Build Your Own Life Brand! : A Powerful Strategy to Maximize Your Potential and Enhance Your Value for Ultimate Achievement

Encourages readers to create a strong, unique personal "life brand" they can carry with them into every circumstance to enrich their own lives and the lives of others in their workplace, their family, and their community.

Chapter One: Build a Brand Name for Yourself

When I was playing high school basketball many years ago, there was one name that stood out in every game: Chuck Taylor. Chuck wasn't a big scorer or a great rebounder. In fact, he was constantly underfoot on the court. More accurately, he was on our feet. Before there were Nikes or Reeboks, Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars was the brand. It was the most popular basketball shoe of my high school generation.

Back then, when you made the varsity team, you just had to get a pair of Chuck Taylor high-tops. All the players that I admired in high school, college, and the pros were wearing them, so I associated Chuck Taylor with success on the basketball court. I grew up like everyone else, with hundreds of other brand-name products around me -- top brands such as Wheaties, Pepsi, and Ford Thunderbird -- but my desire to have a pair of Chuck Taylors marked the real beginning of my brand awareness as a consumer.

A brand product is one with a unique identity intended to set it apart from similar products. The cereal brand Wheaties is "the breakfast of champions." The Pepsi soft drink brand is "the joy of cola." Compaq brand computers offer "better answers," according to an ad in a magazine on my desk. We are so bombarded by product brands that we are hardly conscious of them much of the time, but most of us have at least some level of brand awareness. We can sing the jingles of our favorite brands. It's the real thing! We can repeat their ad slogans. Just do it! Most important for the companies that make brand-name products, we look for them when we shop.

Increasing a product's brand awareness is one of the jobs performed by my management and marketing consulting company, S. Graham & Associates. Marketing and working with brands are the primary roles of my firm, which provides strategic planning, marketing, consulting, and program execution to companies seeking to target general and multicultural markets. Our clients come to us for help in creating, expanding, and revitalizing their brand names. Our speciality is to build upon what they have already accomplished with their brands by helping them sell their products to multicultural consumers whom they may not be reaching effectively. We also help new companies develop and establish their brands by determining what their primary target markets are and how they can best explain the value of their product to consumers.

A BRAND-NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT YOUR LIFE

• "Everything is a brand. Most people don't recognize that. Where you live, the house you live in, the street you live on...they are all brands. And people are brands," Frank Delano, president of the New York-based Delano & Young, a brand-image firm, told the Chicago Tribune recently.
  
• "We're all brands, in the sense that we have a certain identity, have to maintain a certain quality and have to bring something to [radio station] affiliates they can't bring to themselves," said broadcaster Charles Osgood at a 1999 advertising industry conference entitled "Brand Building for the 21st Century."
  

The business world has long recognized the value of creating a recognizable and clearly defined brand. In recent years, the principles of branding increasingly have been applied to individuals too. Just as Coca-Cola, Apple, and Tommy Hilfiger have brands with assets that they develop and pitch to consumers, you too have assets that you must build upon, market, and expand. It may sound strange to you at first, but think about these situations:

• When you apply for a job, aren't you trying to "sell" the interviewer on you and your particular brand assets, which include your talents, knowledge, training, and personal characteristics such as your energy, your determination, or your leadership attributes?
  
• When you meet someone whom you find interesting or attractive, don't you try to make a favorable impression so that you will stand out in that person's mind?
  
• When you move into a new neighborhood, join an organization, or participate in a fund-raising drive, don't you try to communicate to the people involved that you have something of value to offer?
  

While the concept of branding yourself may seem strange at first, I've noticed that many successful people instinctively think of themselves as "brands" or "products" in the marketplace. When I told Oprah that I had decided to write a book on personal branding, she said: "People are always talking about how I built my brand but I wasn't thinking about that at all. I was winging it, just trying to do my best and to get where I wanted to be." Today, Oprah is very aware of her brand as a businesswoman and entertainer, as are most other successful men and women. They may have built their brands instinctively, but they realize the importance of managing them thoughtfully.

Each of us has a unique blend of talents, knowledge, and other personal assets. We want to make the most of those gifts by developing them and sharing them with the world. I believe that's what makes us truly happy. It isn't about having the nicest clothes, the fanciest cars, or the biggest house. Happiness comes when you are fully engaged in life, so that when you come to the end of your time on this earth, you've used up every ounce of energy, every bit of brainpower, and every gift you've been given. The happiest, most fulfilled people I know aren't necessarily those with the most material things. They are the people who know that their lives have value in the world around them.

When you build a Life Brand, and then manage it, expand upon it, and protect it, you create a method for sharing your gifts and putting them to their highest use -- for your benefit and for the benefit of everyone within your reach. Did you notice I called your brand a "Life Brand"? That's because my goal is to help you attain your highest potential and value, not only in your work or career but also in your relationships, and in every other aspect of your life.

You have talents, knowledge, and other gifts to share -- not just at work, but with your loved ones and with everyone who shares some portion of your life. In the chapters that follow, we will assess your Life Brand "assets," and then look at ways to increase and enhance your value in everything you become involved in. The ultimate goal is to create a fulfilling life by enriching the lives of everyone you touch. It's built upon the philosophy that when you focus on offering your talents and energy to serve others, the rewards will flow your way too.

A BRAND TO BUILD YOUR LIFE AROUND

Branding has long been a buzzword in the business world, but I'm going to take you beyond creating a mere career brand. My vision of personal branding differs substantially from visions that basically offer methods for promoting yourself in your job or career. It's wonderful to be successful in your work, but I've seen too many people who focus only on getting to the top, neglecting their relationships and their personal development along the way. Often, they achieve their goals and then realize that they feel emotionally and spiritually empty because their focus has been too narrow. As Lily Tomlin said, "The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat."

There is no real or lasting fulfillment in a life focused merely on obtaining material success, power, or recognition. There is nothing inherently wrong with those things, if they happen to come to you as the result of how you live your life. I believe they should not be your primary goal. "The less I've cared about money and commissions, the more money I've made. Make the right decisions for the right reasons and the right things will happen. Remember: He who dies with the most toys...dies," says Bill Haber, who cofounded the Creative Artists Agency and is now active in the Save the Children charity.

Like Bill Haber, I've found that the most fulfilled people are those who build value into their Life Brands and then spread it around. I'm going to show you in the pages that follow how to create a high-quality Life Brand that will enable you to stand out not only in your work but also in your relationships and the greater "communities" that you belong to. I consider your communities to include everything from the place you live and the world you live in to your professional ties, your spiritual life, and your network of friends, business associates, teammates, and anyone else within your circle of influence. That includes service, religious, professional, and social organizations; charities, fraternities, and sororities; and your own network of contacts and acquaintances.

SAY "YOU FIRST" AND YOU WILL BENEFIT TOO

I have another concern about many of the personal branding programs I've seen. They often encourage a "me first" attitude. It's not you and your brand against the world. That approach will get you nowhere fast. Why would an employer or client, a friend, or a teammate buy into someone with that approach? I prefer to think of personal branding as a method for identifying your value as a human being, for making that value widely known, and for nurturing and enhancing that value throughout your lifetime.

Here's a quick exercise to help you see the difference between branding yourself purely for selfish reasons and building a Life Brand for the purpose of sharing your talents, skills, and knowledge with the world:

Visualize yourself seated in the middle of a huge crowd in an auditorium. Many of the most powerful people in politics, entertainment, and business are present. There are television cameras positioned to broadcast the evening's events to viewing audiences around the world. With all of the influential people and media on hand, it's a great opportunity to "sell" your Life Brand. But how?

Here are two options:

1. You stand on the seat of your chair and jump up and down while shouting for attention and then you tell everyone what you've done and what you have to offer.
   Or...
   
2. The master of ceremonies asks everyone else in the audience to rise and honor you with their applause and cheers for your many accomplishments and contributions.
   

Which scenario appeals to you? Which would have the most far-reaching and long-lasting implications? Which would be more rewarding over the long term? That is the difference between mere self-promotion and Life Brand building. Unlike some personal branding methods, mine is designed to help you put your talents, skills, knowledge, and personal strengths to their greatest use in the service of your employers or clients, your loved ones, and your community. That does not mean that I'm advising you to give your gifts away. On the contrary, my belief is that when we focus on adding value to others, we realize more rewards than we would ever receive by seeking only personal success, wealth, or recognition. Of course, the first thing you must do is build up your own "assets." That's what creating a Life Brand is all about.

This book offers guidance to help you identify the best that is within you by building a Life Brand with valuable assets. You will learn how to build your brand based on who you really are, not who you think people might want you to be. Much of the current literature on personal branding talks about "selling" yourself to potential employers, clients, or customers. Be assured, I am not going to show you how to sell yourself like a box of Cheer or a six-pack of Yoo-Hoo soft drink. I will offer you a variety of proven methods to market your Life Brand in order to help you stretch for even greater opportunities and challenges.

We all want to stand out from the crowd. We all want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. We all want to be successful in our own way. I will help you do those things by teaching you to think of yourself as a Life Brand. This is more than a catchphrase or a motivational tool. It's a method for managing your life. My process is a holistic approach encompassing all aspects of your life. It will keep you focused on the things that are truly unique about you and important to you. It will help you maintain a balance among work, family, and service to your community. It also will be of great use when you are faced with making important decisions, by helping you distinguish between those opportunities that are in alignment with your long-term goals for all aspects of your Life Brand and those that are not.

Before we get into the process of building your Life Brand, let's take a deeper look at the concept of product branding. Not everything done in the branding of consumer products applies to people, of course, but many of the principles are the same, and it will be helpful for you to understand the basics.

THE POWER OF A BRAND

When you are looking for clothes do you seek out brand names like FUBU, Gap, or Donna Karan? At the grocery store, do you purchase generic ketchup or Heinz? Odds are that you have picked up an affinity for one brand or another in almost every type of goods you purchase. You're still not sure that you have any brand preferences? Do you like bananas? One banana tastes pretty much like any other banana, doesn't it? I have one word for you -- Chiquita -- a brand-name banana. They grow on the same trees as all other bananas, but because they've got a well-known, heavily marketed brand name, you and I tend to choose them over bananas sold by other producers.

What makes for a powerful product brand? In 1997, Interbrand, a branding consulting firm with clients around the world, published an analysis of top brands. The company evaluated 350 brands using four criteria. As you read these, think about how each of them might apply to your Life Brand in your three primary markets: your work, your relationships, and the greater communities that you participate in.

The four criteria for a strong brand as identified by Interbrand were:

1. Brand weight: the brand's influence in its category or market
   
2. Brand length: its reach outside its original category
   
3. Brand breadth: its appeal range in terms of age groups, consumer types, and international impact
   
4. Brand depth: its ability to inspire loyalty among consumers
   

Based on those four criteria, Interbrand selected its top ten consumer product brands. Before you read the list, make up your own based on the brand names that are most familiar to you. The names on your list probably will match those on Interbrand's fairly closely if you have a typical level of brand awareness. Here are their choices for the top ten consumer product brands:

1. McDonald's, which was cited for its "consistent brand values, industry dominance, and a living personality"
   
2. Coca-Cola, a brand with "worldwide appeal"
   
3. Disney, known for its "integrated system in which each Disney property enhances and reinforces the whole"
   
4. Kodak, a major brand since 1888
   
5. Sony, a brand wit...