One of my favorite lessons from my old communications classes is that everything is, at its core, a social agreement. Language itself is a social agreement. Even money—this thing we build our lives around, plan futures around, lose sleep over—is simply a collective agreement that these pieces of paper, metal, or digital numbers have value.
Meaning is made, crafted, passed along, adopted, and sustained through a system of public conveyance. Information travels, and group consensus decides what to do with it. Even something that begins with a poor reputation can eventually be embraced as valuable or even desirable, simply because people keep talking about it. (Think about that one song that you couldn’t stand when it came out, and now, you can’t get it out of your head.) With enough consistency, time, and persistence, perceptions shift.
Did you catch what that means? Reality is malleable. Much of what we accept as “real” is based on the acceptance of others.
I say to my family and clients often that nothing is real except God. Regardless of your personal beliefs about the divine, here’s what I mean: there are very few immutable laws in this world. Outside of them, we live within a flexible framework of which we are all co-proprietors. We get to impact people, teach them who we are, come into agreement with them—or even influence who they become—through our commitment to language and information.
This is the heart of branding. Branding is nothing more than an agreement. It is a shared understanding that you are who you say you are. The only way to establish that understanding is to show up as it consistently: to embody the message, to speak the words, to uphold the standards, to refuse what doesn’t align, and to adjust thoughtfully when it serves the integrity of your truth.
To brand is to invite others into a shared meaning. It is to offer them language that helps them see you clearly and decide if they wish to join you in that understanding.
So many of us struggle to do this because we are still tethered to old wounds. Trauma once told you that you weren’t enough, that the beauty of life wasn’t meant for you. It convinced you that your reality was set in stone and you were powerless to shape it.
But remember this: nothing is real except God; everything else is opportunity. Opportunity to communicate, teach people who you are, and rewrite agreements – starting with the ones you’ve made with yourself.
Here’s here how you can live out the opportunity (especially as a founder and leader):
1. Audit Your Current Agreements
- What have you, your team, or your industry agreed is “the way it has to be”?
- Where are you operating on inherited beliefs, old brand promises, outdated industry norms, or trauma-induced scripts that no longer serve your evolution?
- This means looking at your messaging, your culture, your pricing, your partnerships, even your goals.
2. Recommit to What’s Immutable (and Release What Isn’t)
- Anchor your brand and leadership philosophy in the truly immutable: mission/calling, vision, and values.
- Then loosen your grip on everything else. Systems, campaigns, aesthetics, and even certain client types may have to shift.
3. Deliberately Teach People Who You Are Now
- Don’t assume the market knows the evolution you’ve undergone; show them.
- Update your brand story. Craft new language that reflects where your company is truly going, not just where it has been.
- Train your team to carry this language and make sure any representatives are living it.
4. Embed Consistency, Time, and Persistence Into Your Brand Strategy
- You must build systems that outlast moods, seasons, or market blips.
- Create rhythms of reinforcement. Bake your brand narrative into onboarding, sales scripts, social campaigns, client deliverables, and even internal meetings.
5. Guard Your Agreements
- Say no to opportunities, partnerships, or audiences that threaten to dilute the agreement you’re building.
- Hold your standards, have hard conversations. This is how brand equity (and true cultural leadership) compounds.
6. Use Your Influence to Expand Possibility for Others
- As a founder, you’re not just shaping your own brand reality; you’re normalizing what’s possible for everyone watching you.
- Whether it’s how you prioritize well-being, innovate without fear, lead with compassion, or redefine success beyond raw profit, your agreements become a blueprint others will model.
Your business is a canvas for beautiful stewardship and creativity in life. Ultimately, my point is this: don’t look to the left or the right and decide your thoughts, dreams, or vision are invalid simply because they don’t match the current shape of culture.
Culture is always shifting, changing, and growing with the people bold enough to engage it. It’s not always easy to hold the line, but you have the extraordinary privilege of building with intention and leading in a way that expands what’s possible.
At the end of the day, the world will take its cues from leaders like you who are excellently using their free will to do dope things. Make sure what they see invites them to become more free.
Join me on July 16th for a Free Brand Workshop For Women Founders On The Rise – Click Here For No More Flustered Hustling: Brand Strategy for Profit & Peace
