A very honest text about the difficulty of identity.

The big lie

A few weeks ago I posted my first YouTube video with the title “Building a brand is actually easy”. A lie, obviously.

The process was very simple: I saw several videos with similar titles and thought it would be a good entry point to do something similar. The truth is that, whether with that title or any other, I am not known. Nobody knows who I am. And I include myself in that whole.

Actually, almost nobody knows. It takes many years of exposure to overcome fears, prejudices, illusions. I dare say some never overcome them; they live in a reality of lies about who they are, with distorted values.

Building an image, a reputation, and what we call a brand involves a lot of courage and self-knowledge. Do you know who you want to be?

So I help people build their brands, and I think that’s why I can say with confidence that the best brands belong to people who know who they want to be. My best projects were for people with killer personalities. As if they had a fire in their eyes pointing in a solid direction.

And before you think they were very old and wise individuals, they were actually quite young, between 24 and 30 years old. But then what makes the self-identification process of their own image so effortless for these young people? Infinite factors.

Giving a negative example about identity, I like to mention my personal experience with the person who dragged me along for 11 months, and by whom I allowed myself to be dragged, who had no sense of self-identity whatsoever. He always acted to look good to others, but was toxic once you reached his private sphere. Always treacherous, a con artist, an opportunist; yet publicly, a saint on earth. Charitable, humble, a regular guy.

That person will never touch other lives through true purpose, because he is always chasing money and worldly opportunities. I could never extract a single genuine word from him that spoke of good for others. That was original — identitarian.

There is no magic formula in this part of the process. Everyone must run their own journey. I can create a brand for anyone, because anyone can fill out a brief and those who can’t turn to Artificial Intelligence. But as André Lona says (who in turn is probably quoting Chris Do): A great brand cannot save a bad product.

I have strong Buddhist inclinations. I say this because I am neither dedicated enough to be a practitioner nor detached enough to be merely curious. But of all philosophies and religions, it is the one I feel closest to. And religiosity is great for working through this idea of identity. As I learned from Mario Sergio Cortella, religion and religiosity are different things, and I am very religious.

For me, it took 10 years of intense study, 6 years working in the industry, and plenty of nerve to stand in front of CEOs, sales teams, and entrepreneurs to present projects I created all on my own, explaining my thoughts and decisions — all to understand that I wanted to teach. After all, what I always wanted was to teach others and make a living building brands.

It is a simple dream, but a deeply comforting one.

The difficulty, at last.

Building a brand is, indeed, simple, but extraordinarily challenging. One of the most difficult phases of launching any project. That is why it is expensive and takes time.

I recommend everyone to read good books — within your own field, but from others as well. Subjects and topics that don’t interest you as much, simply to build repertoire on your journey of self-discovery.

Above all, I recommend taking risks. No formulas, do it your way. Without forcing yourself to post every day or blindly following the latest content framework — just create. What history tells us is that given resilience, success is bound to arrive, for nature demands it. — myself.

Quick note: It is not actually demanded and you might die before that, but it is much more fun to think this way.

Follow me on Instagram, I’m trying to gain notoriety:
@oviniciusmachado_