How to build your own life brand

Black Collegian, Apr 2001 by Graham, Stedman

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 Taylor's 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. 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. 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 can build upon, market and expand. 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. 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 the benefit of everyone within your reach.

A Brand-New Way Of Looking At Your Life

Like a product brand, your Life Brand carries a guarantee or a promise of inherent value. The brands that endure are those that keep their promise and build upon it. Your Life Brand's promise is contained in your special blend of talents, skills, knowledge, and other personal characteristics that give you value in the world.

Think for a minute about the people who you appreciate most in your work, your relationships, and within organizations or groups you belong to. They are people who deliver something you value, aren't they? They have skills, knowledge, or personal characteristics that add to the quality of your life. Their "brands" or reputations carry a promise. Do you have an employee or a coworker who comes through every time? A trusted adviser, whose wisdom you rely upon? A favorite aunt or uncle, you can always count on to make you feel loved and appreciated? A friend, who makes you laugh even in difficult times? Each of these individuals offers something specific that you value. The people who mean the most to you, then, are those who offer you the most value throughout your life. The individuals who stand out in the world around us are those who offer the greatest value to the most people -just as those products with the strongest brands are the ones that offer us the great value.

Branding Yourself

If you have any goals or dreams for your life, then, whether you realize it or not, you are already pitching your own "brand" every day in many different ways - whether you are a high school student hoping to make the grade for college, a college student preparing for a career, an athlete vying for a position on a team, or a business person working to get ahead of the competition. To build a Quality Life Brand, consider the following rules.

The First Rule: Your Brand Can't Be All Things To All People

In the world of brands, from consumer products to celebrities and personal brands, there is no single brand that appeals to each and every individual or target market. CocaCola has one of the most powerful brands in the world, but there are many people who prefer Seven-Up or Dr Pepper or simply a glass of water. Michael Jordan has a powerful celebrity brand, but not everyone aspires to be an athlete or competitor "like Mike." Some prefer to be scholars or inventors or healers. The point is that no single brand can appeal to all of the people all of the time. So why try? Your goal should be to become the best at whatever it is you love to do and then build your Life Brand around it. Simply ask yourself. What is it that you enjoy doing most? What gives your life meaning? What do you look forward to doing more than anything else. What is it that you would do with your life even if you didn't get paid for it? I believe that above all else, you should follow your passions by identifying the things you love to do and then building your life around them. That is how you create a Quality Life Brand that inspires others and attracts opportunities over the course of a lifetime.