Every so often a person or business stops you in your tracks.
A simple sentence makes you think: That must have been written for me, personally
A compelling visual stirs you somewhere deep inside, igniting a new flame.
You feel alignment, like a puzzle piece clicking gently into place.
Or you discover a synchronistic solution to a looming problem.
Inspiration strikes. Momentum shifts. Connection is created. Change happens.
You click around, looking for more – more of their wisdom, insight, energy, whatever it was that just happened to you.
But how does this magic happen?
How do some entrepreneurs and businesses make a deeper, more meaningful impact than others?
The answer is by tapping into the framework of archetypes, consciously or not.
We help you do this consciously, by intentionally balancing who you are at your core with what you seek to create. It’s time to make your vision real, and build a bridge to the people you love to serve.
What is an Archetype?
Archetypes were introduced by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. They represent models of people, behaviours, or personalities that are innate to humanity. By accessing these archetypes, we can better understand ourselves, as well as the traits we share with people we love to serve.
For Jung, access to the wisdom of archetypes exists in a part of our Self called the “collective unconscious”. This part of Self lives outside of our Ego, where we spend most of our time planning, responding, developing our image, and focusing on concrete day-to-day matters.
In the space of collective unconscious, you begin to:
• Understand the core mechanisms (vision, desire, gift, fear, and trap) that both drive you forward and keep you stuck
• Get to know your people so well that you instantly cut the fluff and speak directly to what is meaningful for them
• Tell compelling stories through writing, speaking, and visuals to magnetize the people you are calling forward
• Make branding decisions with intention and confidence, instead of at random. Nothing in your brand is accidental
• Understand more deeply why your people do what they do. This allows you to meet them where they’re at and respond with so much clarity, wisdom, and empathy that you blow their hair straight back
• Learn how archetypal patterns show up uniquely for you, because although we are all fundamentally connected, no one experiences life, expresses themselves, and creates a business like you do.
[Insert black and white photo of Tyler’s head with a blow dryer blowing at his face]
You can see why this is such a powerful tool for branding and marketing.
Archetypes serve as a solid, authentic foundation from which to build and share your business with people and businesses that matter to you. They are most powerful when they infuse your vision, your purpose, your story, and the social media post you need to write for next Thursday.
What are the core archetypes?
There are 12 core archetypes that live on a wheel, just like a clock. You may have encountered different names for these archetypes. The names mentioned below are the ones we use, and for very important reasons.
Titan
Powerful; calm; decisive; rooted in a clear vision of success and prosperity.
Kindred
Optimistic; protective; community-focused; a source of guidance for how to live a happy life.
Universal
Likeable; sensible; honest; a source of encouragement and support for others.
Empath
Welcoming, generous, supportive, focused on prioritizing others’ needs in a space of trust.
Intimate
Passionate; affectionate; connective; fulfilling; focused on engaging senses and overcoming current realities.
Comic
Carefree; light-hearted; quick-witted; focused on enjoying life, being present, and inspiring others to release.
Maverick
Unconventional; bold; different; here to challenge the status quo and bring about change.
Adventurer
Curious; autonomous; non-conformist; seekers of challenges and self-discovery.
Creator
Imaginative; dreamer; unique, focused on inspiring the minds of others.
Champion
Ambitious; goal-oriented, disciplined; focused on overcoming challenges with courage and structure. Champions
Magician
Transformative; alchemist; compelling guide; tapped into the secrets of the universe.
Sage
Knowledgeable; evidence-based; thoughtful; dedicated to its expertise and higher learning.
Archetype Soup
You currently embody all 12 archetypes, right at this very moment. And just like a delicious soup where each archetype is an ingredient, your recipe may change over time. How the archetypes show up depend on your current circumstances and context.
Archetypes are often used in an overly-simplistic way, and this is a trend we want to break. Consider this: how you felt about yourself when you were 18 years old is different than today.
When you are going through grief, or when you feel motivated to protest something important to you, or when it’s time to buckle down and dedicate yourself to something hard, you are channeling different archetypes.
Who you present at a family gathering is different from how you present yourself at work. Your business is an intentional lens that serves to reflect the parts of you that are most important for your vision and the people you want to draw in. It is not all of you.
66 is the greatest number
While we love the 12 core archetypes, we want your brand to be as unique and multi-dimensional as you are.
Because of the Theory of Archetype Soup, we have created 66 sub-archetypes that help you create a brand with more depth and meaning. Sages are spurred into deeper learning and produce solutions for many different reasons, just as Creators create for many different reasons.
Honing your sub archetype lens allows you to:
• Make writing easy – from core internal messaging to consistent, compelling marketing
• Develop a marketing strategy that feels aligned and exciting to put into the world
• Uniquely position yourself in your industry
• Read your clients’ minds and speak to what is important to them
• Determine how best to help your clients reach their goals
• Offer an enticing invitation for people to work with you
• Embrace constant evolution, knowing it is not random but intentional
Archetypes represent a journey
You evolve through the 12 archetypes. If they are hours on a clock, you are the hand that slides through each space, learning and evolving with each revolution.
We have positioned the archetypes very specifically, because not only do they represent a personality or a brand, but a space in time that you occupy as you move through the experiences of life. You are on a journey, writing your story in real time – your very own hero’s journey.
This means that if you feel like you’re an Intimate in your business, you have likely been in a Champion space, buckling down, focusing on what you want to accomplish, and going for it. It means that if you resonate with Sage, you were in a Maverick space when you quit your degree in Engineering and started all over again in Sociology.
In this way, a BrandPsyche lens helps you see not only where you are strongest in yourself and your brand, but where you are in your journey – where you are transforming and where you are stuck. And most importantly, how to get unstuck.
