Adding Legends to your Brand

Good Morning!


I hope that this week you have enabled a legend...

...or exhibited your own legendary performance.

The word "legend" is a cool word...not yet overused...and it is still carrying significant meaning for those who have grasped the real meaning of the word...

A "legend" generally includes the achievement of some seemingly impossible feat...at least for the common man...

"Legends" are the present reflection on a past event...There are good legends and bad legends...

Some legends show that the impossible event was achieved by chance...others through superior wit and planning...and persistence against the odds..

I hope that your legends were created through the latter...and not the prior...

An interesting characteristic about legends is that the ones that last are stories that relate to some cultural,  social or personal need that was met....by a hero or group of heroes...

They are relevant and usually end with the world taken to the next higher level...with the "side-liners" repeating the story in awe of the feat!

I have always believed that successful leaders should be set on creating a legend!

It should be a critical and essential part of their "personal brand"

Hidden within my push for inclusion leadership legends as part of one's brand...is a structure and a discipline...

It is not a difficult plan to follow...

1 - A leader should identify the areas that needs legendary performance...then...

2 - Select one and only one...

3 - Create a plan to achieve it...

4 - Set out (persistently) on the epic journey...

Once achieved...most heroes rest on their laurels...but that shouldn't your case...

Real legendary performance of a truly successful leader...simply sets the stage for the next achievement!

ANOTHER LEGEND that over-shadows the previous one...

Seeking legends is training ground...and a personal brand characteristic that is rare...

Seek to be rare...

Seek to make your performance legendary...you are capable...Legends are created through passion, capability...vision, planning and persistence...

That is what differentiates those few from the majority...

Do not seek to be simply one of the hoard!  You are more than that!

What is the legend that you aspire for and are living up to?

What is your story...

What do people whisper about you...when you are out of earshot?

Everyone actually has a legend...you need to ask yourself...do you control it?...or do others control it?

Is yours "ho-hum" or...or deprecating?

"Unbelievable...if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes?"

It is never too late to write that story and live up to it!

Enough said!

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One of my most favorite shows is Myth Busters. It is on the Discovery and Science Channels...

I love the science and the testing...most of the time it is on the scanty side of proof...but the rigor is consistent and sufficient!

My favorite part is when they confirm the possibility of an urban legend...or some seemingly impossible myth!

This does not happen as often as it should!

The legends that we strive to create should be data supported...so that if challenged or tested...it can be confirmed...either by rigorous methods or by a quick review...

Legends created without proof are just good stories that will be constantly challenged by skeptics who will ultimately win...and in winning create a legend of their own...a bad one for you...a good one for them!

Leaders who do not already have a legend or are not striving to achieve a specific legend are not fulfilling their call...

If you strive for leadership...or if you simply strive to be at the top of your game...it is your obligation to create a legend...

You can achieve the seemingly impossible...through your wit...planning and persistence.

Leaders without REAL legends are not leaders...

Enough said!

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...Certainty of death...little chance of success...What are we waiting for?

One of my favorite lines from the "Fellowship of the Rings"

The most important word in that phrase is one of the shortest...containing only 2 letters...

"we"

Legends, although critical to the brand of a leader...are not an individual endeavor!

They are made through the fellowship and kept alive by the same...

Although the result of heroic action...legends depend upon your fellowship...your "ring"

Personal legends are seldom told by the hero...

They are repeated by the fellowship...and often...

The fellowship unites in heroic vision, direction and action

The fellowship ensures the safety of "the others" with little regard to individual safety...

Loyalty and Trust are the highest character traits...

Heroic actions spring from those traits...and they are unwavering...

Each member would rather die than see one of the ring die...

Legends are made through unity and purpose...

A single breach of selfish action ruins a legend...

If a member looks out for their own well-being...it is at the cost of another...

Make no mistakes...there is no "and" in heroism...

Your personal brand needs legends...

It is an "all cards in" proposition...

Find your story and live it...

Make it epic!

Certainty of death...little chance of success...

What are we waiting for?

Enough said!

Have a great weekend!

Be like "Dyson" who fixes the obvious problems that others ignore...

Find your legend and add it to your brand!

Pura Vida!