Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cynthia Ferngren. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Cynthia, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I always struggled with the idea of finding my purpose. I wasn’t someone born knowing what I wanted to do, nor did I have any natural talents. I was always someone who had to work hard for everything I got, whether it be ballet, school, art class — I was the one that had to work twice as hard as the rest of the group.
Eventually I gave up on finding my purpose, and dove head-first into work. Work became my entire life for many years, until one day I opened my eyes and realized I didn’t even know myself. I had no interests, no passions and certainly no purpose. I had exchanged deep friendships for business colleagues, and memories for paychecks. My life was empty. I wanted to change that.
I decided to quit my corporate job, and start my own business, with the goal of being able to live life on my own terms. I started by making a “why not me” list. It was a list of all the things I had always wanted to try, scuba diving, sailing, pottery, keynote speaking, art classes, graphic design, cooking class, you name it. I started fifteen years ago and started in search of my purpose. Over the years I realized that purpose is not really about finding a talent, or a job you are good at, but at finding yourself, and through doing so – inspiring others to do the same. The greatest purpose is to free a human, start by freeing yourself, end by freeing others.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am the founder of Brandsol Agency. Brandsol’s mission is to help create brands with purpose that are both thoughtful and profitable. Our goal is to help entrepreneurs realize their dreams. Our purpose is to not just change the conversation, but the future itself.
I have brought 100’s of startups to life, serving as the strategic lead for launching Peace Out, DwellBeing, GigUp, AltroSmart, Lease Easy, Tomlinson Center for Leadership, Engle Roberts, Brochu Walker, Bold & Bare, Foodspace, PeaPod, and many, many more. My wealth of knowledge in successfully launching brands has led me to a mentor position at Make In LA, a hardware-focused incubator.
I am one of UpWork’s top 1% earners, won the 2021 Tony Robbins Comeback Challenge, and am an expert speaker and published author. I have spoken at Alt Summit 2023, Digital Marketing LA, The Authentic Marketing Conference, 2018 CEMA Summit, and the 2018 Video Marketing Conference. In addition, I was a featured expert contributor to the book Digital Marketing Tactics and have won over ten industry awards for my content and strategy.
If you need help with marketing that connects to the heart and soul of your audience and gets you the results and growth you are looking for, I am the person to speak to.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back I think the three qualities that were most impactful on my journey were 1) always leading with an open heart, 2) never giving up, and 3) being bold enough to stand alone.
It is not easy to trust yourself and the universe to make bold moves. It is hard to say no to the easy way, the safe way sometimes. However, the one thing I have learned is that when you do, the universe does rise up to meet your bravery. It can be scary saying no to a big job, a full time paycheck, the friends you have known forever. Choosing to brave the wilderness alone is not the safe choice, but it is the brave choice, and it is the choice I always make when faced with a hard decision.
When I was in grammar school I would spend every day under this big beech tree alone. I did this consciously. It was a choice, even at such a young age. I can remember looking at the other girls in my class running around playing Charlie’s Angels ( I was an 80’s kid). To me it seemed so silly, running around with imaginary guns through the classroom, not to mention having to bow down to Michelle, their fearless leader (the classroom bully). Michelle would demand her shoes tied, and lunch money given to her. She even took one of my classmate’s pens that had a digital clock embedded into it – that was a BIG deal at the time, can you imagine?
Anyway, I decided at the age of ten, I was better. I don’t mean that in a condescending way, just that I was going to walk my own path. So, I read books, I spent time alone, lots of time alone. I chose no, over yes when it came to friends I did not align with. I dreamt big and wrote tons and tons of poetry. So much poetry that I can write one while standing on a grocery line out loud at this point. It is just part of me, a superpower perhaps, I don’t know.
I guess what this taught me was that you have to be willing to stand alone if you believe in yourself. You have to be willing to perhaps stand alone for years, in my case maybe decades. It has taught me that being alone is a privilege. Being alone is something beautiful. It is a skill and one that is rarely earned. Most people clutter their lives with people and conversations and things they don’t even really care about. It takes guts to stand alone for something you do care about. It is not the cheese that stands alone, but the queen.
Image Credits
photos: Bree McCool Photography
