You’ll be inspired by these famous people who have discovered their core purpose and let it guide them to their personal brand.
If you’re creating your personal brand, you can learn a lot from household brands.
Every year since 2015, Reader’s Digest, owned by publisher Trusted Media Brands, Inc., has teamed up with research firm Ipsos to ask Americans which brands they trust the most across several categories, from auto insurance to airlines to food to body lotion to pet food, and much more.
The top brand for 2021? Listerine mouth wash.
Created in St. Louis in 1879 as an antibacterial cleanser for doctors and dentists, Listerine saw sales take off after a 1920 ad campaign promoted it as a product that effectively kills the germs that cause bad breath. It’s not surprising that Listerine, a product already trusted to kill germs, might continue to do well in a pandemic!
What if Readers’ Digest did a survey about the brands of individual people? It might ask contenders the question: “What do you stand for?” In its resulting article, the magazine would likely recognize people who have done the work of “excavation,” the first step of the time-proven excavate-tell-affirm or ETA™ process. During excavation, leaders dig deep inside themselves to uncover what lights them up so they can best serve.
Personal Brand Efforts in Action
I’d say the following famous people could well be among the winners of a personal brand contest.
Robin Roberts. The anchor on Good Morning America since 2005, Roberts has brought her viewers firsthand reports on breaking news stories as well as feature reports on everything from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina to First Lady Laura Bush’s breast cancer mission in the Middle East. She has also covered numerous special events ranging from the homecoming of soldiers aboard the USS Roosevelt to the Golden Jubilee at Buckingham Palace to the 25th anniversary of the papacy of Pope John Paul II in Vatican City.
Roberts would answer the question about what she stands for with “global citizenship.”
Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D. Lefkowitz is so enthusiastic about science that you will love chemistry after you hear this man speak, even if you did not previously think you could have any interest in the subject. His memoir, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm, recounts his early career as a cardiologist and his transition to biochemistry, which led to his 2012 Nobel Prize win.
Lefkowitz would answer the question about what he stands for with “good science.”
Tony Dungy. A former professional football safety, coach, and sports analyst, Dungy served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts for 13 seasons. He led the Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI. Dungy’s commitment to winning isn’t cliché, however, but rather something that permeates his life. We can all learn from his book, Quiet Strength: The Practices, Principles and Priorities of a Winning Life, written after his son died of suicide.
Dungy would answer the question about what he stands for with “a winning attitude.”
What do you stand for?
People who do the work of answering this question discover what lights them up so they may articulate, with conviction, their individual brand and know-how they may best serve themselves, their organizations and their corner of the world.
Mary E. Maloney, FACHE
Photo by Anamul Rezwan