Stay Whole Tuesday - Thinking like a brand - 15.2

"In the personal-branding mindset, you are your most important asses - an asset, like education, that no one can take away from you. Personal branding shows you how to maximize the value of that asset, both in terms of self-actualization - becoming who you can be - and in terms of human capital - maximizing the financial value of your career."

(page XV of the introduction from You are a Brand!, by Catherine Kaputa.)

Yet personal branding is not taught in school. It is a neglected aspect of education. Thinking like a brand means creating a brand for yourself and marketing it, and not squandering opportunities when they come your way. It's easy to shortchange yourself if you're not thinking like a brand.

Did you think about yesterday's post in terms of who you know in college who 'thinks like a brand'? These are people who typically have found something they are passionate about and they are starting to self-actualize how they can standout from the ordinary, normal folks. They may be a little unreasonable, a little different, a little extraordinary.

Stay whole,

Dad

Make it a great Monday - Self Brand - 15.1

Sally,

It was so good to have you home for Thanksgiving and I am glad that the Christmas break is right around the corner. I am enjoying this book I told you about called, You are a Brand! How Smart People Brand Themselves for Business Success, by Catherine Kaputa. I want to share some key points from the book with you over the next days. You might try and put my notes in perspective as you walk around campus and in your day-to-day interactions with friends and acquaintances at UGA.

In the Foreword, the Author says that there are two things in life worth striving for. One is happiness; the other is success. She notes, "There are a lot of happy people who aren't very successful. And there are a lot of successful people who aren't very happy. But if you have both, what more could you want?" It is not easy to achieve both happiness and success, as these two things are often diametrically opposed concepts. "To be happy, you need to create a positive attitude in your own mind. A powerful sense of self . . . To be successful, you need to create positive attitudes in the minds of other people. You can't make yourself successful. Only other people can make you successful."

In other words, you need to build a "self brand," a reason for people to buy from you, whether you are selling yourself for a job or selling products and services to others. So who have you met who is already creating a self brand? It is usually someone who is very passionate about what they are studying and they know who they are meant to be. What can you learn from these people?

Make it a great Monday,

Dad

Fit as a Fiddle Friday - Mastery - 14.5

Sally,

Here is something interesting to think about, as you head into your Thanksgiving break, and soon your long Christmas break. Michelangelo (1475-1564) said:

"If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all."

Malcom Gladwell, best-selling author known for his books The Tipping Point, Blink, and most recently Outliers writes of something he calls The 10,000 hour rule. The 10,000 hour rule is a concept that it takes that many hours to truly 'perfect' any craft or skill. That is a little more than four years, working on something eight hours a day, for 300 days a year. Or, you could work on something four hours a day, 300 days a year, for nine years.

So a good idea, might be to find something you love, and work at it very hard. At the same time, another good idea would be to . . .

Stay fit,

Dad

Colloquial Thursday - Home again home again jiggidy-jig - 14.4

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.
To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,
Home again, home again, market is done.

Can't wait to see you!

Dad

P.S. Origin - a Mother Goose nursery rhyme.

Women Power Wednesday - Learn from each challenge - 14.3

Sally,

I like this from John Morton:

"Trust that you can learn from each challenge, regardless of how disturbing or painful. That is a God-given right inside of you. Invoke your right to learn from everything." 

It speaks to me about my current challenge at work.

Women power to you,

Dad

Stay Whole Tuesday - Cloud formation - 14.2

Sally,

As you know, Dad's work has been difficult of late. I believe I have performed for the company (in my role of territory sales) at a level of a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. I recently wrote a letter to the Board of Directors, outlining what I have accomplished, in the capacity I have been asked to fulfill. I also provided supporting data that shows how sales have increased in 2010 and how well-positioned the company is for continued growth because of the increase in trained and certified resellers whom I have personally recruited for the company. In this letter, I asked for a 'vote of confidence' from the Board by way of an  increase in my base compensation and for additional stock options. I was denied both.

It puts me in a difficult position, as I have a significant investment in Salient Systems, yet feel the company has decided not to show appreciation or support for what I have contributed and what I am capable of contributing in the future. On Saturday morning, while driving to the golf course for some practice and relaxation, there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a beautiful fall Austin day, with a perfectly blue sky. When I got to Saint Michael's on 360, I started thinking and praying about my situation. As I crested the hill beside the church, I looked up and saw a large cloud formation in the shape of a cross perfectly positioned over Austin Country Club.

My first thought was that God wants me to sacrifice the club, so that I can continue to work at Salient even when the company can not or will not pay me what I believe I am worth? Mom had a different take on it. She called it a sign from God that the club is my sanctuary - a place where I can get away and relax?

So sacrifice or sanctuary . . . I am still processing, but I do believe God has the answers.

Stay whole,

Dad

Make it a great Monday - Waiting for Superman - 14.1

Sally,

It is week 14 of your college career and this is the first post of the week, so I believe that makes 66 entries. We had a nice weekend, in spite of our football teams not doing so well. The Chaps were eliminated in week one of the playoffs by Stoney Point, Bulldogs couldn't stop Cam Newton, Tar Heels were gobbled up by Va. Tech (Hokies), and UT looked mediocre or worse against Oklahoma State. Nick Foles played well against USC, but Arizona came up short. Tanner Price didn't fair any better, as Wake Forest was trounced by NC State. Ryan Swope and A&M had a nice win against Baylor, so that was the only victory amongst teams I have been following.

Mom and I saw our second movie of the week, a rare accomplishment, and I commend it to you. We saw, Waiting for Superman, the documentary on the US Education System. It is a powerful movie pointing out the following facts about our system: (a) the US education system is horribly broken, (b) we know how to fix it, but (c) we can't fix it, because of the teachers unions that protect 'bad' teachers by providing tenure (i.e. jobs for life) regardless of  job performance.

I have a couple of interesting topics I want to write about this week and perhaps on-going. I have some additional thoughts spurred by the movie, The Social Network, on the subject of 'cooperation' versus 'competition'. Another topic has to do with a cloud formation I saw on Saturday.

I will save the rest of the 'cloud' story for later this week. It is a good one.

Make it a great Monday,

Dad