Promonoise -- Change Your Bio
Change Your Bio, Change Your Life
Something unexpected happened the other night: I was answering some correspondence on LinkedIn and suddenly felt the urge to change my bio (or what LinkedIn calls the “About” section). Prior to the urge, I hadn’t considered it for a second. But, all at once, I felt compelled to rewrite it.
For three days leading up to my spontaneous rewrite, I hadn’t been operating at my peak capability. But I’ve learned to accept that I’m not always operating at or feeling my best. I don’t sweat that anymore, because even at my worst I feel as though I can produce masterful work. Though I looked within and wondered what was impeding my best self from emerging, I never did find the answer - and that’s okay. Sometimes it just is what it is.
So I began to compose a new bio which happened to materialize rather quickly and effortlessly. It was getting late and my wife paid me a visit to ask what my plans were for the evening. I told her what I was up to, that it was exhilarating work, and that I’d be done in a few minutes.
As every word and every sentence moved through my fingers and the keyboard, onto the screen, my energy was changing. It was as though I was a video game action figure being re-energized or re-spawned. I finished the work and reread the bio.
I loved it.
It was time for a new outlook. It was time to define who I am today.
When you work on your identity, as I did the other night, it can have a profound effect on your mental state. It can create clarity, which in-turn often illuminates one’s path. It can create a whole new personality, which defines one’s reality.
There are a couple of key words in my new bio that anchor the new me; they are the words love and compassion. There was a time when I would have been embarrassed to include those words in a business biography, but not anymore; partly because I’ve discovered that I can do anything I want, but mostly because I’m learning. I’ve learned that when I speak from the heart, great things happen.
I’ve been moving in a deliberate direction for the past while. And while I have been the one responsible for setting the course and the pace, it seems that my new bio has put me in the express lane. The less than optimal feeling that preceded my writing began to vanish as each sentence took form. By the time I hit the save button, I was operating at peak performance again.
The feeling was further validated when I went upstairs and shared the story with my wife. She celebrates my victories, as I do hers. When I’m at my best, it’s infectious; it raises the whole family. The same can be said of her. And that’s often the case in a business environment, though perhaps in a future writing I’ll explain why I now feel that business and family don't necessarily need to be separated. But observe, in business, how a positive leader can galvanize an entire organization with their energy and contrast that to the effects of a cynical and paranoid leader. The results are night and day.
You might also benefit from rewriting your bio. And if you choose to do so, listen more to your heart and articulate what it’s telling you about yourself. If it’s anything like my experience, it’s bound to be a revelatory experience that sets the tone for your future progress.
Thanks for reading today’s writing.
Let’s keep making beautiful noise.
Alex
