Originally published on The Pastry Box on June 4, 2018
I was a bit ashamed I hadn’t noticed before.
The only way I represent myself on www.elisabethhubert.com is professionally. That’s pretty sad.
In my defense this DID make sense when I first created the site. Back then the only reasons to have a www.firstnamelastname.com was to land a job and/or to entice clients to work with you. It has taken me too long to realize times have changed.
I know this realization isn’t new. Many web professionals before me recognized it long ago and updated their own web properties to be more representative of them as whole people; not just professionals. But here’s the thing:
It IS new for me.
I don’t know about you, but for me having an identity outside of work feels like a brave new world. My work identity, and the external validation it has brought me, has fueled my being for my entire adult life. (NOTE: Before I was an adult, school accomplishments fueled my being. I see these two versions of external validation as part of the same family.)
Slowly but surely, I’ve been waking up. It started when I took one step and then another. Now, I’ve decided to just keep walking. My new fuel? This mantra:
I am SO much more than my work!
Embodying this, I’ve decided a change is in order. Instead of making work my online identity, I’m demoting it to a part of the larger whole.
I have to tell you, I am VERY scared of this change. Thoughts like What if it’s too unprofessional? What if I ruin my business? What if this change degrades my brand? keep ringing through my mind. But, instead of choosing to give in to these fears, I’m using their energy to propel me forward.
My reward in doing so is a new www.elisabethhubert.com where I can write and share more than just my professional thoughts. It’s a place where I can bring together all the pieces of me to showcase who and why I am. I think of it as a virtual place in this physical world where I can just be ME; the whole me.
Best of all, it’s a place I am oh so excited to inhabit.
How awesome is that?
