Meet Your Higher Self

Brand Rapture

Sitting in front of my zoom window, I didn't know what to expect. Dressed in a silky blue blouse, Pamela emerged in front of me. She radiated confidence, and her golden necklaces and black glasses contouring her eyes gave her a reassuring and professional appearance. I tried to relax and took a deep breath. 'I try to give you insight into how a perfect stranger perceives you in this world,' she explained with a reassuring voice, 'how you inspire me, how I see you in the realm of your evocative brand.' 'Exactly what I needed,' I thought to myself, recalling the overwhelming period of uncertainty I was going through at the time.

A few weeks before, I had joined the 'Shape of work' program, which promised to empower me to do my best work during a 6-week collaborative sprint. Pamela was in charge of this final 'Brand Journey session' where she helped her guests find their voice.

I found out that she was a talent agent and acting coach working with open-hearted people ready to expand themselves into the creative world of art by teaching them to trust their voices. For the past 25 years, she has scouted, brokered, and booked thousands of talented actors in national commercials, award-winning campaigns and Super Bowl spots. She spent a great deal of her time giving branding and marketing workshops, and this Brand Journey was part of that.

She began the session by asking me to introduce myself by saying my name three times. Then we both closed our eyes. After a brief silence, she started riffing out poetic visions about my character: 'I feel like you swim really deep inside what inspires you,' she said with a soft but confident voice. 'It's almost reclusive. If I were to pick an element, it would be wood. I can feel you living in the wood and respecting it. I think you really respect the power of materials.' She used language like a painter applied colours and then drew surprising connections from seemingly thin air. I was blown away and triggered at the same time. As someone who believed to have a solid grip on his self-awareness, Pamela's words awoke a new yearning to experience myself in this new and exciting way she is kindly offering. It didn't come across as flattery but rather like admiration for who I am at the core.

While I sank into a pool of confidence, she continued: 'I can see you being a ship's captain with a monocle. Aware of everything out there. The stillness within.' She talked with a wellspring of nuance, touching on aspects of my character with great gentleness and a firm grasp of human goodness. Using archetypes and nature references, she imagined me surrounded by lush forests, representing my evocative self in my photographs. She even recognized my architectural background and appreciation for structures and symmetry.

But most importantly, she managed to see my struggle of putting myself out there as a starting creative entrepreneur. I was impressed. She ended the download after about 20 minutes with some sound advice for my branding strategies.

The fact that someone else saw me the way I saw myself and recognized my struggle was comforting. It elevated my spirit and boosted my confidence. It's as if I had just been led through an anxious period in my life to a place of release from whatever had confined me.

I asked some other participants about their experience: 'I took it as a meditation session,' says Lucas, another 'Shape of work' program participant. 'I tried to embrace everything. Some things reminded me of an aspirational self, and others were not like me at all. At the end of it, I had trouble seeing any tangible benefit.'

It's not for everyone, but for those at a pivot point in their lives, this journey might move something profound. Sara Klaben Avrahami, one of the other guides on the program, explained: 'In the new world of work, where many of us are in flux or combining multiple interests, this ability to help people see themselves in a coherent or new way creates and supports growth and movement.'

If I had to describe the 'Brand journey' in one word, the Greek word 'agape' comes to mind: 'the expression of kindness to a stranger.' I could feel her absolute presence, and curiosity infused her energy and vulnerability.

I was curious what went on inside her mind in the process: 'I get into a raptured state. It almost feels like lovers in the morning—a rare human condition where you are in adoration with someone. I soak amid our energy and languish in someone's presence. It almost feels like love, but I like to call it 'brand blessing' when I think: 'Wow, you are amazing, I'm caught up with everything 'you' at this moment.'

Reverence For the Human Spirit

Now that I was charged with confidence and eased into a peaceful and trusting state, I was eager to find out what sparked this generous nature and what it took for someone to cultivate this gift for attention and intuition.

Pamela's story started in Montreal when her world turned upside down at the age of 5. She discovered that the people she thought to be her parents were actually her adoptive parents and that her biological mom was an entertainer in Montreal. This realization awakened a fascination with dancers, singers and actors. 'I was looking for a glimpse of my mom and myself in that unique world.'

In her late teens, she met a young man who worked in theatre and introduced her to the world of acting and storytelling. She felt at home amongst people who spoke the same language and saw the world with similar eyes.

'He used to invite me to these theatre parties, and I immediately got enamoured with people immersing themselves in other roles and learning the ins and outs of human behaviour.'

After working for a couple of years as a dental hygienist in Montreal, Pamela flew on a one-way ticket to Vancouver to find herself in the midst of a growing film industry. Driven by a reverence for the human spirit, she landed her first job as a casting assistant: 'I loved the idea of helping select someone who is going to make a story fly,' she explained. Observing the actors' every movement in career and life taught her a great deal of what makes someone succeed in the world of entertainment. She quickly noticed that confidence was one of the most critical assets in an actor's toolkit.

'An artist needs to be believed, and I want them to feel I believe in them to align them into the roles that will put them in the position to have the greatest success.' She talks with conviction and often closes her eyes as if the darkness helps her focus on finding the most appropriate words. 'I need to see the version of them that is not based on others' expectations. What I look for is a character's pathos, tension, or something evocative.'

Her big break came while working with a big-name casting director, where she was introduced to successful actors around town. It didn't take long for her to take destiny in own hands as an independent talent agent, launching a successful career in just four years. To this day, she is celebrated amongst the top talent agents for commercial casting in Canada. Her growing success opened the doors to begin teaching through workshops to diverse people of all ages and backgrounds.

'My favourite workshops are with high school kids—a vulnerable time between child and adult with many life figures who crush their souls. During the workshop, I say what I admire in them; I treat it like a blessing, as their bar mitzvah.' She continues with a sympathetic voice. 'Because if you're going through a tough time in life, when you are far away from your higher self, you sometimes might even think it's gone. But to have someone still see it, it creates a sense of honouring or relief.'

Pamela’s wounds gave a pathway to connect with others, to find when others are lost in the dark. With the gift of human attention—a scarce resource in today's economy—she guides others through their cathartic experience and invites them to step into their super-self.

'Do less. It's more than enough. The most exciting things happen when someone is relaxed and comfortable. We think there has to be some embellishment to be human; there has to be something more that would make you more interesting to look at.'

Dropping Pebbles and Creating Little Waves

It's hard to appreciate who you are when obsessed with the version of yourself you want to become. In this age of engineered longing through social media and the intoxicating overload of information, I often find myself feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. She nailed it, saying, 'Sometimes we morph into our secondary persona just to please others or to fit in. We know we are not ourselves, but we have to do this theatre just to get by.

Looking back, I am confident that Pamela's session has helped me break through some barriers. Her glimpse of validation can serve as a general blueprint to remind ourselves of the internal voice and the importance of ethics and consistency when communicating our story.

'Sometimes we are living and working in the wrong story. We don't stick to our tone and throw out content that's beside the point. We're coming from someone else's voice because we fail to recognize our own gravitas, humour or joy to share with others.'

The quality of the relationships in our professional careers, intimate relationships, and even public lives depends on the quality of the stories we tell ourselves and others.

'To be the hero in your own story so that you can be understood, that's a fundamental human quest. That's it in a nutshell. Ultimately, anyone's goal is to be so comfortable being yourself that you are hired as you and not hired to bring somebody else to life. Leaving our DNA virtually is the goal. It's like dropping little pebbles and creating little waves in our own online and offline persona.'

Whether it's an actor bringing a story to life on screen or a creative entrepreneur expressing themselves with integrity, they are all performers. And great performers have an intimate understanding of their audience and the situations they live in. They can deliver an experience that taps into those instincts, making their stories seem entirely right for people. But what if your audience is stubborn and skeptical? I asked Pamela if she ever had negative experiences.

'Some people might not have had the right amount of introspection that revealed their darkness. But I'm not communicating with the ego or the lower self. It's not about flattery. I try to go to that higher self where wisdom and intuition live. And if someone feels safe and assured, we can flow in those higher frequencies. It's not my job to undo anyone. I'm not purging any demons.'

This Little Light of Mine, I'm Going To Let It Shine

Unconditional presence can mean a world of difference for someone stuck on the dark side of the moon to find their way around to the light.

'People would come up to me after a year or two or five, and they would hold my hand and say: 'I'll never forget that branding exercise, you really saw me, and you said some of the kindest things that have really helped me by reminding me of who I was.'

But it's no secret that Pamela gets transformed in the experience as well. In the end, our success is highly dependent on each other.

'I might need to do this work more for myself. The greatest gift is when you're able to experience another person and admire them. It's one of the most basic human tenements—to feel significant. It's like dancing with someone. You can't speak, but you are in their hemisphere, you're both in a state of enjoyment, and you're moving your bodies, and it's not embarrassing. It's the ultimate connection between humans; when you are happy seeing others being happy.'

And for me, this whole experience was a much-needed reminder that we are never alone in facing our life's largest challenges. And that humility is not about getting small but about encouraging others to be significant, like the humility of a child approaching everyone and everything with a readiness to be surprised and delighted.

Find out more about Pamela Wise at www.pamelawise.com or @pamelawise_brandjourney