5 Tips for Personal Branding (Guy Kawasaki)

In today's economy and work environments, it is very essential to personally brand yourself. Some people may know a little bit about this subject, but others may have no idea what it means to "brand yourself." To help out in this area, the absolute mastermind on the subject, Guy Kawasaki, provides his best 5-tips to personal branding:

"1. MAKE MEANING, NOT MONEY
If you’re into personal branding with the goal of making money, stop now. You will attract the wrong kind of people into your life. Instead, start with the goal of making meaning. What better way to align all your actions with your long-term goals.

What kind of meaning will you make? Kawasaki suggests two ideas for inspiration: 1) right a wrong, or 2) prevent the end of something good. What will you do to make the world a better place?

2. MAKE A MANTRA
In three words or less, what are you all about? Kawasaki believes that mission statements are useless. He says, make a mantra instead. What do you stand for? FedEx stands for “peace of mind.” I stand for “connecting passionate people.” What do you stand for, in the simplest terms?

3. POLARIZE PEOPLE
Personal branding pundits often advise against being a “jack of all trades,” or a generalist that isn’t very good at something specific. They say choose a niche and dominate it. Be great at something, not just good at a lot of things.

What does Guy believe? He suggests being great for some people rather than trying to please everyone. Do not be afraid to make people react strongly for or against you. As my former business partner used to remind me, you’re not doing something right unless you’re pissing someone off. That doesn’t mean be a jerk. That means just don’t try to appeal to all people, or you’ll end up a mile wide and an inch deep, mediocre to everyone. You’ll never find soul mates that way.

4. FIND A FEW SOUL MATES
We’re all on this journey together. It’s silly to think we are alone in our careers or in our life. Find people who balance you. Then make time for them. If you’re busy, make plans in advance so you have to schedule around them. You’re only one person, so surround yourself with people whose skills round you off.

5. DON'T LET THE BOZOS GRIND YOU DOWN
Not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone will always agree with you. That’s a fact of life. So don’t let criticism or doubters bring you down. As you live out your mantra, it’s your responsibility to be strong in the face of “no,” and “you can’t do that.”

Guy says, ignore people who say you won’t succeed. I agree. Use negative words as motivation. Prove people wrong (isn’t that the best feeling?). The more success you find, the more visible you will become, and the more people you will come into contact with. Not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone is going to agree with you. Knowing this, don’t let the bozos grind you down."


- These tips were taken from Guy Kawasaki's book, Art of the Start. This post was borrowed from the author, Pete Kistler, of www.brand-yourself.com.

Cleveland Cavaliers Reveal New Logo

Not much has changed except for the gold and red colors, but I still think it was a good move. Something had to be done because that logo (and their entire arena) just seemed so dark and gloomy. It was no secret that their throwback jerseys were much bigger sellers than their normal jerseys, which I'm sure had something to do with the colorways. The question is, will this mark the end of the LeBron era or the unofficial "second coming"? Remember, they did completely re-brand the organization when LeBron came in as a rookie...

"Catchabuzz" Release Party!

This weekend the fellas from Souldub will be having their big mixtape release party for their project, "Catchabuzz." Being held in the well-known venue in Ann Arbor, the Blind Pig, the event is already near sold-out. It starts on Saturday (June 26), at 8PM and will feature an extended 90-minute set by none other than Souldub as well as performances by Res Publica and The Deep End. All ages are welcome and tickets are available for $10 at http://www.darkreggae.com. Make sure to join the Facebook event page and invite your friends to attend too! Download their mixtape here (for FREE): http://souldub.bandcamp.com and watch the promo video.

Shannon Brown - Crazy Hops!

Shannon Brown is a game dunker. He didn't impress hardly anyone at the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest, but he probably is the best in-game dunker in the league right now. Everytime he goes up hard for a dunk, it seems as if he just floats up higher and higher. It's nutzo! It looks like he's gonna jump out of the building. The dude has major hops. Plus, it makes it 10x better that he's a Michigan Stater.


It all started in a freshman dormroom with a dream, which sparked a passion, and has since required a strong amount of faithful dedication to fulfill a mission of inspiration. Is it working yet?

Big Sean Concert: Tomorrow (Friday)

Come through to the Big Sean concert Friday night (June 11) in Detroit. See you there. More info HERE.

Izzo To Coach the Cavs??

There's been a lot of unconfirmed speculations about Izzo leaving Michigan State to coach the Cleveland Cavs. I am still not 100% how I feel about it. A big part of me wants Izzo to stay at MSU because he has been able to build a dynasty of a program and without him on the bench, I'm assuming that will just fall off the national radar. I'm sure the current players will transfer and unless they find another greatly well-known coach to immediately replace him, recruiting would certainly also suffer. The other part of me would not mind him in Cleveland. I think it would be great for a friend of mine who worked all through college on Izzo's staff and this past season was helped by Izzo to get a job with the Cavs - it would certainly help that friend to further establish himself within the Cavs organization. The other interesting scenario is what effect it may have on LeBron - would it sway him to stay or to go? The Cavs have said that LeBron has had no decisions or input in the entire coaching decisions, but it certainly will play a role in his next career move.

According to PDCavsInsider's tweets, this is what Izzo's trip to Cleveland was like: Izzo, his wife, and his son flew down to Cleveland with Cav's owner, Dan Gilbert. They reportedly spent around 8.5 hours in town. Then Izzo and his wife and son flew back to Lansing by themselves. Apparently there are a bunch of State fans waiting his arrival back in Lansing to show their support for him to stay. I believe there was also a fan-led rally for Izzo tonight outside of the Breslin Center. I was actually right outside the basketball arena this evening about 30 minutes before the rally was supposed to begin and already noticed people arriving with the MSU-gear on and camera crews getting set-up on the scene. I don't have any inside information, but it certainly is interesting to watch as things unfold. This just adds to the craziest summer in the history of the NBA. What a rush!! Hahaa.

Read more about the Cav's coaching possibilities HERE.

Eminem Music Video: I'm Not Afraid

“The overall concept is basically just being in a dark place and trying to get to the light.” -Eminem

Timmy B Receives His 'Dream Impossible' Shirt: HAHA

It might take you a few minutes to watch this full video, but the thing is funny is as funny comes. Watch as Western Michigan STAR football player Timmy Balice rocks out to his Joe Buys tracks and receives his 'Dream Impossible' shirt from the Postal Man! Hahaa

Galaragga Perfect Game Trumped by Ump, Jim Joyce

I am not even going to comment. Except for this one: I thought I was watching history being made, instead, I watched history being completely robbed. Where were the other umps to suggest going to the Instant Replay?? Oh well, I guess Galaragga is now the first player in MLB history to throw a 28-out perfect game, right?

Joe Buys Video Discussion

The homie Joe Buys comes at you again with another video discussion post. The dude is funny. You more than likely will like this one:

Mike Posner on TBS Lopez Tonight

Congrats to the guy Posner for yet another great accomplishment; lately it's been one after another...and I think we should be getting used to that. The former Dukie is going to be making bigger and better moves from now on since his years of hard work and dedication got him over the tipping point. Congrats to him and his team!

JUNE 1, 2010

I cannot believe it is already June 1st! WOW, it seems that time goes by so fast nowadays. Anyways, do you remember what is happening in exactly ONE month from today?!?

(5) The LeBron James sweepstakes officially begins,
(4) It's my birthday!,
(3) Canada Day,
(2) An early celebration of America's independence
...and...
(1) The launch of the NEW! www.theTWAYcollection.com!

LeBron Raps Onstage with Drake

'Bron 'Bron is never content with just taking over in one arena of the entertainment industry. As if the basketball world is not enough, he made a special appearance with his guy Drake at a recent concert at the House of Blues in Cleveland. Whatchu think bout that!? Hahaa