Yup, pickle soup.

Sounds weird, right? That’s kinda what made me wanna try it. 🤷‍♀️😬

Kristen Bell made it on a lil’ holiday show I watched the other day called Baking It. Apparently, it’s a Polish tradition?

So when I headed to the grocery, I had on my list: POLISH Pickle, not Kosher. The recipe made a point to say that.

👉 Side note: Matt and I started a budget and our first shopping trip in January involved hitting up a few different stores to compare prices.

Probably one of the most boring things I could possibly think of doing in the world, but remember: constant work. Oh yeah. 🙄

Aldi didn’t have Polish pickles. Strike one.

Kroger: Sold out. Not a jar of Polish pickles in sight.

Publix: Nope. None again.

But… I saw a guy in the aisle and I was the annoying middle-aged lady saying, “Excuse me, do y’all have any POLISH pickles?” He looked at his little app thingy they carry around with them and said, “It says we have 3 left.”

So Me, Matt, and the kid were searching through the sea of Kosher pickles to find the elusive jar of Polish pickles….and, SUCCESS! Third store was a charm. 

But also… DAAAANG! Does Kristen Bell have so much clout that she can sell out all the Polish pickles in Richmond and send me all over town to find them? 

Apparently she does. The proof’s in the pickles. 🥒😎

And even though Pickle Soup sounded weird as hell to me, I was like, “I feel like Kristen Bell wouldn’t do me dirty. It’s gotta be good.” And I was right, it was delish.

Speaking of taking advice from Kristen Bell, Matt said he heard that she and Dax “wait for the stink” before they bathe their kids. Ever since we heard that we always feel like we’re winning at parenting, even if we skip a bath or two.

I mean, if it’s good enough for Dax and Kristen, it’s good enough for us. 

That’s the thing about creating a strong personal brand… people will be on the ride with you. Whether it’s pickle soup or skipping a couple bath nights. 

Would I consider myself a ride-or-die fan of Kristen Bell? I didn’t think I did, but after writing this email, maybe I am!? I do feel like we could be friends. 👯‍♀️

That’s what a good personal brand does, but only if you show up in a real human way.

So, what about you?

Are you showing up in all of your full-on pickle soup, stinky kids, glory? Or are you keeping your freak flag under wraps because it feels safer that way?

I’m not saying that letting it all hang out is for everyone, but I will say that as soon as I started being myself in my marketing two things happened: I started having more fun and started making more money.

So it could be something to think about. Just sayin.

xo
dd

Client Feature:

Speaking of letting your freak flag fly, my client (and coach) Kathleen Oh let hers fly so much, it got her kicked off of Instagram. She’s not sweating it though. She’s over on Substack, the safer place for psychedelic conversations for grown-ups to take place. I helped her brand her Substack, create monthly collages for her weekly newsletters, and created a static 9 grid for her replacement Instagram account that could direct any new people over to Substack. If you think you might want some help unleashing your inner freak flag, hit me up! I love doing VIP Days with stuff like this.