I was just going through the motions.

For years, my life followed the same, redundant pattern.

→ Wake up
→ Go to work
→ Go back home
→ Rinse and repeat

Every. Single. Day.

While some might see this as routine, for me, it was a nightmare.

One of those nightmares where you’re desperately reaching for a door that seems to always stay just out of reach.

At the time, I was working a job that I didn’t enjoy.

But I thought I did.

“I like the work,” I told myself.

“I make okay money,” I thought, because being content was a “virtue”.

“At least I get to work from home,” as if that was an excuse for remaining in an increasingly more toxic environment.

And as time went on, I began to lose little bits of myself.

I became more irritable at small things.
↳ Which eventually started to affect relationships at home.

I was exhausted all the time.
↳ Because I spent so much energy fighting a toxic workplace.
↳ This also meant I had less energy to spend with friends and family.

I started to become reclusive.
↳ I later learned this was my go-to trauma response.

I was sick more often than not.
↳ The mental toll started to affect my physical health, too.

And what was usually manageable levels of anxiety began to boil over.

I was burnt out to the highest degree.

And if I had stayed in that environment…I can promise you this:

It would have destroyed me from the inside out.

It almost did.

But I got out as fast as I could (which took a few months), and the moment I put in my 2 weeks’ notice was one of the best feelings ever.

Like a heavy cloud that had been hanging over me for years had finally lifted.

Because the only way to escape burnout is to get rid of the source, or at the very least, take a break from it and allow your mind, body, and soul to reset.

Why Does It Matter?

Soooo…remember when I told you about my HERO framework?

Hook —> Emotion —> Relevance —> Offer

My story above is missing two key factors: The relevance and the offer.

Which is why it seems to cut off a bit abruptly, right?

Now ask yourself, did my story:

Make you feel something?
↳ Probably.

But did it make you DO something?
↳ Probably not.

Because I didn’t make the story relevant to you, and I didn’t offer any way for you to take action.

Sadly, tons of people are trying to tell stories on LinkedIn and missing that second half, just like my story above.

Don’t be that person.

If you’re not asking yourself “why does it matter to my audience”, then you’re missing the whole point of storytelling.

Always remember HERO and make sure your stories stand out!

The Relevance

Yeah, I’m not gonna leave you hanging. So I’m here to finish my story!

Because there’s another element of burnout you need to understand.

And what most people fail to realize is that burnout CAN:

1. Affect your mental health.

2. Affect your physical health.

3. Affect your spiritual health.

4. Affect your relationships/friendships.

But if you don’t have your basic needs met, you can’t even begin to diagnose the above.

Which brings me to this pyramid.

It can be so hard to see just how much of an impact burnout can have on your life, especially when you feel stuck in a job that you can’t escape.

The pyramid diagram above shows what humans need in order to feel like their best selves.

For instance, before we can truly embrace our own esteem, we first need to feel safe and have our basic necessities met.

So, what does this have to do with my story?

Quitting on a whim isn’t an option for most (it wasn’t for me), and as you can see in the image above, the foundation of our basic needs is food, water, and shelter.

Well, I wasn’t homeless, so that part at least was taken care of. But look at the next tier.

Safety.

I did not feel personally secure. I didn’t have a good enough source of income which, in turn, limited my resources.

So if I didn’t feel safe, how could I then be expected to be social, have self-esteem, then perform well at work?

Exactly. I couldn’t.

And what I find is that most solopreneurs I work with are also stuck somewhere between those first two tiers:

→ They have the funds to survive on the most basic level
→ But they don’t feel safe either in their job or in their financial situation

So where does building a personal brand fit into this hierarchy?

Well…that depends. It can meet every single tier of the hierarchy:

1. Physiological

   If you use your personal brand to start and grow a business, it can provide the funds needed to make sure you have food, water, shelter, etc.

2. Safety

   Financial security is the biggest factor in feeling safe outside of everything in the physiological tier.

3. Social

   Remember how I said being burnt out led to me being a recluse? Yeah, I didn’t have time for a social life which is clearly necessary to thrive.

   A personal brand can free up the time and energy you need to spend more time with friends and family.

4. Esteem

   I think this one goes without saying, but my solopreneurs get it…building something for yourself and having it provide everything you need is one of the biggest esteem boosters out there!

   That’s why we entrepreneur-minded people thrive when working for ourselves.

5. Self Actualization

   And lastly, being able to build, create, and explore what makes us tick as we build our brands and businesses is at the top of the pyramid, but it’s a factor that’s so easily missed.

What Can You Do About It?

You should probably guess by now that I’m going to tell you…

Use your story to build your brand.

Listen, the creator economy is alive and well despite what the rest of the economy is doing.

If you’re currently drowning, this is your rescue boat. Don’t let it pass you by.

And if you need help figuring out how to get started

1. While working full-time

2. Without burning out even further

Then reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn and let’s chat. I’m always happy to point you in the right direction.

It’s Challenge Time!

Remember last week’s 6-word story challenge? Check out this awesome story from Anisha Kanungo who used her 6 words to tell her game plan for growth:

Love it!

Now for this week, I want to keep it simple.

Just reply to this newsletter and tell me 2 things:

1. What tier of Maslow’s period do you think you’re at right now

2. How you want to work your way to the top of the pyramid

I’ll be choosing 3 people who reply at random to give them a free copy of my Storytelling Guide!

Can’t wait to see your replies!

See you around LinkedIn,
Cyndyl

P.S. Don’t forget, if you need help telling your story and building your brand, but aren’t ready to go all in on coaching, you can always book a Wake Up Call with me at a special rate just for my email subscribers. Let’s chat!