Blooming Mindset

Welcome to the Blooming Mindset, a weekly dose of clarity, mindset, and practical wisdom to help you stay consistent, think more deeply, and build a life aligned with your identity and purpose. I’m ​Ruth Rieckehoff​, and I’m so glad you’re here. ​Please share this newsletter with a friend!​

Beloved Architect of Identity,

I’ve got a funny story for you today.

I spent years mispronouncing my own name.

Yep. My own name.

It was one of those things I never questioned, kind of like when you grow up saying a word one way and then find out in college that you’ve been butchering it for a decade. Except this one was baked into my identity.

When I moved to California, my English was, to put it mildly, ambitious.
​I had taken years of classes.
I read the textbooks.
I did the internships.
But when it came time to actually speak?
My tongue and brain were like two coworkers who hadn’t been introduced yet.

So I did what any determined, slightly-stubborn, newly moved twenty-something would do:

I signed up for advanced ESL classes.
Which helped a little, but not nearly enough.

One day, I discovered that my employer was offering accent-reduction training. I enrolled immediately.

Best. Decision. Ever.

The instructor was brilliant.
She’d been doing this forever and knew exactly why each of us struggled the way we did, depending on the language we grew up with.
And then she said something that blew my mind:

I just stared at her.

Because suddenly it made sense.
I was trying to speak a language using sounds my mouth had never met before. My brain had been guessing. My tongue had been improvising. And somehow I expected everything to come out perfectly.

And here’s the part that still makes me laugh:

The “th” sound?
One of those sounds that doesn’t exist in Spanish?

Yeah, it’s in my name.

Which means I had been mispronouncing my own name for YEARS.

Wild, right?

But here’s why I’m telling you this:

For the longest time, I thought the reason people weren’t connecting with certain entrepreneurs was because they hadn’t “mastered their brand voice.” I thought they needed more personality, or better copy, or a stronger vibe.

But the truth hit me the same way that “th” lesson did:

And your business has its own language.

Its own sound.
Its own structure.
Its own way of communicating anchored in: your mission, your vision, your unique value, and your audience’s needs, problems, and obstacles

If those pieces aren’t defined, or if you’ve been “guessing” at them, then of course the message comes out blurry.

Of course your audience doesn’t fully hear you.

Of course selling feels harder than it should.

It’s not because you’re inconsistent.
It’s not because you’re “bad at messaging.”
It’s not because you need to add more personality or more content or more effort.

It might just be that you’re trying to pronounce sounds your business has never taught you.

Have you ever felt like that?
Like you’re saying all the words, but people still don’t “get” it?

Here’s what shifted everything for me:

Once you understand the true language of your business, the identity, the purpose, the promise, the transformation, everything else clicks.

It’s like learning the missing vowel sounds.

Suddenly, you’re not guessing anymore.
You’re expressing.
You’re not forcing clarity.
You’re speaking from the core.

And when that happens?

Your audience recognizes you faster.
Your content lands deeper.
Your offers make sense.
And selling feels easier.

Not because you learned how to “hack” anything.
But because you’re finally speaking in a way your audience can hear.

That’s the lesson I learned from mispronouncing my own name:

You can only connect when you understand the sounds you’re trying to express.

So as the year winds down, this might be the perfect moment to tighten the language of your business. Reconnect with the core. Clarify the message. Sharpen the voice.

Because when you do?

You feel clearer.
Your audience feels safer.
Your work feels lighter.
Your growth feels inevitable.

Here’s to saying things in a way that finally lands.
​And to building a business that sounds like the truest version of you.

Until next time, keep on blooming!
Ruth 🌸

Reflect

1. Where in your business do you feel like you’re “speaking,” but your audience isn’t really hearing you?
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2. What parts of your mission, vision, or value proposition feel fuzzy or unexpressed?

Reframe

Old belief: “If I keep posting, eventually people will get it.”​
New belief: “Connection happens when I articulate the true voice of my business, clearly, consistently, and intentionally.”

Actionable Transformation

1. Define the core sounds of your brand — write down your mission, vision, UVP, and customer problems in one place. This is your linguistic foundation.
2. Audit your last 10 pieces of content — does every piece reflect those core sounds? If not, rewrite one.
3. Choose one brand “sound” to improve this week — clarity, tone, story, or offer messaging. Strengthen it intentionally.

P.S. If this stirred something in you, it might be time to explore the “sounds” your business is trying to speak. Clarity starts there.

If you want more of these bite-sized lessons and mindset shifts, I share daily over on X. Come hang out with me there → Follow me on X.