In one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taken in college, career development, we were consistently lectured, whether it be directly or indirectly, on the importance of having a personal brand. My professor Stan Broome taught us that it’s the way you come across to others that ultimately determines your relationship with them and makes you unique. One day, we were instructed to come up with a catchphrase we could recall at any time that’s directly tied to something that we value or an experience we had that holds meaning.

The catchphrase I came up with was corn hole.

Last year at my cousin’s 21st birthday party my mom and I were playing a 2v2 corn hole game against my dad and brother. We were having the best time together talking trash and celebrating our small victories. As the rounds came and went, we were stuck at a tie with neither side able to shake past scoring a point. Then it was my turn. I started jokingly revving my right arm up in the same circular motion I used to do on Sunday afternoons as a softball pitcher in elementary school. As I released the bean bag, it was almost as if time slowed and I got to see the moment happen at 0.25x speed. It lurched into the air and hit a perfect arc, landing in the center of the corn hole board opening, securing my mom and me a much-needed advantage. We all started dying laughing, and if I recall correctly, both my mother and I were in tears from laughing so much. This was a much-needed catalyst to give our team the motivation to keep moving forward, and we ended up beating them by a landslide.

I still look back at this moment in awe at how funnily it all unfolded, and the lesson it taught me. Now when I think of my catchphrase ‘corn hole,’ I remember that everything is going to work out regardless, so I might as well have fun and not put pressure on myself along the way.

Personal branding is a way we can learn to embrace what makes us stand out from the rest of the crowd, and hopefully, at some point learn to use it to open the door to opportunities that align with who we want to be and what we want to do. What’s your catchphrase?

💘 Hanna