It’s true, life is delicate.
There are chapters of my life I never thought I’d write about, let alone survive.
There are some parts of our story we never imagine becoming part of our “personal brand.”
Mine?
Acute psychosis.
Not once, but twice.
The first time, it shattered my sense of self.
The second time, 11 years later during my postpartum period, it broke open something deeper, a knowing, a remembering.
It taught me more about who I am than any job title, degree, or accolade ever could.
And it showed me this truth:
You don’t truly understand personal branding until you’ve lost your identity entirely and had to rebuild it from the inside out.
Losing my mind wasn’t just terrifying – it was grief in its most intimate form.
It’s hard to truly understand this depth of grief until you experience it.
Grief for the self I once was. Grief for the mother I wanted to be.
Grief for the silence that followed the scream no one could hear.
But what I’ve learned is this:
When the mind fractures, the soul speaks.
And if you’re willing to listen, even in the darkest hour, there is wisdom waiting.
From grief to grace isn’t just a journey – it’s a decision.
To live. To feel. To rise.
To choose joy, even when your body has betrayed you, and your brain feels like a battlefield.
The Unseen Chapters of a Personal Brand
We often talk about personal branding as positioning, storytelling, strategy.
But for me, it began in a hospital bed, grieving a mind I no longer recognised.
I wasn’t thinking about aesthetics, messaging, or audience.
I was learning how to stay alive.
How to mother.
How to forgive myself.
And when the fog slowly lifted, I began to see branding in a new light.
Not as performance, but as permission.
Not about being polished, but being profoundly honest.
Healing as Brand Equity
From grief to grace isn’t a cliché for me – it’s a roadmap.
It’s how I got here.
And now, it’s how I help others reclaim their voice and visibility.
When I work with clients, especially women, founders, creatives, and leaders navigating identity shifts, I meet them with a reverence for their unseen battles.
Because healing is brand equity.
Grace is a differentiator.
And joy, after trauma, is not just a luxury, it’s leadership.
Healing with grace has become my redemption.
Not the kind that erases the past – but the kind that alchemises it.
The dividends of this work are rich:
Peace where there was panic.
Compassion where there was shame.
Presence where there was pain.
I share this not for sympathy, but as a tribute, to all the women who have walked through their own fires and somehow stayed soft.
To those rebuilding their lives after invisible wars.
Living the Brand I Never Planned
I didn’t plan for my brand to be born from psychosis, pain, and deep healing.
But here we are.
Today, I live joyfully, not because life is perfect, but because I made a sacred commitment to keep choosing it.
I’m no longer hiding the grief that shaped me.
It’s now embedded into the grace I lead with.
And it’s made me a better advisor, a more grounded storyteller, and a fierce believer in human potential.
A Note to the Quiet Fighters
If you’re reading this and carrying your own invisible battles, know this:
You are still whole. You are still brandable.
And your story, especially the hard parts, can be the most powerful tool in your leadership arsenal.
We don’t just recover. We reclaim.
And that reclamation is what personal branding is truly about.
And that, my love, is power.
Create with Hareni 