Personal Brand: “You’ve got to be carefully taught”

A while back I saw the musical “South Pacific.” A song titled “You’ve got to be carefully taught” appears somewhere in the show. It stayed in my memory.

Recent comments on my blog “Personal Brand ain’t Playacting” brought it to mind.

Each of us has a personal brand among those who know us either in person or by reputation. Of all the people in the world that is probably a very small number until you consider the internet.

That video of you dancing beside your car as it rolls along in neutral could take you from completely unknown to millions of views in a matter of minutes. Is it worth it?

You got to be taught

Many people want a personal brand. Unfortunately, they seem to have been taught that being yourself isn’t good enough. Worse still is the apparent belief that the bigger your numbers are on social media, the stronger your brand.

Come again!

Internet fame fades fast. Big numbers for bad actions are not the way to build a positive perception. Being consistent and truthful and standing up for what is right is more notable. In order to build a personal brand, you have to layer your unique information or approach or talent or skill on top of your real personality.

The line in the show which precedes the song is “It’s not born in us, it happens after we’re born…”

Prejudice is learned

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught! 

Lyrics by Rodgers & Hammerstein

Reputation is earned

One southern legislator said that "a song justifying interracial marriage was implicitly a threat to the American way of life." Rodgers & Hammerstein stubbornly defended their work saying that “this number represented why they had wanted to do this play, and that even if it meant the failure of the production, it was going to stay in."

You’ve been carefully taught that you need to be something you aren’t, something that appeals to a wide audience, something that will give you momentary fame. But the true icons of the internet do not buy in to that misdirection.

Be yourself. It is better in the long run. 

Ask Taylor Swift or Gary Vaynerchuk. 

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His consulting practice, founded in 1990, is known for Trust-based Brand development, Positioning and business development for independent professionals on and off-line.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com
Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com