Your Personal Brand...

Good Morning...

We are well into the year 2010...we have both new year's celebrations behind us...the traditional western new year and the Chinese new year! 

NOW comes Mardi Gras! That is a different topic...

...back to the thought at hand...

It is funny that we have taken a regular, yet "random" point along the time continuum and call it a beginning. 

There is no valid reason for these days to be a beginning point. 

Yet human nature desires...actually...hungers...even demands...the right to start over!

Starting afresh is a basic human need...and that should be recognized...

It should be recognized that it occurs more often than once every 365 days! 

In fact, it should be a daily activity...maybe even multiple times during a day!

Starting over is a right...and it should be a right that is exercised...but...

...there is a tension that plays directly against starting over...

...AND...that is your brand...

"Your Brand," in a sense, is the baggage that you intentionally or unintentionally carry from your past into your present...

It is those things that you have refused not to start anew!

It is your reputation......the sum total of your habits and repeated behavior...it is what you are known for...

The general problem that I see happening, with most people, is that they simply accept their "brand" and submit to the consequences of it...

Dylan Thomas (although not referring directly to "brand") has great advice for us...

"...Rage, Rage against the light...do not go gently into that good night..."

Your "brand" is not unlike a livestock brand...(Play on words...kind of...)

It is permanent and a scar!  It is with you as long as you live...

There is ultimately no way to rid yourself of scars...

So what do I suggest?
A three-fold "branding" strategy that we all must be aware of and use constantly...

(I love triads!)

1 - Do not allow something to brand you that will hurt you...

2 - Use what scars that you have accumulated during your life to beautify your appeal!

You  have a choice about what you are branded...DO NOT GO GENTLY!

3 - Determine what you wish to be known for...and direct and control those situations...

Your brand is critical...it is a choice...it is you!

Clearly and with intent define it and use "the genius of the AND" to allow it to drive you to where you want to go in life!

Your brand is your vehicle...that will drive you personally and professionally...

DO NOT GO GENTLY...

Enough Said!

So let's get back to the fresh start thing...

So when should you declare a "restart?"

Some people may answer...When you have had enough...

My response to that is...that's too late...

Others may answer...before it hurts you...

My response to that is...that's too early...

There is no single answer...but there is a commonality it when you push the reset button...

When it no longer supports the "brand" that you are promoting...

It may be financially, ethically, morally...or selfishly...

The answer is simple when you consider the value proposition...

Am I getting something for what I am putting into it?

Is there value?

It is that simple...

Sometimes our efforts lose their value after a day...and a "reboot" is necessary!

Other times we must persist...

Unless you desire the brand of a fool...you need to decide when persistence needs to stop...

It is one of the hardest decisions that you'll ever make...but one of the most valuable ones...

Why?

Because it is about your brand...it is about you!

Enough said!

Have a great weekend!

Make great things happen...

Make your own legend!