Behind the Laptop //012: Surrender and Brand Voice: What Crying in the Closet Taught Me About the Hero Brand Archetype
This is a weekly behind-the-scenes series where I share raw stories, real decisions, and the mindset that shaped my brand from the inside out.
There are moments in business where strategy just stops working.
You’re sitting there, staring at your computer screen for 2hrs straight, mentally banging your head against an invisible brick wall; wondering why the words in your head aren’t flowing out onto the page.
And it’s not like you don’t “know” what you need to do.
You know how to write content, set up your next landing page, record that reel, or schedule out those emails.. but..
Something just feels sticky. Like you’re trudging through murky waters, head barely above the surface.
Your body picks up on it before your brain catches the signal.
Your back starts to ache, you’re rubbing your neck every few minutes. Your shoulders slowly rise toward your ears. You’re unconsciously grinding your teeth and your jaw is sore for no apparent reason.
You feel wired and every little thing sets you on edge.
And no, in case someone needed to remind you: you’re doing something wrong, you’re not out of alignment, and what you’re wanting isn’t too big for you to hold.
You’re just brushing up against the edges of your current capacity.
Your next level is asking you to hold more: more energy, more visibility, more presence, and your system is still running on an old set of safety rules.
And here’s what I keep seeing recently, not just in myself, but with my clients too:
Not every breakthrough comes from a push; some of them begin in the pause.
I Couldn’t Push Anymore, So I Sat in the Closet
It started with thumbnails. Silly little thumbnails.
I set aside the entire day to set up my thumbnail strategy and create the final one for my first YouTube video releasing soon. My headshots were done. I had reference images pulled up on my second screen. I’d even spent time vision setting to lock in my embodiment.
An hour went by,
I tested different layouts. Played with typography. Shifted colors.
It wasn’t bad, in fact, it was rather fun. But underneath the creative momentum was this edge of pressure. Nothing felt quite right. It was exciting… but stressful. Like I was trying to fit together a without knowing what the final image was supposed to be.
And the second hour went by,
That’s when things started going sideways.
Photoshop kept freezing. My exports glitched with random color issues for no apparent reason. I kept troubleshooting while trying to teach myself new design techniques on the fly, all while still figuring out what aesthetic direction I even wanted to land on.
Then I realized half the photos I’d planned to use didn’t actually fit the design style I was leaning toward and I needed to start over from scratch.
By hour five, I was fried.
My energy was gone.
My patience? Nonexistent
And after a snappy moment of tension with my partner I realized… I really need to chill out.
So I had a quick check-in with myself, asked myself what I needed and my inner being said: go sit in the closet. So, I did.
I moved to my walk-in closet, closed the door with the lights off, and just sat there. No distractions, no journaling, no trying to “process” anything.
Just silence. And presence.
Because what I really needed in that moment was a safe space to just be with myself. No output. No expectations. No content.
And as soon as I dropped in, I felt it: There was a part of me (that I couldn’t hear before) that was scared of being seen. Scared of being vulnerable. Scared of showing up in a new way before I fully felt safe inside myself.
And within minutes of just sitting down quietly with myself, the tension melted.
Not because I solved everything in that single moment, but because I finally stopped trying to. All I really needed was to listen. And meet myself where I was.
Safety Comes Before Strategy
Here’s the thing: I wasn’t struggling because I didn’t know what I was doing.
I was experiencing resistance because a part of me didn’t feel safe being seen doing it.
That’s what most people don’t realize when they hit a wall in their business.
It’s not always the strategy that’s off, it most often boils down to your nervous system working overtime to protect you from something you didn’t realize you were scared of.
For me, it wasn’t about thumbnails, it was about visibility. About stepping into a new level of leadership and recognizing there was a part of me that didn’t feel safe being vulnerable yet.
Building a Brand That Your Nervous System Can Actually Hold
The more I support clients through growth, visibility, and expansion, the clearer it becomes:
If your body doesn’t feel safe holding what you’re building, you’ll subconsciously slow it down.
You’ll overcomplicate the launch.
You’ll hide behind “refinement.”
You’ll call it resistance when really, it’s just your nervous system doing its job.
And no marketing strategy, no matter how effective, will blow up your sales if it’s built on top of a nervous system that’s still bracing.
This is why inside Aesteria Academia, we build differently.
We don’t just teach brand positioning or archetype embodiment as a mental concept.
We integrate it into your nervous system, your voice, your rituals, and your leadership.
Because you don’t need to “be louder” or “do more.”
You need to build a brand your body can hold.
Inside this container, we work with your core brand archetype, not just as a brand tool, but as a blueprint for how you lead, create, and expand from the inside out.
If you’re tired of building from pressure instead of stability,
and you’re ready for a brand that reflects your leadership, drives sales, and gives you space to breathe, Aesteria Academia is where we begin.
Inside Aesteria Academia, we:
Refine your brand message: so you can attract aligned clients without second-guessing every post
Build seamless backend systems: that streamline your business and free up your energy
Design your marketing and lead gen strategy: to bring in soulmate clients on autopilot
Anchor your brand in your unique archetype + genius: so everything you create feels natural, powerful, and yours
Shift your business into alignment: so you can scale with clarity, flow, and sustainability
The investment is $350/mo, click here to apply: Aesteria Academia Apply Now
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