What is in a brand?

What’s in a brand? One of my biggest struggles, both for my 9-5 day job and music, is defining my personal brand. Maybe not knowing is my brand at this point? I'm just me. I do tech. I like exploring/adventures. I make alt-pop/chamber-pop/pop-rock music. Even knowing that, the questions only increase. Is that my brand? The software engineer, outdoor lover who makes music?

There are problems with not knowing if you listen to popular opinions regarding career growth regardless of industry. How can you create the perfect 30 second elevator pitch without a brand? My response to that – how do you expect someone to condense their entire personality into something so short? Sure, pretty words and ideologies that sound nice may pique interest, but people are layers. They are layers that are constantly growing, changing, and being discovered. All you get with a couple sentence pitch is the top layer aesthetic the person hopes they achieve. Once the layer is pulled back it results in either disappointment of a false image or excitement of a deep character.

Though this thought is short in nature, I hope it invokes some thought on why we feel the need to make ourselves ‘easily marketable’. Easy marketing is mass appeal. But under that initial impression, are you really someone who needs, wants, or has opinions and characteristics that appeal to all? It is not possible. Every person has their own experiences that form who they are. The different experiences result in differing ways of living. One size does not fit all. Why are we trying to?