The Bourdain Effect: Cultivating Authenticity in Life and Personal Branding

When I think about my both my professional and personal life, I’m not interested in doing what everyone else does. It’s never been about fitting in for me. I’ve always wanted to find a unique way to express myself.

I’ve always been attracted to independent movies, documentaries, and shows like Anthony Bourdain’s that fuel my inspiration and have influenced my creativity and expressing myself.

When I think about Anthony Bourdain’s shows, the one word that comes to my mind is authentic. Isn’t that why we all loved him? He was himself, which wasn’t always pretty, but that made him great - he was a modern-day pirate, sometimes drunk and hungover, but also caring, intellectual, and loved learning about the world. 

He used food as an interpreter beyond culture and language. He reminded us that, as humans, we all experience love and loss, and we all have a deep hunger to be seen and to understand the world around us.  

I’m not naive; I understand we can’t all be like Anthony Bourdain professionally, and I also realize he had a work persona. But like all of us, he is multidimensional; we were fortunate to experience this part of him. He was a breath of fresh air, and I miss him.
 

His impact continues to feed my appetite to be brave and show more of my authentic self in my personal brand. I bring this into my work with clients because the branding process can be a journey of self-discovery. 

We must think deeply about our mission and purpose beyond making money. Who are we? What parts of ourselves are we trying to heal? What parts unknown (pun intended) are we trying to discover?  

We are all trying to stand out in a sea of noise with multiple lanes of traffic speeding by at full throttle. It’s dizzying and deafening, often making giving and receiving messages impossible. 

When I feel overwhelmed by this, I think of Anthony Bourdain. When we are authentic, we create an opportunity for connection, just like he did. 

So, I, too, strive to be a modern-day pirate, and I encourage you to be one as well; however, I think it’s safe to say we can all do without the hangovers. 😊