The Professional Me
They say to dress for the job you want. It took me a long time to figure that out. But today, I get it. I want to work in marketing, so I dress accordingly. This is what I look like during the week:
It’s what I call the professional me.
The Public Me
But I also look like this:
How professional does that look? Would you hire that guy? Opinions may differ on the matter. But when it comes to making a living and paying the bills, I don’t want opinions to differ. I don’t want there to be any confusion as to me being a professional or not. So I don’t look like that when I”m going to work or meeting with clients.
So when do I do look like that guy? When I’m making music. And I make music in public. That’s what I call the public me. When I’m off the clock, I’m working on my music. I work to reach those who want to hear my unique kind of loud indie rock from Jerusalem, Israel. And I want to look the part.
I seek to be a professional. I provide people with branding, web design and content marketing services. But if I want to be known for something, it’s not for that. Although I love my marketing work, it’s not the most unique thing I have to offer to the world. That unique thing I have to offer is my music. And that’s how I want to be known publicly.
I Have to Give You My Best
Now – hold on. Who cares about how I want to be known? Why should anyone care? Good point. I don’t need to make a ruckus and demand that people give a care about how I look or dress on Facebook. No, what I need to do is find the greatest value I have, and then offer it to the people who will treasure it. This is a process, a journey of discovery. It may took a long time to figure out what the greatest value I have is. It requires experimentation, trial-and-error. But this process has led me to what I offer today – my music. And legend has it that if you can reach 1000 people with your art – 1000 true fans – you can make a living off of it.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll be wearing suits and working in marketing for the rest of my life. I ain’t complaining. But I have to give you my best. Life is too short for anything else. And maybe it looks like I’m slacking off with unkempt hair and a t-shirt, but that’s not the case. Whenever I press the button on the Facebook live recordings I make, I try to make my whole self fit into the tiny lens and microphone of my iPhone. I try to give you everything. It’s not easy. I make a lot of mistakes. But my responsibility is to keep showing up and giving you my best. This is who I am. This is my music. This is Har Adonai.
Be True to Yourself – in Public
What about you? Do you feel uncomfortable dressing up for your work or your community? Don’t. Give them your best. But when work is over, and you have some sliver of time to share yourself with the world, don’t hold back. Be as true to yourself as you can be, because that’s who I want to see.
