Alignment Over Admiration

We were having an office conversation  about destination real estate, and someone asked, “Are we  really selling a home or are we selling a version of someone’s life?”

It stuck with me. Because in a place like Tahoe, no one needs to be here. They choose it. It’s not primarily about commute times or convenience. It’s about how someone wants their life to feel.

Over the years, we’ve learned that the most effective marketing isn’t about exaggerating a property’s features. It’s about helping the right person recognize themselves in it. The same home can feel expansive and social to one buyer, and calm and restorative to another. The difference isn’t the architecture. It’s perspective.

And the more we thought about it, the more we realized this isn’t just real estate, it’s personal brands, too.

Most people build personal brands the way they think they’re supposed to. They highlight accomplishments,  polish their language, and try to sound impressive. But in doing so, they often smooth out the very edges that make people connect.

Think about it, when someone encounters your brand, whether on LinkedIn, Instagram, a podcast, or your website, they aren’t asking, “Is this person accomplished?” They’re asking, often subconsciously, “Do I relate to how they think? Do I trust their perspective? Do I feel understood?”

In other words, the brands that grow aren’t the loudest. They’re the clearest. They understand exactly who they’re speaking to and they aren’t afraid to narrow the focus. They don’t try to appeal to everyone. They focus on resonance instead of reach.

And that’s the same principle that works in luxury real estate, hospitality, and frankly, any experience-driven industry. When the story aligns with the right audience, the decision feels natural. It’s less about selling a version of life and more about reflecting one back.

If you’re building a personal brand right now, it might be worth asking yourself a slightly different question. Instead of “How do I look more successful?” try asking, “Who do I want people to recognize in what I’m building?”

Seriously folks, that shift changes everything because the goal isn’t to be broadly admired. It’s to be deeply aligned.