Building Consistency

In today’s episode of The Brand Files, we are talking all things consistency! Whether you’re focusing on branding or your personal life goals, consistency and routine can help you to develop freedom among so many different aspects of your business and personal life. 

Today we are talking consistency with Sarah Martin, who is a wife, mom, author, and certified coach with Faster Way to Fat Loss. She is passionate about gathering purpose-driven women to get lean and feel energized so you can live out your calling. When Sarah isn’t cheering on her clients, you can find her on date nights with her husband, yelling loudly at her son’s football games, or making a mess in her art room. Join Sarah’s next Faster Way Round and get info @SarahMartinVibrantLife on instagram!

This kind of all started when I posted about consistency on Instagram and talked about the importance of consistency in your branding. I was talking about how when you implement consistency, it really creates a little bit more freedom because you aren’t having to think about being consistent because you already are. It takes the energy out of that decision making. 

We are so excited to hear more from Sarah Martin on the topic of consistency within her brand and lifestyle!

What does consistency mean to YOU?

“Consistency means leaning in and honing in a commitment to one thing over time. So for me, consistency really means a level of freedom because like you said, because I have guardrails set in my life. So, you know, you were talking about workouts and I think that that’s a great example of consistency because everybody can identify with workouts. When you have a Guardrail set of “okay I am going to work on this habit, this lifestyle, this workout day in and day out”, that builds over time with knowledge of life and growth. 

When we’re talking about workouts, of course you’re gonna see maybe growth in muscle mass, growth in your stamina and your energy levels, but because everything is synergistic, I like to say God is so synergistic and nothing is wasted. Everything comes together for many reasons and many purposes. When you even look at things in your life, and if we’re using the example of a workout, when you’re working through day in and day out, committing, committing to that one thing, you have an invitation to growth.

It’s like a candy shop… You can get in a candy shop, and you can choose anything, but will you really have that opportunity of growth and learning if you are pinging around everywhere? So for me, consistency really is an opportunity to hone in through some guardrails of, okay, this is what I’m doing, I’m gonna do it every day or on the regular, and committing to that.” – Sarah

That is what’s so POWERFUL about consistency. It is HARD. It is not easy to be consistent by any means, but by implementing that, it does give you space in your brain and in your life to think about other things. Whether that’s branding or even in your workouts, it’s the same thing.

Non-negotiable rules of life!

“So that term rules of life, most notably lately, Jordan Peterson uses that term. And for me, it is just commitments and non-negotiables to my day if we’re gonna get most basic about it. So for me, we are up no later than six o’clock. Some days it’s 5.15, some days it’s six, depending on school schedules and things like that. And then it’s like a workout. I only work out for 30 minutes. It’s not like I am sitting here having to drudge out an hour-long workout at 6:30 and that was six o’clock in the morning.

Rules of life for me are feeding my body with whole food nutrition. I’m backing off of processed foods and eating enough. That is where I really get all passionate when we want to talk about even consistency and nutrition…making sure you’re eating enough to fuel your body, to fuel your purpose. So I make food a priority. I am the snack pack queen. If I am going out the door, I have a snack pack with me for myself and my family, of course. Usually moms start with their family snack pack. 

The idea though is consistently making sure through the day I have consistent energy levels and so food is a rule of life for me. Prayer is a rule of life, getting up in the morning, starting my day with movement and then y’all just straight up, I’m in bed no later than 10.  That’s late and so and that’s just based on what my priorities are for my business as a mom. I get up that early because my kid goes to school. I need to get up and get going before he does. Your life is different. Your dynamics are different. So it really is, if I were to just say, how do you find your rule of life, it’s to find a few non-negotiables that bleed into other areas of your life.

If you’re just doing something for the sake of putting on a purple as a rule of life like if that doesn’t bleed into other things maybe that’s not necessarily something that’s helpful. My workouts at you know 5:30 in the morning making sure I’m lifting weights and you know getting lean bleeds into every part of my life and so that’s why I see it as a priority because if I want to succeed in my business if I want to succeed as a mom you know and a wife, I have to, I have to get that workout done. So those are my consistent non-negotiable rules of life.” – Sarah

What are the things that you 100% would say, “These are the things that I do to showcase my personal brand”?

“So personal branding, whether it’s visual and audible, it’s even the spirit of what you’re saying. So like on, you know, surface levels, earrings have always been my thing. I don’t have them on now because they would be hitting up against my headphones, but earrings involve these. A new thing I’m doing now though is lipstick. I like some statement lipstick, which has been super fun. Always having something that, like we talk about with guide culture, that gets attention, even visually. But that has to be unique to you and unique to me. It’s something eye-catching.

This is what I’m leaning into showing personal branding, because my voice is also, what I say is also my personal branding, is the words that I use. Again, we talk about guide culture once, we’ll talk about it 50,000 times. It’s these consistent writing out sales messages because when you’re writing, you’re processing words differently than just on the cuff and they become more clear. As much as I’m a writer and I’ve written four books, I’m more of a speaker and I can go off the cuff easily, but then at the same time, it can go off the rails pretty easily. I lose focus and clarity, so that leaning into before I pick up the camera to do Instagram stories, writing it out has been PIVOTAL.

Those kinds of things of just when people see my face pop up, or even if I’m working out, it’s gonna have color, it’s gonna lead you to an understanding of what it means to be fit for the call that God has on your life. It’s gonna lead you to understanding of what a vibrant life means, heart, soul, mind, and strength. That only comes with making decisions of okay, I could pick up the phone just in my little hoodie and in my jammies, or I could take a second beat, write out a message, put on my branding lipstick or, you know, or bright colored leggings, because again, that creates trust. 

When people know that when they see my stories come through, the human brain likes to have that trust factor to then be able to pay attention and the attention getter to be able to pay attention. And so that’s what I’m learning. I come from a world where it’s totally like the very authentic kind of fly by the seat of your pants, you know, mom and their messy bun, which is totally fine. That works for a lot of people, but for me, I needed to take things to the next level because I’m adding in this new layer of coaching. That’s not new to me, but it’s new to my audience. And so that layer of those things that I’m doing, even visually, I think has helped move the needle.” – Sarah 

Understanding that while everything will not go perfectly in your favor all of the time, utilizing consistency and routine can give you a sense of freedom and extra room to better focus on YOUR business and brand. Consistency can build your credibility and trust with your audience, and just make your life a bit less chaotic!

To hear more from Sarah Martin and Jade Buford on creating consistency in your brand and life, LISTEN NOW!

Did you love hearing a new perspective on consistency and why you need it in your life? To hear more from Jade Buford and the J Alexandria Creative team, visit our website & follow us on socials.  Thanks so much to those of you who listened or read this post to learn how to utilize consistency as a tool for your brand!

Want to hear more of The Brand Files? Click Here for Episode 08!