First, Phelps has remained focused and proven his willingness to sacrifice in the quest of his inner drive and passion. Swimming has been his area of dedication since age 11 and now he has a record 8 Gold Medals, in a single Olympics, surpassing the previous record of 7 set by Mark Spitz in Munich during the 1972 Games.  He can now boast of having won a total of 14 Gold Medals in the Olympics.

Successful brands focus and sacrifice!

Second,  Phelps used his competition to actually strengthen his own brand.  While swimmers from other countries predicted his inability to win so many Golds, he posted their actual comments in his locker for mental motivation to reach new levels of personal achievement.  This was especially true when the French team openly claimed they would smash the USA team during the relays.

Successful brands beat competitors through differentiation and conviction!

Third, Michael Phelps could not have accomplished his 8 Gold Medals, without winning 3 team relay events.  He understood the power of teamwork and the need for synergy in the pool. In all three relay events, he had to rely on the strength of 3 others in order to stand on the Gold Medal awards platform.

Successful brands have a comprehensive strategy and game plan to win!

USA Swimming is another part of this winning story.  With so many children and adults in America looking for ways to develop themselves mentally and physically swimming emerges as a very viable activity.  One should expect a surge in swimming interest might follow this Phelps-Mania.

Once again only time will tell if Phelps stays true to his own brand positioning and leverages this extraordinary and historical Olympics effort into a greater purpose or cause.

As personal brands, we all have the opportunity to excel in our own area of focus.

What is your own passion?

Are you focusing intensely on what matters to you?

Have you set appropriate long term and short term goals with clear strategies to achieve these objectives?

Michael Phelps is now a Global Brand Icon and he has reached this status through perseverance, focus, and plenty of support from his mother and team mates.

You do not have to be in Beijing going for 8 Gold Medals, to Manage Brand YOU. Take these key learnings from our newest Beijing Champion and determine how you will commit to creating your most successful self.

Best of Success.

Look no further than the city of Seattle for a lasting example of a successful reinvention. Back in the 20th century, Seattle had become one of the shrinking cities in the USA. With a declining defense industry, a struggling logging industry and a climate that was hardly idealistic, Seattle was a city that was losing population and self esteem. At one point, an outdoor billboard expressed the public sentiment with a bold statement, “Will the last person leaving SEATTLE - Turn out the lights.”

Today, Seattle is a vibrant, hip city that has gone through an incredible “brand repositioning.” Fueled by the likes of Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon.com, Alaska Air, Nordstrom, music, technology, innovation and environmentally sensitive lifestyles, Seattle is a great example of the power of reinvention.

During these turbulent times when the news is riddled with yet another corporate downsizing, rising gas prices, and declining home values it is easy to feel a bit overwhelmed. NOW, however, is the perfect time to take stock in your own life situation and consider your own personal reinvention.

Are you in a career that is susceptible to a future downsizing or have you already been the victim of such a restructure? Do you have a bona fide plan for your future? How well are you differentiated in today’s marketplace?

These are just a few questions, everyone from the CEO to a front line worker should be asking themselves before it becomes a reality. This turbulent economy represents tremendous potential for those individuals who are playing to their strengths and true to their inner essence. But everyone should have a personal plan to stand out in the crowd by differentiating themselves with unique skills and capabilities.

10 Tips for Personal Differentiation:

1. Embrace and Accept Change . . . Do Not Fight Reality

2. Be Able to Describe What Makes You Different, Better and Special Compared With Others In A Sentence

3. Learn New and Relevant Skills All The Time

4. Know What You Like To Do and What You Do Not Like To Do

5. Meet New People In Different Areas All The Time

6. Volunteer For Interesting Assignments

7. Take Intelligent Risks

8. Establish and Deliver Your “Brand You Promise”

9. Look For Unfilled Needs That You Can Fulfill

10. Have a Positive Attitude and An Optimistic Mindset

Today is a great day to examine how well you are prepared to win in this turbulent economy. While the prospect of change and uncertainty can be very troubling, taking proactive control of your future is very empowering and quite liberating.

After all if Seattle can reinvent, certainly you can do the same.

Manage Brand You, now and forever.

Cyrus, no stranger to the spotlight came out and apologized immediately to her fans for the “racy” photos, citing them as a mistake and adding that she hopes she did not disappoint anyone. Good move on her part. Hopefully this will be a good lesson learned in personal branding. Even a small slip can stain the clean sheet of your image, personal, professional, or company, if not handled in an appropriate and timely manner.

Some argue that Starbucks has a strong enough brand equity that they can afford to experiment, while others have come out in protest to the subtle changes to their morning ritual. Will these new changes take hold among the Starbucks loyalists or are we seeing a slow demise to the treasured franchise as they fight to compete with the low price leaders.

With my new book, Managing Brand YOU, about to hit the shelves, I figured it to be the opportune time to brush up on the digital side of my brand. So here we go…

Please check out the site to learn about brand Jerry, add the RSS feed, watch some videos, or sign up to get a copy of the Managing Brand YOU workbook to learn how you can start applying the 7-step process to develop your personal brand today!

I look forward to discussing marketing, branding, and managing customer relationships as well as sharing stories and lessons of my years in the field with each of you.

So take a look around and let me know what you think!