I recently had one of the most enjoyable conversations of my life. Lucky me, I got to talk about two of my greatest passions: Rush and branding.

Two years ago last week, Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart passed away. Along with being one of the greatest drummers who ever lived, he was a Renaissance man practically without peer. So, shortly after his death, I wrote a LinkedIn article about the life lessons I think we can all learn from him (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/life-lessons-ive-learned-from-neil-peart-professor-andris-pone/?trackingId=psMZuGGJQV27ZDKhAG3zlg%3D%3D).

Then, last month, a Rush fan podcast noticed the article and asked me to appear on their show to talk about it. And also about why, for years now, I have made telling the story of Rush integral to my teaching about branding.  Because Rush – not just the world’s biggest cult band, but also in my view the world’s biggest cult *brand – exemplifies the idea that branding is fundamentally about being your true, different self.

More consecutive gold and platinum studio albums than any band in history except the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. By a band that many people know nothing about – because Rush stuck to their knitting no matter what their detractors, or outright haters, thought, thereby resonating very deeply with their niche.

Rush stands out on their own terms. That’s what I want my clients to do.

Click the link for the podcast, or you can download it from your favourite podcast provider. I hope you enjoy it.

LINK: https://somethingfornothing.podbean.com/e/ep-123-andris-pone-he-lived-the-lives-of-10-men-lessons-i-ve-learned-from-neil-peart/

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PS Here are some key sections:
6:40 – My interview starts
12:15 – Why I teach Rush to my clients
20:30 – Why practice, practice, practice (like Neil did),
is a strategic branding advantage
38:45 – Have any of my clients become Rush fans?