My trip last weekend to keynote at Ball State University took me in to the heart of basketball country. Everywhere you looked there was connection to the game.
Coupled with this has been the meteoric rise of Jeremy Lin over the past two weeks. A social media personal branding sensation.
It was a case of basketball, basketball, basketball! It truly has been LINsanity (he has just applied to trademark that phrase!).
There are a number of lessons from Jeremy's LINtastic recent success that you can take and apply to your own personal brand.
1. Continue to play to your strengths.
Even though he was not picked up originally by an NBA team, dropped and relegated to minor leagues he still continued to play to his own set of strengths.
Personal Brand Lesson
It is important to understand your weaknesses and how they might impact on your brand. But if you spend all your time on them you draw attention to them and you will never get a weakness to a point of strength. Take the extra time and effort to leverage your strengths.
2. Be ready for the opportunity.
A number of injuries and poor results gave him another chance, just when the team were considering releasing him. His persistence paid off and now he has helped the team to win 8 of the last 10 games.
Personal Brand Lesson
In the new reality that is work today the next opportunity might come when you least expect it. You have to be ready. Once you have been given the chance make the most of it and be sure to give 110%. People will remember you for your hard work and results.
3. Be authentic, remember where you came from.
There have been his detractors, but Lin has remained humble and appreciative of the chance to play. Even crass (or just thoughtless) sports reporting he recognised as a mistake and accepted apologies.
Personal Brand Lesson
Your personal brand is who you are. It should not be some false image or manufactured personna. The temptation once you have found more success might be to conveniently forget the past. Remain true to who you are and recognise what got you where you are now.
What other lessons can you see and apply to your career and personal brand from the recent LINsanity?