20 min
203: What is Identity Alchemy? ONKEN radio
-
- Careers
“The idea is to align your identity with your optical brand.” - Nick Onken
Today, I will be talking about something that I have spoken a lot about lately. It’s a new process I am developing to help entrepreneurs build their personal brands. This process is really applicable to life, and it directly correlates with everything that I have been going through personally over the last few years.
Hello, my fellow earthlings, and welcome back for another episode of the ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) podcast, where we explore the worlds of creativity, consciousness, and everything else in between. Identity Alchemy is the topic of the day, and I am breaking it down so that we all can learn and use this process to change our lives.
I am a photographer who has been building brands for almost 15-20 years now. What I have learned through that creative process is that there is something that I am applying to help people tell their visual stories and build their brands. People want real authenticity, and the story you are telling the world is what needs to resonate. The identity alchemy piece comes in to tell a personal story that is authentic to who you are.
I know that your mind is brimming with questions, but rest assured — through this solo episode, my mission is to help you live a life of creativity. This is the kind of creative alchemy that my entire work and life are focussed around, and I want you to make the most of my learning and observation. I am glad to be a part of your creative journey, and I hope you find your full potential.
Understanding the Alchemy of Identity
Deconstruct-Curate-Become: Identity alchemy can be summed up by this three-step process: the deconstruction of the self, the curation of the new version of yourself, and then becoming who that is, becoming your authentic self. Because people, they love authenticity and that’s what keeps them coming back to you.
Have you ever had an encounter with someone in real life, someone you followed and admired, and when you finally met them in person, you realized that they are nothing at all like their online persona? I personally find this a weird thing. I want to meet people who are putting out content online that directly aligns with who they are, and that demands the process of identity alchemy.
The truth is that most entrepreneurs struggle with sharing themselves online, and they experience imposter syndrome. I, too, feel imposter syndrome often; it’s really hard to align your identity with your brand. But if done right, the exposure naturally attracts opportunities and audiences while creating alignment and authenticity.
Cleaning up the process, creating congruence between who you are, your message, and the content that you are putting out there into the world — this is the process of identity alchemy.
Constantly throughout our lives, we are shape-shifting into new identities. You go through something in life, and then that incident reshapes you a little however you allow it to. The idea is to start a deconstructing process to perform the alchemy of transmuting that energy, that ill-feeling inside you, into something beautiful, but that takes deep work and different modalities. We all have the choice to do that, and I promise you will be in a much better place on the other side.
Curate Your Story and Imbibe It in Your Personal Brand
There are some hard questions that we all must ask ourselves — Who do we want to be? What type of narratives and values do we want to live with? What kinds of beliefs do we want to have? Then, we use our answers to curate the future. Use the narrative to become the identity that you envision for yourself. You can play any character you want in the world, as long as you resonate with it naturally.
All of us create the world around us.
“The idea is to align your identity with your optical brand.” - Nick Onken
Today, I will be talking about something that I have spoken a lot about lately. It’s a new process I am developing to help entrepreneurs build their personal brands. This process is really applicable to life, and it directly correlates with everything that I have been going through personally over the last few years.
Hello, my fellow earthlings, and welcome back for another episode of the ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) podcast, where we explore the worlds of creativity, consciousness, and everything else in between. Identity Alchemy is the topic of the day, and I am breaking it down so that we all can learn and use this process to change our lives.
I am a photographer who has been building brands for almost 15-20 years now. What I have learned through that creative process is that there is something that I am applying to help people tell their visual stories and build their brands. People want real authenticity, and the story you are telling the world is what needs to resonate. The identity alchemy piece comes in to tell a personal story that is authentic to who you are.
I know that your mind is brimming with questions, but rest assured — through this solo episode, my mission is to help you live a life of creativity. This is the kind of creative alchemy that my entire work and life are focussed around, and I want you to make the most of my learning and observation. I am glad to be a part of your creative journey, and I hope you find your full potential.
Understanding the Alchemy of Identity
Deconstruct-Curate-Become: Identity alchemy can be summed up by this three-step process: the deconstruction of the self, the curation of the new version of yourself, and then becoming who that is, becoming your authentic self. Because people, they love authenticity and that’s what keeps them coming back to you.
Have you ever had an encounter with someone in real life, someone you followed and admired, and when you finally met them in person, you realized that they are nothing at all like their online persona? I personally find this a weird thing. I want to meet people who are putting out content online that directly aligns with who they are, and that demands the process of identity alchemy.
The truth is that most entrepreneurs struggle with sharing themselves online, and they experience imposter syndrome. I, too, feel imposter syndrome often; it’s really hard to align your identity with your brand. But if done right, the exposure naturally attracts opportunities and audiences while creating alignment and authenticity.
Cleaning up the process, creating congruence between who you are, your message, and the content that you are putting out there into the world — this is the process of identity alchemy.
Constantly throughout our lives, we are shape-shifting into new identities. You go through something in life, and then that incident reshapes you a little however you allow it to. The idea is to start a deconstructing process to perform the alchemy of transmuting that energy, that ill-feeling inside you, into something beautiful, but that takes deep work and different modalities. We all have the choice to do that, and I promise you will be in a much better place on the other side.
Curate Your Story and Imbibe It in Your Personal Brand
There are some hard questions that we all must ask ourselves — Who do we want to be? What type of narratives and values do we want to live with? What kinds of beliefs do we want to have? Then, we use our answers to curate the future. Use the narrative to become the identity that you envision for yourself. You can play any character you want in the world, as long as you resonate with it naturally.
All of us create the world around us.
20 min