View Yourself Like a Luxury Brand — Because You Are
When you think about the most luxurious brands in the world — the ones that ooze wealth, cost an absolute fortune, and seem reserved for the top 1% — what comes to mind?
A Chanel handbag? A Rolls Royce (with a driver, obviously)? A Banksy painting? A super yacht? A 12-carat pink diamond ring?
Now think about why these things are considered luxurious. It’s not just that they’re pretty (some of them aren’t to my taste at all!). It’s because they’re rare, crafted by a human being, one-of-a-kind, exclusive. You don’t find them in Tesco on a two-for-one offer.
Now think about yourself.
Are you one of a kind? YES. There has never been and will never be another you — with your exact humor, values, weird obsessions, heartbreaks, triumphs, loves, and scars. You are handcrafted by your experiences. You’ve survived things that could have broken you, and you’re still here, shinier and stronger.
You are your own luxury item.
Why does this matter?
I’m lucky enough to coach the most wonderful people — most of them women. The thing that excites me more than anything is showing them how strong they truly are, not just physically but mentally.
When I tell someone they can do more than they think in the gym, they often look at me like I’ve grown a dragon’s head and a giraffe’s tail. Every single one of them has a story, their own heroine’s journey. My job? To narrate the beginning of their happily ever after.
There isn’t a single member of my crew that I don’t see as luxury.
What happens when they do something they thought they couldn’t? They believe they are that luxury item too. They shine — not in competition with anyone else, but because they slayed the beast, lifted the weight, held the wall sit for 90 seconds (it’s for their own good!), they did it.
In that moment, they would never dream of letting someone stand them up on a date, not pay their invoices on time, or shout at them when they calmly presented a boundary. It just wouldn’t happen. And you know what? The rest of the team wouldn’t let it happen either.
But what happens when they leave the empowering gym bubble?
They go home.
They pick up after the kids.
They run errands for people who don’t even bother to say thank you.
They go to social gatherings they'd rather sit on a cactus than attend.
They comfort friends who drain them with the same stories on repeat.
And then they wonder why they’re shattered, emotionally fried, and eating five bars of Galaxy while cooking everyone else’s individually curated dinners like Marco Pierre-White.
It’s time to flip the script.
It’s time to treat yourself like the luxury brand you are.
Would Beyoncé cook different meals for each family member every night?
Would a Hermès handbag be used to carry half a pound of tomatoes?
💎 How to Treat Yourself Like a Luxury Brand
Does everyone have access to you? Make yourself a VIP ticket.
Do you say “yes” to everything, even when you want to scream “NO”? Imagine you’re a VIP experience — only available to certain people, in certain circumstances, by your choice.
You know the things that drain you. The dinner you said yes to but dread every day. The family trip that makes your stomach flip. Collecting a friend from the airport at 3am when they could Uber but “they’d rather have someone they know” (of course they would!).
This includes work too (yes, I hear the groans).
If your job makes you feel like a lonely whack-a-mole in an arcade, endlessly popping up to get metaphorically smacked back down, it’s time to re-evaluate. You are not a 24/7 McDonald’s drive-thru.
You have a limited amount of time on this planet. Create your own waiting list. Prioritise the things that light you up and make everyone else wait their turn. Maybe they miss the boat because your calendar is so full of joy and soul-filling activities that there’s no space left for the energy vampires. Well done, you.
💡 Will you miss opportunities if you start saying no?
Yes. But not the good ones.
In fact, you’ll enjoy life more because you’ll be energised and excited. And guess what? New, better opportunities will appear because your energy attracts them.
This is the trap, though. When those new opportunities arrive, you’ll be tempted to say yes to everything and slip back into the same patterns. That’s when you have to remember who you are — a luxury brand, not a clearance rack.
🥐 A Bakery Lesson
There’s a bakery in my city. It’s famous. People travel just to eat there. They do spectacular brunches and elegant afternoon teas.
It doesn’t take reservations. There is always a queue — rain, snow, or blazing sun. People happily wait in freezing January winds because they know it’s worth it.
That’s the energy you want.
The people in that queue are of a certain vibe. You don’t see 4am party-goers there. The right people understand value and will wait for it.
👑 Be Your Own Crown Jewel
If Cinderella taught us nothing else, it’s that men are obsessed with feet... I mean, it’s that we are not all meant to fit into the same shoes.
Luxury looks different for everyone.
Some crave handbags. Others want diamond rings. Some dream of private yachts; others get seasick at the thought.
Me? I’m obsessed with Japanese Acers. My mum and I shared this love — we’d take trips to admire their delicate, variegated leaves. My friends don’t get it; they’re into watches, or road bikes, beautiful hard backed books, running shoes, all manner of things. And that’s the point: your version of luxury won’t be for everyone.
✨ Don’t Be the Knock-Off
When you try to morph into someone else’s idea of luxury, you become a cheap imitation — the holiday market knock-off that falls apart faster than Monica proposing to Chandler (that episode makes me cry every time, by the way).
How do you avoid becoming a "lucky lucky" fake?
Polish your own shine daily. Tune into yourself. When something feels off, say “no thanks” and step away.
Will you lose people? Yes.
But ask yourself: What are you actually losing if someone leaves because you stopped contorting into their version of you?
Are you losing genuine connection? Someone who’d be there for you in your worst moments? Someone who would show up when you needed them most?
Or just the idea of connection that was never really yours?
💜 Final Thoughts
You are not a value range item.
You are a work of art, a luxury brand, a once-in-history creation.
Treat yourself accordingly.