What happens when the version of you that’s always holding it together finally can’t anymore?

In You Are Before the World, Tara Jaye Frank writes with radical honesty about depletion, overgiving, and the moment she realized that putting everyone else first was costing her herself.

In this episode of Branding Room Only, Paula sits down with Tara to talk about the internal reckoning that shaped the book and the deeper truth beneath it: that worth is not earned through sacrifice, helpfulness, or being “twice as good.” Drawing from her leadership journey, her decade-long partnership with Dr. Maya Angelou, and the personal losses that forced her to reexamine who she was without her roles, Tara reflects on what it really takes to choose yourself.

This is a conversation about boundaries, grief, divorce, motherhood, and the courage to stop contorting yourself to fit spaces that were never designed to hold you fully. If you’ve ever believed your value lived in what you give, or felt the pressure to stay composed while quietly unraveling, this episode is an invitation to remember: you are before the world.

1:22 – How Tara’s definition of personal branding has changed from a couple of years ago and the unique way she describes herself

4:15 – The idea of getting ready for what’s ready for you and what plays for Tara when she’s having a bad day or needs to get hyped up

7:17 – How her Cape Verdean community in MA and experiences outside of it shaped Tara and her bridge-building skill

13:23 – Tara’s career, from greeting card writer to CEO of her own firm, and how she became a writer for Hallmark

18:43 – Lessons learned from partnering with Dr. Maya Angelou for 10 years

21:36 – How a single, unexpected moment can reframe an entire life’s work

26:24 – Paula’s experience from reading You Are Before the World

30:22 – The hidden emotional load behind being a helper

34:13 – Why breaking the box is often more painful than staying inside it

43:06 – Stories that Tara had to rewrite for herself to move forward

49:38 – The quiet grief of losing roles you once built your identity around

55:29 – What Tara does for fun, what she’ll never compromise on, and the differentiator that is her magic

Mentioned In Why Choosing Yourself Is a Branding Decision with Tara Jaye Frank

Tara Jaye Frank 

You Are Before the World and The Waymakers by Tara Jaye Frank

The 92 Project – IKONI Collective

The Waymakers Change Group (TWCHG)

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