Lessons in Personal Branding

The other day my Sonicare electric toothbrush slipped out of my hands while I was brushing my teeth and bounced around briefly in the sink, splattering toothpaste foam everywhere. I didn't think, "How stupid of me!" or, "I can't believe I'm such a klutz!" No, in that crazy moment when I was trying to get a grip on a wildly pulsating object with slippery hands, I thought of just two words.

Mickey Gomez.

You may know her as the Executive Director at the Volunteer Center Serving Howard County, a talented singer and guitarist, mom and defender of All Dogs, or as a fiercely competitive celebrity bartender. But as a frequent reader of her blog, Life and How to Live It, and as a devoted social media friend/follower, I have to come to see her in a different light. She has developed a personal brand of sorts. I guess I'd describe it like this:

"Wild, spectacularly wild and unusual things happen to me."

It could be a hairbrush, eye make up, kitchen knives or dog toys. Nothing is simple, nothing is innocent. Mickey has built up such a reputation for personal calamities that friends routinely warn her of unlikely outcomes before she even attempts anything. She has taken something that happens to all of us in our daily lives and elevated it to a cause célèbre.

So, instead of cursing my fate as I unsuccessfully tried to wrangle a moving toothbrush, I felt a tinge of pleasure that I was having a Mickey Gomez moment. It's true. Once you have entered into that realm all of your little disasters will be exciting ways for you to connect with the Mickey Gomez brand. And then you don't feel quite so bad.

On the other hand, if you enjoy bragging about humorous and outlandish experiences, this may be a problem. Whatever it may be, it has already happened to Mickey, and on a grander scale. You mustn't begrudge her this; this is the greatness which has been thrust upon her.

However, I am going to go out on a limb and confess that I have one personal talent which (I think) she doesn't have: the gift of static electricity. Once Winter comes, I shock and am shocked by everything in our house: people, appliances, granite countertops. We have three cordless telephone handsets in our house. This year I have killed two of them just by picking them up. I have turned off, turned on, and reset the tv, cable box, wii system and DVD player with nothing more than one finger.

I am electric. It would be annoying if it weren't so unbelievably hilarious. Or maybe that's the other way around. Anyway, I have come to appreciate the humor more since knowing Mickey. And that makes my life, and how I live it, just a little bit better.

Thanks, Mickey.

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