From Formula to Path: Rethinking the Way We Build Brands

Maybe you’ve felt like your brand should follow a formula, one neat equation for success. I once thought the same.

Early in my work, I created what I called the Brand Journey Formula. It broke things down into tidy equations: skills + passion, customer needs + message, trust + solutions. It was structured, simple, and easy to explain.

But over time, I realized something was missing.

Formulas are neat. Brands are not.

Brands aren’t equations, they’re lived

A brand isn’t built by plugging variables into an equation. It’s lived. It evolves alongside the people who shape it. Just like people, brands don’t grow in straight lines. They shift, pause, restart, and refine.

That’s true whether we’re talking about business brands or personal brands.

Building your personal brand, reputation, voice, and digital presence has never been more important. For both business and personal brands, the same lesson applies: there isn’t a single formula that guarantees success.

From formula → path: The way we now build brands

That realization changed how I saw branding.

What I had considered a formula evolved into a path.

But here's the thing:

The path isn’t straight. It doesn’t move from A to Z in perfect order.

Sometimes you start in the middle. Sometimes you pause. Sometimes you circle back.

Think of it like a tree: roots, branches, and growth in many directions. Some break, new ones form, but they all feed the same foundation. The path loops, and every time you return, you’re evolving.

That’s exactly what I see in Self-Development Branding™ and in the Three-Path Model™.

The three paths of the Three-Path Model™:

• Clarity → The inner work of knowing who you are and what you stand for.

• Expression → How that clarity comes to life in your voice, visuals, and touchpoints.

• Stewardship → The quiet, ongoing work of refinement and consistency that builds legacy.

  
  

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about letting the right things carry more weight, again and again, as your roots deepen and your branches grow.

Quiet shifts, lasting legacy

When I first leaned into formulas, I wanted to simplify the process. But as my own work and business grew, I realized branding had to reflect the human side of growth - the pauses, the nonlinear moments, the quiet consistency of returning again and again.

That's the same work I guide clients toward today.

Whether you’re building a business brand or shaping a personal brand, the path is the same:

clarity → expression → stewardship.

Legacy isn’t built on formulas.

It’s built through quiet, steady shifts along the path.