My name is Sara Velasquez (and that is me pictured above). Until today, I was completely anti blogs…didn’t (and not totally sure to this point) quite understand why people needed to share their innermost thoughts or write messages about random topics to be viewed by anyone on this wonderful platform we call the Internet. Blogging was something I could not see myself ever doing, but here I am… For the next few weeks I will be participating in a Personal/Organizational Branding crash course. I was given the task today to define and declare my value. After much soul searching, I was at a major loss.

What can you do uniquely well to help others?

Do you have an “about me” statement?

I’ve been in what I’ll call a funk the past few years. I love what I do and I think I’m pretty good at it. But I’m definitely not happy. Whether it’s work, family, or just life in general… Something has got to change! Not just for my sanity, but rather that I truly do want to lead a life that adds value to the world I’m living in. I know I’m not living life to my fullest potential right now and I have made the decision to make a change today…one that hopefully will start (or continue) me on a journey through this experience we call life where at the end someone will be able to say without a doubt, I made a difference…I added value! As mentioned above, I did do some critical thinking about my personal and professional value for a time today. What I found was that I wasn’t sure about “values I bring to the table” per say, but that which I value most in life is being “Auntie Sara”. I have 4 nephews and 1 niece…plus the other kiddos who have come to know me as auntie or aunt Sara over the years. What I lack is the ability to nail down exactly what value I bring to my professional world. I love and cherish these kids and I think that’s where I need to start in order to fully discover my value. They are who come to mind when I read the probing questions:

Who do you want to help?

How do you want to help them?

Why do you do these things?

Although I have many technical skills and abilities, professionally I feel like I’m just out of place (possibly out of tune) with others around me. Bear with me as I use the next few weeks to work through my own personal and professional branding. Hopefully there will be growth as I build the conversation around my value.