[Cache – #128]
T.S. Eliot wrote that “April is the cruellest month.” But for me it is September. At least it is for any teenager returning to public high school for another year of force-fed curriculum that obliterates any space in which a kid might express a different, creative or original point of view. An answer, in other words, that doesn’t happen to be pre-approved by government and parroted by teachers.
Can you tell I didn’t like high school? 🙂
But everything changed in university. Suddenly my opinion mattered, as long as I could back it up with an argument – irrespective of whether the prof agreed with it. September became a good month.
And now in my working life, as I do exactly what I want and was meant to do, September is a month of great hope. Because with summer and its relaxed pace essentially over, it is a fresh opportunity for self-branding. Given that a brand is what people think of you, self-branding is the act of achieving a deep understanding of the unique value you offer the world, validating your worth and helping you reach your highest emotional, intellectual, spiritual and financial potential (see FMB #111).
Faithful reader (and uniquely-positioned real estate agent) Tom Marchese gave this variation: The act of branding is first achieving a deep understanding of oneself, and then helping other people achieve that level.
We’re not talking about logos or websites here. We’re talking about why you’re on this planet. We’re talking about how you’re going to make the most of it.
Now.
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BOOK: Buy the #1 Globe and Mail bestselling Brand: It Ain’t the Logo at Books for Business: http://goo.gl/vvC8uq
RADIO: interview on CBC Radio One about unhappiness with Microsoft Windows 8
TV: BNN interview re. Lance Armstrong’s brand (starts at the 3:30 mark, after the ad).
