Walking through the city yesterday, I saw the Fendi window. "Pretty nice". Then I started to examine the imagery a little more deeply. They branded the hell out of that window. I was thinking that if an individual were to were to be so 'forward' with the marketing of themselves, it would be really unattractive. The truth is, it is pretty gross and aggressive even when a company does it. The key is that Fendi (and other successfully branded corporations) pay a great deal of attention to making sure the Name, Logo, Slogan, Imagery of their respective companies are associated with quality and goodness. Whether this is true or not, it is about perception. For most, perception is reality. So how are we branding ourselves? The way we speak, dress, act & interact, are very much our marketing. Subtly and grossly, we are putting a stamp on everything around us. We often think it is unfair and that one should not judge a book by its cover.... yeah.... that is for you to do, morally and in your own assessment of the world. The way the rest of the world works, is that you are assessed primarily by your actions and your look, and once that assessment is made, it is damned hard to make people re-evaluate their ideas of you. I have learned to take note of how I am perceived. It is my brand. We are ALWAYS representing something or someone. Our families, our gender, our, culture, our religion, our race, ourselves! It is important to give a proper representation a GOOD representation. If it is important enough for companies to spend billions on, why wouldn't it be important enough for us to be conscious of? Be a good brand manager for yourself. Make your brand (and stock) premium.