present Archer
This identity has to do with how I approach love in all aspects of my life. With my family, with my wife, and even strangers. I’m working on practicing being fully present wherever I am and setting targets for myself to demonstrate love in more creative ways.
Now...what is your Alter-Ego name?
What’s in a Name?
While working on the Newsletter I thought it would be fun to ask my friend and brand naming expert Rob Myerson his thoughts on the Alter-Ego subject and how names influence us as people.
Here are his thoughts:
“I'm sure you've heard the Shakespeare line about names—that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Well, he's wrong. (Or at least his character, Juliet, is wrong.) Names DO change how we perceive things. This has been demonstrated scientifically and we experience it in our everyday lives. Did you know Chilean sea bass was originally called Arctic tootfish? Gross. So ask yourself—what's the Chilean sea bass to your Arctic toothfish?"
If you’re interested in learning more on the subject of naming, Rob should certainly be someone you follow and connect with. He has an excellent blog called www.howbrandsarebuilt.com and is the author of the best-selling book Brand Naming.
Identity is Skin Deep
While writing this newsletter I also happened to have a scheduled tattoo appointment, and thought what is a more visceral expression of personal identity than etching it into our skin?
So I decided to ask my friend and artist of my latest tattoo Micah Lewis, owner of Maiden Voyage Tattoo shop in Tyler TX, her thoughts on the connection between tattoos and self-expression. Here’s what she said:
“Tattoos bring your innermost self out, visibly and oftentimes unapologetically. When I have been entrusted with projects for clients who have survived traumas, it is transformative for both of us to see how tattoos can give them back parts of themselves they felt they’d lost. So much of this world can stifle and damage our lives. It’s a chance to help them to be themselves when, so often, others expectations are pushed onto who they are. The tattoos are in many ways symbolic of how they see themselves. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to help my clients fully become themselves whether it’s through growth and change or even just an aesthetic choice.”
Micah’s books open August 8th, so if you like her work, be sure to book soon!
Strong Com w/ Amy Pechacek
In case you missed it, I recently had an excellent conversation with Amy Pechacek, founder of Alpstra Training Solutions which helps individuals discover their purpose, ignite their passion, and develop winning habits.
I spoke with her about her career and a variety of subjects regarding communication, community building and the development of the next generation of leaders.
On the subject of identity, we discussed her READ Personality Type assessment and how she uses it as a tool for teams to better understand each other and as individuals. When we understand ourselves and our own idiosyncratic differences that can be leveraged as unique strengths.
Final Thoughts
The subject of identity can be complex. There is so much yet to be learned and understood about our own biology and the inner workings of the mind. But it can also be so simple. Just look in the mirror! That’s you. What do you see? What’s next?
I think no matter how deep or how shallow we think about who we are it’s important to bring awareness to the fact that we are always being someone, and it is up to us to determine if that person aligns with who we hope and aspire to be.
Before we box ourselves into the labels often placed upon us by our upbringing, our social circle, our beliefs, our culture, and other inputs…what if we allowed ourselves the freedom to break free of the chains that keep us “who we are” and start taking an active, creative approach to becoming the person our life is calling us to become?
Insist on Yourself
“Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another you have only an extemporaneous half possession. That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance