Welcome to the Branding Room Only podcast, where we share career stories, strategies, and lessons learned on how industry leaders and influencers have built their personal brands. Now, let's get started with the show.
Hi, everybody. It's Paula Edgar, and this is Branding Room Only, the podcast where we talk about all things personal branding, professional growth, and showing up strategically. Today's episode is a little different because I wanted to share some reflections from my summer sabbatical. Yes, while I was technically on break, this one has been sitting on my heart, and I wanted to make sure I captured it while the lessons are still fresh.
So let's talk about rest. Let's talk about visibility when you're offline and about how stepping back is not just recovery, it is strategy. As many of you know, every summer I take a summer sabbatical. But let me be clear, that doesn't mean I disappear.
Oh, that rhymed. It's about intentionally saying, "I'm not going to grind right now. I'm going to center joy. I'm going to follow what lights me up. I'm going to recalibrate personally, professionally, and most importantly, energetically."
A big part of what brings me joy is being around people—especially lawyers—because they are my people. They get it. So when I stepped back from the day-to-day of client delivery and meetings, I still showed up intentionally and selectively.
This summer, I attended three conferences that I love, including the National Bar Association's 100-year Centennial Celebration, which is a once-in-a-generation moment honoring legacy and looking forward; the Professional Development Consortium Summer Conference (aka PDC), where I saw so many of the folks who I collaborate with, advise, and learn from. It is my absolute favorite space to refuel both personally and professionally.
I also went to the American Bar Association's annual convention where I got to show up fully as an advocate, as a commissioner on the ABA's Commission on Women in the Profession, and as chair of this year's 35th annual Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards, which was a milestone moment, celebrating 35 years of powerful, impactful women lawyer leaders.
It didn't stop there. I also advised my friends on the ABA's Criminal Justice Section Council on branding, I'm the official special advisor on branding for that Criminal Justice Section Council. That is a space where I get to merge both my passion and my expertise to elevate not just the profession, but really, communities and our world.
I also represent the New York City Bar Association at the ABA, where I serve on the board, as a delegate. All of that, to me, is aligned action. That’s my advocacy, my brand, and my leadership all working together.
I'll be honest. At a time, y’all, when the rule of law is under attack, there was no way I wasn't going to be in the room, any of these rooms. So you might be thinking, "Paula, that sounds like a lot." It was, but it wasn't grind.
It was soul-filling. It was mentally engaging, yes, but not the same as the rest of the year where I'm deep in delivery mode. This was selective engagement on my terms, with space to exhale. I made sure to mix in real rest, too. I don't just preach about it. I live it. I don’t just preach about joy. I live joy.
So what does joy look like for me? That means I had spa days and naps, because yes, naps are joy. I was hanging out with my friends. I was going to shows and new restaurants.
Something that I really loved this summer is that my husband and I planned 10 date nights of intentional time, just us, eating good food. That’s joy. That was rest. That was also brand alignment.
Because even though I was in summer sabbatical mode, you’ll notice I stayed visible, and that was on purpose. I queued up podcast re-releases. I used my out-of-office message to tell people about my services. I sent out my newsletter. I wore my branding sash when I was at PDC.
I showed up in rooms where I knew my presence mattered, not just to others, but for my own alignment. Because visibility doesn’t mean doing the most. It means doing what matters with intention.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: you don’t need to post daily to stay relevant. You just need to show up with clarity and consistency, and again, with intention.
So many times this summer, people would say, “Oh, I didn’t think I was going to see you because you’re in summer sabbatical,” to which I reminded them that summer sabbatical for me is doing what I want, what brings me joy, what makes me feel rested and energetically aligned.
Here’s what never fails for my summer sabbatical: when I rest, I create. It is in the stillness of sitting and resting, not really thinking about the grind of delivery, that the best ideas come rushing in. It’s ironic, I know, but when I’m not overscheduled, I actually start seeing the big picture.
This summer, I dreamed up a lot, a new visibility framework, a content series that I cannot wait to share, a new approach to how I deliver my personal branding strategy sessions, some ideas for new sessions I can offer clients, and a video project that’s finally aligned with how I want to show up in this next chapter. All of those ideas just came to me. I didn’t force any of it. It came because I made space.
When you think about it, when you’re not in back-to-back meetings, you can start to hear your own voice again. Rest gives me time to think strategically. The rest I took during my summer sabbatical gave me time to think intentionally and strategically about Q4 and 2026: what I want, who I want to work with, and how I want to feel doing it.
It’s one of the best gifts my summer sabbatical gives me. It's time to plan without pressure, to reconnect with what feels aligned, and to edit and remove what no longer fits. That is a huge part of it.
I tend to prune some of the trees and prune back some of the plants that have been taking up space in my garden.
So what do I want you to take away from this? As I remind you all the time: I know that everybody cannot take a full summer sabbatical, but everybody can have rest as a part of their brand strategy. Rest is a part of your brand strategy. Visibility can be intentional without being exhausting. Your joy matters, and it’s not a bonus; it’s a necessity.
I don’t think that we can really be who we need to be and show up in alignment if we don’t prioritize rest and joy. Remember, you can lead, advocate, and grow, and still pause.
Whether that means that you are taking time daily, once a week, once a month, or the whole summer, you should be resting. You should take time. We are not doing ourselves a favor when we over-task and over-schedule ourselves.
So if you are waiting for permission to rest, let this be it. You’re hearing this at the close of my summer sabbatical, but know that rest is still an intentional part of my strategy all year long. I hope that you also incorporate it as well. Because resting doesn’t mean you have to disappear. It just means that you can step back.
I have found every single year that I’ve done this, that that step back has been an opportunity for me to propel further and do more in a more strategic way when I come back up. That excites me.
So I wanted to take the time to tell you about this rest as a strategy. If this episode resonated with you—and I hope that it did—please take a minute to rate and review Branding Room Only at ratethispodcast.com/branding. It helps more people find the show, and it means a lot to me.
So until next time, rest well, love hard, and remember, you are your brand. So take care of it. Starting with you. Remember, stand by your brand. Talk soon, y’all. Bye.
