The Ryan Hanley Show - How Faith and Branding Can Ignite Your True Potential

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

In this inspiring episode, Belle Rape takes us on her journey of leaving behind the constraints of corporate life to build a business rooted in authenticity and faith. She dives deep into how reclaiming her identity through personal branding not only transformed her career but also reignited her passion for life. Whether you're feeling stuck in a role that doesn’t align with who you are or looking for ways to make your brand a true reflection of your values, this episode is packed with actionable insights and motivational stories to help you take that first bold step toward your true potential. Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryan_hanley Website: https://ryanhanley.com What You'll Learn in This Episode: How Belle used faith to navigate the challenges of leaving corporate life. Why personal branding is essential—not just for entrepreneurs, but for anyone looking to make an impact. The key differences between corporate conformity and entrepreneurial authenticity. Practical steps to start reclaiming your identity and building a brand that aligns with your purpose. How embracing failure, taking action, and trusting the process can lead to extraordinary growth. Quotes to Inspire You: “Your personal brand is the foundation of who you are. It’s how you show the world your uniqueness.” “We’re all designed to be a light in the world—your brand helps illuminate that.” “It’s not what you do that makes you unique; it’s how you do it.” Connect with Belle: Instagram: @bellerape Website: blueprintbybelle.com LinkedIn: Belle Rape

Hello everyone and welcome back to the show. We have a tremendous conversation for you with Belle Rape. Belle is a branding specialist. She helps you find your brand, find your style, and earn what you are worth. Belle is an incredibly dynamic individual. This is a wonderful conversation. And if you are struggling to make a connection

with your audience, with your prospects, with your marketplace, with your peers, inside your industry, if you are struggling to make that connection, oftentimes it's because your brand is misaligned with what you are trying to achieve. And Bell helps you find that connection. You're going to love this episode. It is packed full of both high-level insights and ideas as well as tactical guides to get your brand where it needs to be to earn what you are worth. You're going to love Bell Rape just as much as I loved this conversation. With that, let's get on to Bellrape. I know I should I should have hit record I was actually when I was researching for the show I um I was watching like a YouTube video of a show that you were on and they did that like you it was like got you sitting down and getting your cup of coffee and they're like you didn't realize

and um I I have a cat now for some reason for everyone listening at home, if you hear a random meow in the background, it's because I now have a cat. I'm not necessarily a cat person.

Nothing against that, just not necessarily. But, my girlfriend got a cat. She brought the cat here and my children fell in love with the cat. So then she was like,

I can't take these, this cat away from your kids so now the cat lives with me. So then did she have to get another cat? Is that how that worked? No, it just gives her a reason to visit. Because you're not enough.

All right, let's get into the interview. So I have my first question for you is, you say on your website that leaving corporate was an act of reclaiming yourself. I would love for you to talk about exactly what that means and why you felt that way. Yeah, absolutely. Well, first of all, thanks so much for having me on. We talked about before we started that, like, we kind of matched. And intentionally, I want to be like, yeah, right. I called Ryan. I didn't call him and tell him what to wear and he didn't call me. So I really love this. And that kind of conversation, I never could have gotten away with in corporate America, but that's my personality.

So I say, yeah, I am a corporate dropout. I used to be so ashamed of that because I felt like I just completely failed at my last corporate job. And by that, I part of that was, yes, I lost my identity. I was trying to fix myself into this. It was classic square peg round hole situation that every day for three, three and a half years, I was trying to be something that a leader in a position I was never meant to be in the position was never meant for me. I took it because it kind of seemed like the right fit at the right time. And I was chasing money. And I was like, I can do this. And after I got into it, it was just drudgery. And I was just like, I can't continue to do this. I truly lost myself in that position trying to find and figure out something that I was never meant to be. And that is heartbreaking, especially if you're someone who is type A, a go-getter, very driven, never says no.

Like, I had no boundaries either. And that was another part of losing myself is that I was working like seven days a week, which is stupid. Dumb. I mean, dumb. As passionate as I am about the work that I do now, and I love what I do, I don't work seven days a week because your girl needs a rest. Everybody needs a rest. So, yeah, I was just so unbelievably lost. And I'm so fortunate that I was able to kind of reverse engineer finances and what I was doing to be able to leave that job, thankfully.

Thankfully, thankfully. And figure out who I am again. The good news is that you're in good company. I also have dashed myself up against the rocks of corporate America multiple times only to realize that I was not built for that world. I think to your point, what I found myself doing was getting good at playing the corporate game versus getting good at what I was supposed to be doing in my role. It was like, how do I play politics around this person? And how do I position myself here so that the thing that I want gets

done? Not, let me create the best thing in the position that I was in. Let me focus on my work. Let me dial in. It's, it's okay. If I want to get this little thing here and take this territory and add more headcount, I got to come around here and smooth this print. And I'm like, and I found the same thing. I'm like, I don't want to do an oily thing. Most of these people are assholes. Like, I don't even want to like, I got to kiss this guy's butt and I got to go to her cocktail party and I got to be on this task force. And I'm like, I don't want to like, I got to kiss this guy's butt and I got to go to her cocktail party and I got to be on this task force. And I'm like, I don't want to do any of those things. Like I, I hated every second of it. And the part that I would love for you to dig in a little more is I also felt shame

when I not fitting into that world. I felt like, well, all the people everyone admire have these, you know, CMO of this position or CEO of this company. And that's how you get known. And that's how people respect you. And when I couldn't fit into that world after multiple tries, I also I had that shameful feeling of like, what's wrong with me? So, like, how did you deal? How did you come through that? Was it did you have good mentors? Did you do mindset work? Like, how did you come through that kind of natural evolution of feelings to get to where you are today? not a Christmas story. What is it? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. So Clark Griswold,

he's wrapping up his last few days of the Christmas year or of the year. He's getting to go on Christmas vacation. And the big boss comes by and there's like all of the peons following him in a row. And he starts out like, yeah, Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Kwanzaa. I mean, all things about how me it's at the end of the line he's like kiss my a kiss and a do so super booty I'm like that's how it goes that's how it goes I feel like it's such a game and it really did get to be a game and I found myself talking differently to different people in the company and I'm like why can't it just be me? I just want to be me. And so, Ryan, I kid you not. So when I left that job, I put my head in the sand for a few weeks. And by meaning that, like, I just kind of like sat on the couch and I was like, I can't, I can't bell right now. I'm not even at my best to bell enough. And that is not me. So I just, I needed to rest. I

just needed to rest. So I allowed myself that grace period just to rest. And thankfully, like, I was able to do that. I know, like, my husband and I don't have children. So I didn't have like that to continue or to contend with. I mean, being a parent is hard. It is hard. And then, you know, so I was able to like feed myself and clothe myself and take care of the basic necessities and figure it out. And I know that was all God's planning. It was his divine timing.

It was his plan for my life to be able to do that. So I did it for a couple of weeks. And then I was like, OK, I know I can do this again. So I started just kind of networking again and talking to people. The more I was really open and honest with how I was feeling, the more of those similar stories started coming out. And I started talking to more entrepreneurs and people who are really trying to break out of the corporate world and saying, what is, I started asking those deeper questions. I

wasn't afraid anymore to ask those deeper questions. I wasn't afraid anymore to be like, what if? What if I leave? What if I fail? What if I tank? I just started asking them those questions like, how are you feeling? How does this make you you feel I wanted to really get to the core of like finding my tribe honestly we all want to find someone who is similar to us like please acknowledge that my feelings are legit it's like legitimize my feelings right now what I'm going through and if it's not like okay then tell me that it's that it's not like what I should how I could be feeling in the moment what was your experience so I started asking more of those questions um I just allowed myself to rest and then I put myself back out there and by the grace of God I just I got positions like contract jobs and which was great and I was like oh I think I can do this

dude and then bro bro let me just say it like kiddos say it bro COVID hit had I known that COVID was coming I probably would not have had enough gumption to leave my job I still I would have still been there I would have suffered through it. But I just took it as an opportunity, like, hey, the world is shutting down, I can figure out a business to make this work now, because I know I can do my job from just about anywhere. You don't need me sitting in your office, you don't need me to hold down real estate that you don't want to pay for anyway, to have a position to do my job with excellence. So yeah, I just kind of, I got my feelings validated, had a good cry, got a snack,

put my big girl panties on, straightened my crown and kept going. I love that. I don't know how I didn't know this before, but there's one phrase in the Bible that is written 365 times, and it's do not be afraid. Do not be afraid is written 365 times, and I don't think that 365 times is a coincidence, right? Every day, do not be afraid. He will guide you. I don't think that 365 times is a coincidence, right? Every day, do not be afraid.

He will guide you. And I think the fact that faith is such a large part of both your business and your life is incredible. I think that more people, I hope more people have the strength, the guts to talk about their faith and to integrate their faith into their business, whatever that may be. Right. I try to as much as I possibly can. How has that aspect, how has faith played a role in guiding this this new chapter? Right. It's all over your Web site. It's part website. It's part of your message. I've heard

you mention it many times in other places. Like, it's obviously a huge part of your life. And how do you use your faith to guide you through, you know, becoming an entrepreneur, coming out of the corporate world? Yeah, yeah. So in the corporate world, it really wasn't something that I was open to talking about as much. It was kind of poo-pooed. It just, you know, it was never a hard-written state and rule, like, do not talk about your faith. Do not talk about, you know, your beliefs. It just wasn't something that I felt like I could be super open about. No one was really receptive to it. But it really dawned on me one day when I think I was listening to another podcast. I can't even tell you what it was. I listened to so many podcasts and listened to so many books that there was a phrase in it that said, you know,

at the end of our life, we all want to get to that point where you get to the pearly gates and you hear God say, well done, my good and faithful servant. Done is still action. And I knew that I had to continue taking action on my life. There was still so much to be done. I just didn't know what. And maybe this is it. Like, I feel like I've hit the jackpot doing what I do right now. And because I get to talk about my faith, I get to be open about that. And I've lost followers. I know there's clients that I haven't gotten because of it. Look, I don't care. I don't care because at the end of the day, I know I'm going to be provided for.

I am still, I'm alive. I'm healthy. If I weren't alive, I know where I'm going, which like, that's not a bad place to be either. I'm going to heaven. Really? Not bad. So I kind of, I really try and take that step back. And it's a hard look at what does my life look like without my faith and without my religion? I'm, I'm dust. I'm dead. There's nothing. And when I get to talk about my faith and my religion, I know that I light up. I get to ignite myself and ignite others to have that ability to go out and do what they were designed and created to do. I was designed and created to

do this. And when I work on personal brands with my clients, I get to ignite them to go out and do what they were designed to do. And when I put it in those terms, they completely understand it. Like, look, we're all, we're all matches. When you strike a match, that is your personal brand, like coming to life. And then you have this confidence in what you are doing and who you are, which could be the backbone, like you lean on your faith, you lean on your family, you lean on your friends. That gives you that confidence to shine even brighter, even brighter to go out and illuminate the world that we are in. There's so much darkness. Like, why contribute to that darkness when we are all light?

Go and be a light and do what you were designed to do. Yeah. So I get to talk about my faith and it's an honor too. It's a blessing too. And we're called to talk about our faith. As Christians, we're called to talk about our faith and build God's kingdom. So I have a platform and I'm going to do it. I love that. One of the things that

I find so interesting about people who have not embraced branding, have not built a brand, who fight the idea of doing that type of work, even what I think is kind of derivative work, which is marketing, right? It's very tough to do marketing without a brand. Almost impossible. It often doesn't work. You're just kind of wasting dollars. But when people ask me about it, and I'm not a branding expert in any regard, my side is much more on the tactical marketing side. I've been a CMO and a CEO. And like, I don't, it's such a struggle for me because to me, brand is so obvious. And when people ask me about it, I'm like, it's a filter.

It's the filter. Like you want to know why you have crappy clients? Because your brand isn't strong. You want to know why people struggle to buy from you? Because your brand isn't strong. You want to know why your closing message doesn't connect with prospects, with vendors, with partners, because your brand isn't strong.

When your brand is strong, clear, and actually is a representation of who you are or your business is, then the people who connect with that message just self-select in. They're like, yes, yeah, that's the one right there. That's me. I want that.

Like that either, whether it's filling a gap in their life that they don't have, or it just immediately connects with who they are. And it's so obvious to me, it's so many people struggle to grasp that concept. Why do you think that is? Why is it that companies will go spend $100,000 on a marketing campaign with a brand that's mushy and gray and all over the place and antiquated and like, and then they wonder why they're getting this terrible ROI when it's no one knows what to connect to, right? Because you spend money on a fancy graphic for a Facebook ad, you think that's just going

to change everything? Like, what is it about the concept of branding that it feels like people either get it, or they don't? And how do we start to turn the people that don't into believers? Right? I mean, that is an amazing question. So I think people still, like two part, people still think branding is for influencers. So they're like, I don't want to be the Kardashians. I don't want to be the next, you know, Brady family, or, you know, whatever that influencer is. They don't think that they want to be that influencer status. When I say influencer status, I don't want that either. I want to have a super strong brand that magnetizes my tribe, my audience of people towards me.

I want to be attracted to them. I want to fill the gap of what they need, which is what you said. So I think that the pendulum is starting to swing a little bit more towards a more positive sentiment of having a personal brand because I truly think that like the statistics are getting out there. So 70, 74, 75% of Americans trust someone with a personal brand. The higher the trust need, the more you need to have a personal brand. So what I mean by that is so someone like a, if you're going to hire a doctor, dentist, lawyer, most of the time, the first place that someone is going to go to is your social media, you know, your look for you on a website, they're going to see they want to know who you

are. If I'm going to have a surgeon, cut me open. I want to know that they're not hanging out in the club the night before. I don't need someone trying to cut me open with a laser with like a shaky hand. You know, like, I want to know who they are. What kind of bedside manner do you have? What's your reputation? So your your personal brand is it's your foundation of who you are. And most people still have that idea that they don't need a personal brand because they aren't an entrepreneur. They aren't a small that idea that they don't need a personal brand because they aren't an entrepreneur. They aren't a small business owner. They don't have a product or service that they're selling for themselves.

When in fact, the opposite is so true. If you're sitting in a job in a cubicle, if you ever have any hopes or aspirations of moving to a higher position, you need a personal brand because you need to start developing that voice within you and have a public place to share your expertise. You need to show that you're an expert in the industry. So also, I think that having a personal brand is extremely important for teenagers. Look, I have nieces and nephews who are teenagers now. And while I'm not a huge advocate for them being on social media, we can talk about that in a little bit. Because social media can be very dangerous. But it is a

way for them to start building their digital footprints and their digital resume. And they need to do it in a way that is well thought out starting when they are young. Look, I didn't have social media growing up. Thank the Lord. I didn't have social media growing up because so many stupid things would have been captured. That now that stuff follows you. It's never permanently erased. So if you want to get into college, get that job. I've turned down people for jobs because they looked great on paper on their

resume, but I looked at their social media and I was like, nope, nope, nope, nope. I can't work with that and I'm not going to. So developing your personal brand is the foundation of who you are. It allows you to show your expertise in whatever industry you want to be in, to talk about, to show. And your marketing is all the pretty things. It's the aesthetics of your brand, which will rarely, if ever, be right if you don't have your personal brand completely solidified. It just won't. You can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on your logo

like you were talking about, but it just won't be right unless you know who you are. Yeah. So your personal brand is your idea. Yeah. No, I love your idea of almost like brand training for teenagers that they have a clear picture of like, because the company, I just exited from a company in November of last year. And, you know, we were constantly hiring. I never wanted to see a resume. me. I just assumed that like, look, like you're, you're interviewing for the job. Like you're

probably like a reasonably intelligent human being or it was insurance industry. So the bar is pretty low. Sorry, all my insurance friends. But you know, what I wanted to see was like, who is this person? Are they going to come in and be a problem? Like, are they going to go all like, you know, wokey on us when they get in here? Are they going to cause problems? Are they, you know, like, what are they doing? Are they going to take a ton of time off? Like, you know, we're, we're a startup, like maybe in a company of a thousand, that's perfectly fine. It's all good. But like, this is grind time for us. And when we're hiring people, we're telling them like, you're not gonna work seven days a week. So I completely agree,

but you're going to have to put in a solid 45. And those 45 are gonna have to be dedicated hours, like you can't be screwing around, like, we need to get things done. And we can go to their social media profiles. And you would have a real clear picture, like, maybe they work out a lot, maybe they have a hobby they're super into, like, I don't need to know you're great at the thing I need you to do today, because I can train you for that. I need to know you're great at the thing I need you to do today because I can train you for that. I need to know you have the skills, character, qualities of someone who can become good at my company. And I think today that is, especially for hiring, as more and more important than it is the actual skills to the job. Obviously, you know, if you're blasting rockets into space, you need to know, be a rocket scientist. But like outside of some certain very technical professions, most things can be trained or learned.

And what we really need to know, I think today is who are you? What am I getting? Right. And our company cultures today, especially in a remote world, and I'd love your feedback on this. In a remote world, your brand, your brand is oftentimes goes hand in hand with your culture. And if it doesn't, that causes all kinds of problems. But if it does, your brand is going hand in hand with your culture. So if you have a brand that represents who you are, and that

matches the culture, then the types of people that want to work in that environment, they're the ones that interview, right? I have a lot of friends that say, especially in the insurance, I came out of the insurance industry. That's kind of the industry that I've been in for the last 20 years. And every little boy's dream, just so you know. The problem is you develop this. Here's the thing. One, insurance is phenomenal. I love bus and chops and everyone who's in the industry that listens knows that it's fun to make fun of ourselves but uh you develop this arcane like language like you like there's like a language to insurance that once you learn it it doesn't apply anywhere else so like if i were to take there's it's not transferable in any regard because the words are you it doesn't matter

doesn't matter but here's my point i have all these friends and people, and I get asked to speak a lot, and they'll be like, oh, you know, you say all the time that hiring is easy. And I was like, yeah, hiring was easy. And they're like, wow, we can't find anybody. There's no good talent out there. And I was like, that's because your brand blows. Who would want to work there? Like, who would want to work there?

Like, look at it. Your logo looks like it was made in a dot matrix, by a dot matrix machine in the 70s, right? Your office smells like mothballs. Your building hasn't been updated since the 90s, right? Like, who's like, I can't wait to go work at that place. That place looks awesome. You know what I mean? Like, there's no, your social media stinks. There's enough or non-existent, like no one knows what they're

getting. So they don't want to come in. So I would love for you to maybe expand upon your thoughts of all this little diatribe that I went on. And, and really I'd love for you to connect kind of this idea of brand and culture and, and how it equates to the people that we ultimately find. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I said it, I previously said it that we ultimately find. Yeah, yeah. Well, and I said it, I previously said it, like your brand attracts your tribe. We are, as much as we think we're like business to business or business to consumer, customer directly, we're still human.

We have to have that human interaction. We were designed that way. God designed us that way, very specifically to want that human interaction. And I designed that way. God designed us that way, very specifically to want that human interaction. And I think that, you know, the pandemic elevated that or escalated that in a manner that we crave that human connection. So whether we're in the same office space or not, we still crave that human connection. Like I love having these, you know, Zoom calls with clients because you see parts of expression when you actually get to see someone versus just talking to them. So having a brand and having a well curated brand of what you see on your social media

feed is what you're expecting to get also. So you want to be real, you want to be authentic. So there there does definitely have to be that connecting point. You don't want to meet someone in person and be like, this is not this is this is not connecting the dots for me at all. So you want to make it seem as appealing as possible to your audience. Part of your brand is knowing your audience. Your brand is not to serve you. It's not to serve Belle. My brand, Belle, is not to serve Belle. Ryan's brand is not to serve Ryan. It is to serve other people. What you do is a service. It is a product for other people. You've got to keep that in mind because that's the way that you attract the people

who want what you have to offer, whether it's a service or product. The fact is that, you know, I'm not doing anything revolutionary. How I do it is revolutionary because I'm the only one doing it the way that I do it. And the same with you. So I'm attracting the people who are like-minded, who have something that they want to

engineer, re-engineer, reconfigure within themselves because they see something in me that they want a part of that if they're not already like it. Or I attract people who are like me. they're like well I have this I just don't know how to bring it out on social media so we all want that human attraction it is that human attraction that really brings us together and if we're not serving others and showing up in that way we're never going to attract them So do it in an attractive manner to attract other people. Everybody's attractive manner is different. You know, mine is, you know, I put a little, I put some mascara on and lip gloss on and I wear, I love clothes.

So I dress in a way that attracts my audience. Your audience is different. Everyone's audience is different. They are seemingly okay with me wearing a dirt brown sweatshirt. A lot of you movie people. Although I think we agreed it's called Earth Tones, but yeah. They're Earthy Tones. Well, I want the audience to stop for a second and go back.

And I'd love for you to expand on this thought because this is so powerful and I love the way you put it. What you're doing isn't what makes you unique. It's how you do it because it's specific to you. Can you expand on that particular thought? Because I think that nuance is so incredibly important and very powerful. Yeah, yeah. So I mean, there's thousands of other people out there doing what I do. Honestly, you know, again, like I'm not Elon Musk. I don't have that brain. I'm not sending, again, like I'm not Elon Musk. I don't have that brain. I'm not sending rockets into space.

I'm fine with that. But I am one bell. I'm only one bell. So how I do something truly is, it's my personality. It's how I come to life. It's how I get to illuminize myself that I get to then shine that light onto other people. It's how I get to illuminize myself that I get to then shine that light

onto other people. It's what sets me apart. It's my uniqueness because of my personality. It's how I speak. It's the tone that I speak. It's, you know, I'm a little bit jovial with most of my life and I'm bubbly. So I attract those people who want that. And consequently, I repel the people who don't want that. And that repelling was a lot of in the corporate world. I did great in an agency environment. I've worked in an ad agency environment and I did great in that environment because we were so creative and we were always thinking. And there was a lot of other people in that environment like me we were all like minded and we got the job done but a corporate environment the corporate environments that I was in is a little bit more buttoned up and that just was really confining to me so I wasn't able to really have the bell personality every day and in every situation that I wanted. So I knew like there

was something that I was repelling it. Like internally, I was repelling it. So I knew that came out in an external manner. So yeah, I think that back to your original question, I mean, we're not doing anything that's super original, but it's how we do it. It's our personality that comes to life. We allow your personality to come to life, and you're going to attract the people I want to share an anecdote with you. And because it's my show, I can do whatever I want. No, I'm just kidding. Well, yes, but no, I think that. But I think, you know, talking to your corporate to the corporate environment piece, and there's a lot of people that listen to the show who are ambitious, driven people who

are stuck in corporate situations. So I'm sharing this story so that they understand. I think a lot of times corporate environments will suck you in because they'll tell you, hey, we love how you're bubbly. We love your energy. We love your viewpoint on the world. And we need that here. And I think they honestly believe it when they say it. And I'm talking about they as this big entity because the people who live and are successful in those environments, particularly the middle and lower levels of those environments, oftentimes have assimilated like the Borg. And it becomes this groupthink methodology. And what's funny is my company that I told you I exited from in November, the company that purchased me

when they purchased me, that was the pitch that I got, right? You're honest, you're upfront, you think forward, you know, visionary, all this kind of stuff, you have these unique ideas on how things should be done. And, and we've been around for 50 years. And we need that we need that in here. And we're gonna, you know, and they added me to the executive team. And I got invited to one executive meeting, and then I was never asked back team and I got invited to one executive meeting. And then I was never asked back. And in that meeting, um, I'm sitting there and this is my first one. And I'm like, Oh, I want to contribute. And I want to be part of the team. And, and I also can't help myself. I have, um, I, my brain is broken in a lot of ways. And one of those ways

is like, I can't not participate. Like if i have a thought that i think can add value it's probably a better corporate move to just keep that shit to myself but i can't do that so they roll out this new brand and they're all so excited and it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and um i know where this is fucking terrible it was the worst, god-awful, like, lack of energy, like, like, like, the guys who really need those ED pill commercial things, it's what I think they deal with every day. That's what I imagine when I think of this brand, is like a guy struggling with ED. There's just no gum shit. Not to get gross. I don't know why that's the example that came to my head.

I apologize. But it was just that wheat, that that it was just nothing to it so so they go do the whole thing and i stood up and i said i kind of like the original brand better and they're like what and i was like yeah it's old and it looks like it was made in the 80s but it's also got a ton of character to it like and everybody knows it it's immediately recognizable it's been around for 50 years like you know and I think we could play on like this how it is like got you know 17 different features to it and it's like this weird thing I was like but it's kind of got some personality I was like this has no personality like no one is gonna look at that

and feel emotionally connected to it and then I sat down and it was like I just draw a bomb in the middle like no one knew what to say like nobody that like they're looking around and I started this and I started to get that feeling of like I probably should have kept my mouth closed because then like you know someone in the hallway was like you know I was really really really bold of you to come in like that you know like they're trying to like pump me up and I'm like that means I'm fucked like I'm completely screwed like it was not the right thing to do I should have never shared my opinion and then I was never invited back to another meeting but um I it's funny like you you know point, like, I think I have two thoughts on that.

At the time, I initially felt bad. Not because, one, I felt like I had hurt the people's feelings who created the brand. It's not their fault that they did a terrible job. Because I think they were probably given a group think vision and they were trying to mash this group think vision the best they could. Like they're little untalented people. The work product they came out with was god awful and still is. But, you know, it's not their, I don't want to blame them.

I didn't want to make them feel bad. I thought I was helping. And I think I could have conveyed the message better. But what I took away, and this goes to your branding, is that this is who I am, right? They wanted this. This is who I am. They got exactly what they wanted. And if they don't actually want it, and they don't invite me back again, I'm going to be okay with that. Because I'm not gonna make the mistake that I made in previous lives, with that because I'm not going to make the mistake that I made in previous lives where I kind of succumbed to the Borg and allowed myself to be

boxed in. Like I'd rather be the black sheep than just fit in with the crowd and buy along like everyone else. You have taken that and created this amazing brand. And guys, if you go to Bell's website and check out the work that you do and how you present yourself, it's phenomenal. Like, how do the people who believe what we're talking about, right? They're bought in, they're listening to you, they believe it.

Where do they start with this? How do you start to do as we started with, how do they start with this? How do you start to do as we started with? How do they start to reclaim themselves if maybe they don't have the full power today to go all the way? They're not just going to jump out of their corporate job today. They're not really going to make that move. But they want to get started. They want to start to build. And I know you're not advocating for that.

But they want to get start. They want to start to build. And I know you're not advocating for that, but right. They want to get started. How would you, is it start playing around with an Instagram channel? Is it maybe start journaling? Like how do they start to kind of get their hands around what they would want their brand to be and play around with it a little bit? Yeah. Well, let me back up just a second. And there was something that really hit me. I just like, oh, stick a knife in and twist it and pour salt in it and all the things. First of all, if someone asks you your opinion on something, they have got to be prepared for what you say. You can have your delivery, be honest and kind. And I mean, I learned that one the hard way in my 20s. Because I did something very similar. I was in an ad agency, and the designers asked me what I thought of an ad. And

I was just like, yeah, I don't get it. Like, I could have been a little bit more tactful. But I was like, I don't get it. And they were like, what do you mean you don't get it? And I was like, I don't get it. Like I know the brand, but I don't understand what you're trying to say with this ad. And so again, I could have been a little bit more tactful, but I knew I hurt their feelings. Like it, these were senior designers. They'd been around the block many times, knew what they were doing, created award-winning campaigns, and this just missed the mark because they were like, what do you mean you don't get it? I was like, I don't get it. And so they restarted. But if someone asks your opinion, give them what, tell them what you think and be kind. You can still be honest and kind in your delivery. If you're not invited to any more

meetings, fine. But I was just so triggered by what you said because I have done the same thing so many times. I haven't been invited back to those meetings and my feelings were hurt because I wasn't invited back to those meetings. But I've since had time to reflect and go, I wasn't invited back because I gave them my opinion. I'm not a yes man. I'm not. And if you want to hire me to work on your personal brand, like, I won't be friends with you. I will love you. I am your biggest cheerleader because I want you to succeed. But I'm not your yes man. I have done that for so many years. And I know what it's like. I know what it's like for people just to say yes to me. And I'm like, no, I want you to be

honest. So always be honest. You've got to be honest with yourself. So let me answer your question. If you feel like you have something else in you, like if there's another product or service that you want to go in on, start small. Look through your Instagram feed, your Instagram feed, your Pinterest, all of your social media follows a very specific algorithm. It feeds you the things that you are interested in. So can you find a common thread of what you're looking at that's something that you're interested in from a business perspective? You know, you want to look at those things. When I left my job, seriously, I was my last corporate job, I was a shell of myself. And it took me a while to say, okay, well, maybe I'm just gonna, I'm gonna blow everything up, I'm gonna burn the ships,

and I'm gonna do something completely different. And I was like, what do I want to do? And I never landed on something that I really felt as passionately about as marketing and branding. Like it's in my DNA. It's in my blood. I'm one of probably the very few people who went to school for something and is still doing something in that vein. So it just took me a while. Like, take a minute, breathe. And like, what do I really, what do I love? No one's asking you to do it for the rest of your life. Come on. We don't live in that generation anymore. I mean, my parents stayed in their jobs for 30, 40 years. No one's asking you to do that anymore. You have an opportunity to do multiple things, But also don't hop around every like year or so, like,

or every six months. Figure out what you really want to do and have your why. What is your why? I do what I do because I want other people to go out and do what they were designed to do with excellence, with an impact, making an impact to build God's kingdom. That's my ultimate why. This is why I was designed. So just take those baby steps. Like it doesn't have to be anything massive. Create a vision board. Like there's nothing wrong with creating a vision board that have actionable steps to make those things come to life. People will allow you to work for them for free. Believe it or not, they will allow you to do this. Some places will give you a little baby paycheck or there's some perks to doing something. Like if you think you want to be a sports analyst, go shadow someone

for the day. I had so many internships growing up, but such fun experiences. Like I was a DJ one summer because I wanted to be on the radio. You're scratching all ones and twos? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. But it was classic rock. So I was this like, this is, I was 18 years old, long, long, long, long hair. Like, but I worked at a classic rock station. They were like, do you even know what classic rock is? And I was like, yeah, I do. But I worked at a classic rock station. They were like, do you even know what classic rock is? And I was like, yeah, I do. So I did it.

I was morning drive time radio personality with these old guys. I mean, they were like in their 40s, Ryan. They were ancient. They were signed most like you guys are so old. And now I'm that age. I'm like, yeah i know if my uh my kids the other day said so i'm 43 and my kids uh the other day made a reference to me being old and i'm like i had to like stop for a sec because i was like in your in my head i'm still a kid like i still

think about myself like a kid you know because i'm like i look at my dad he's like 68 you know what i mean i mean he's old you know i'm. He's old. My kids are looking at me calling me old. I'm like, I'm still a kid. What are you talking? I still listen to rap music, you motherfucker. You know, I don't know. You know, it's just funny. It's funny how all that works. But no, I think your I think your point is is dead on. And I really like the idea of like, if you want to be this other thing or a hobby, or if you think a hobby could become a side hustle, you know, one of the barriers that I try to break down when I talk to people is there's this, especially in suburban America, and I think

this is particularly true with men, although it may be true with women, I just deal with a lot more men, is that the idea of a side hustle or a second job feels somehow like they're failing, right? Like, if they, if, you know, because, because I had a buddy, actually, the sports analyst thing is what, is what picked this up for me, is he, he, he really loves sports, and he likes talking about sports, and he's like, you know, I've always wanted to do, like, a, an Instagram channel where I broke down, you know, I think he's like, I think he's like a Giants fan or whatever, but not just them. And, and I just was like, so, so go do it. And he's like, you know, what? And I'm just like, dude, this is like the, I was like, this is like the easiest thing in the world for you to do. Literally buy, you can, you, you, you need a, you need a tripod for your camera. It'll cost you $2 on TikTok. And you literally have everything you need to do analysis of games and throw it up on Instagram and see if people like it. Here's the best part. Do it for six months. And if no one likes it, get you, you can do, you can just shut it down. And if they like it, this is like your favorite thing.

And like you said, you can test branding. And that's the beauty. I feel like people, because of the law, and I'd love for you to maybe just expand on this as we kind of run to the end of our conversation here. people that the permanent nature of what we put online, that every single thing we put up needs to be curated and on, you know, on brand and perfect. And, you know, and when you look at the people who grow the fastest, who have the most influence, the most, you know, engagement with their content, yeah, they have some of that curated, highly produced stuff, but it is always mixed in with like, look at Gary Vaynerchuk. This game tests more crazy ideas in social media,

and he just throws it out there. And he'll even tell you some of the stuff doesn't work, and then he doesn't do it again. And it's still out there. The crazy post that didn't work it's still sitting in his feed yeah but no one even no one cares and like I guess you know I don't know that I even have a question coming out of that I just I feel so passionately about like just do something like there's no reason to sit every day with this anxiety and this sense of miss between, you know, like someone asked me one time.

Actually, it was my son, my older son. My kids go to a Catholic school and my older son enjoys the faith side of it. My younger son does not. But my older son loves that is really, really enjoys the faith side of it. And he was asking me, like, what do you think hell is, Dad? Do you think hell is, like, really like a pit of fire? And I said, no, I do not. I said, I think hell is when you get to the gates of St. Peter,

the version of you that God intended is standing there waiting for you, and you have to measure yourself against it. And hell are the people who look at what they could have been and can't handle the difference and um I don't know that that's true or not that's just the way that I visualize it but I was like the only way to get to be that version of you is to do shit if you're just standing you know sitting in place like yeah and it just it kills me. Yeah, yeah. Same, same. I, I don't sit still like there. There are moments where I'm like, OK, I need I need a break.

Like, so I ran this past year. This was my husband's challenge and I somehow adopted it along with multiple of our other friends. He was in a run, the Spartan trifecta this year. Do you know the Spartan races are? Yeah. Okay. So it's like running mixed with all these obstacles. And so our goal is to do the trifecta this year.

So we did the Beast this past weekend, which was basically a half marathon with 30 obstacles. So we did that Saturday. So Sunday or yesterday, I was like, I need a minute. I just need to like sit down and veg out for a second. So I did that. Like let yourself rest. But if you have an inkling of something that you want to try, what is the worst? Ask yourself what's the worst that could happen? What is the worst? Are you okay with that? Are you harming yourself? Are you harming others? If the answer is no, okay, then go try it.

Like, life is too short. You could create something amazingly beautiful that is going to impact other people's lives. Like, because I took a chance on adopting my husband's goals this year, I have deeper friendships because of it. Because our friends did it. Like, this beautiful group of people who I know, if I needed them at 3 or 4 a.m. in the morning, they would be here immediately.

So without saying yes to something, like, I don't know if I would have developed those friendships in that manner. Same with the business that I have right now. If I hadn't said yes, then I wouldn't be here. I'd be in another job, not as happy as I am right now. I would be thriving. I know I would be thriving, but not like I am right now.

Like, look, I'm not the richest person on the planet, but I am so rich in happiness and I'm so fulfilled by what I'm doing. And I love what I'm doing so much that the money is a byproduct of that, that then I get to use and use in different manners to go influence others and build God's kingdom. Like, win-win, win-win.

Go do something. It's not permanent. If you hate it, just like the example with your friend, like do it for six months. If you hate it, shut it down. Okay, what did you lose? Nothing. He probably ended up learning more about the industry

and someone might end up picking him up for a full-time job on that one day. Okay, great. Yeah, like be passionate about something, just anything, pick something, be passionate about it and go do it. We've got to stop being so lazy and having a second something, whether you're passionate about it, like having a second passion, like that's not a failure. It's because you have something that you want to better yourself as a human being and impact others in a better way too. It's a service. Here you are. Again,

it's a service. Go serve. There's nothing wrong with that. How are you losing? How in the world? Someone tell me, how are you losing? You're not. You're not. No. Val, this has been incredible. I appreciate you. Huge fan. Where can people find more about you, connect with you and get deeper in your world? Absolutely. So I would love to hear more from your audience.

Like what did they want to know about their personal brand, their style, their faith? You can find me on Instagram at bellrape, B-E-L-L-E-R-A-P-E Yes, that is my last name. I married into it 21 years ago and strong baby. So you can find me there.

On my website, it's blueprintbybell.com And I've linked all the show notes too, so you can connect where you're listening, watching, just scroll down, you'll find those links. Highly recommend the connection on both Instagram and your website

is phenomenal. There's like a couple of pictures from your clients there. Like one is the guy with the blue suit. It's a black dude. And you got like the upshot, like a bad-ass car. And I was like, man, I love that picture. I want to, I want to be standing in that picture. I love it. So appreciate you. Thank you so much. And just thank you for the time. Thank you so much, Ryan. I am truly appreciative too. Thank you. Thank you.