Represent!

Task 29, July 19 to July 26

"People respect success. They respect big. They don't even have to like your music. If you're big enough, people are drawn to you" Jay-Z

It's all about branding. You got to have a brand, or who the hell are you? Every business, rapper, athlete, actor, influencer, everyone, everything, strives to create a brand--in other words, a distinct identity, which can be a description, name, sign, symbol or design--that distinguishes itself from others providing the same products or services; the most recognizable brands, and most successful feel like they were created organically and are the most authentic. Companies--Apple: awe-inspiring innovation (Think Different); KFC: mouth watering chicken (Finger Lickin' Good) and celebrities--Ryan Reynolds: I'm cooler than you are but you love me anyway; Patrick Mahomes, I'm a nice, but I will not lose; Kevin Costner: I kick ass and I don't apologize.

But what about the rest of us? What if we want to be seen as special, significant? What do you do if you're just a regular schlub, a desk jockey--how do we, the regular Joes of the world, brand ourselves? A lot of folks try to find a unique look. I think tattoos were a great branding devise--in 1990--now it's tired. Or ear expanders--those tire rims people put in their lobes--they look stupid. Let me qualify that statement: they look cool in a dimly lit bar, but silly in the harsh light of a 7-11, and downright idiotic in church. I asked a guy at work why he has a hole in his earlobe big enough to pass a hot dog through and he said, "I like it". Okay, fine.

So what do you do?

Well, you have to start by knowing who you are. What makes you different. What makes you "YOU"? What makes me "ME"? I sat down and wrote on a piece of paper: who am I in this world? I was inspired! In short order I was writing down all sort of things: I'm easy-going, friendly, generous--I actually wrote down that I was debonaire, like James Bond or something.

Then it hit me, like a sledgehammer. It was BS. I was lying to myself, and that is just SAD. I mean, I have slivers of those attributes, but that's all. So I got another piece of paper and started again. It was agonizing, slow work, but after a long hour of soul searching I put down my pen, satisfied with my list.

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Here's the truth. I'm special in the eyes of God, but so is everyone. I'm an aging man of average intelligence, bad tempered on occasion; I frequently bitch and moan about (whatever). I'm easier to look at than Paul Giamatti, but I'm no Glen Powell (or, to be age-appropriate, no Pierce Brosnan) with a body that can be fairly described as "not bad, considering..." (considering, that is, my strong attraction to cheap wine and In-N-Out animal fries); I know how to work hard; I have a strong sense of fair play. I don't hit a person when they're down. I will lend money without needing to be re-paid; I know how to look my kids in the eye and tell them the truth, and best of all, I know enough not to mess around and screw up the best thing I have in the world, my marriage.

So what's my brand? Boring but resolute. A Jewish friend called me a Mensch. My logo: a picture of me, unsmiling, arms folded over my chest. And under that, the phrase: I'm a good man, mostly.

TASK:

Find your brand.