YOUR Most Valuable Asset—YOUR Story!

Lately I’ve been consulting athletes on their branding strategies. In doing so, I’ve managed to convince many of them that their athleticism is NOT their most valuable asset. We currently live in a time period where content and access to information is worth more than any other commodity on the planet.

If you don’t believe me, ask the fortune 500 CEO whose internal memo was leaked. Or ask the politician whose comments on race-relations were discovered. Or maybe ask the football player whose draft ranking dropped because of a college incident that surfaced.

At the end of the day, your brand is based on the story or narrative that supports it. Michael Jordan has not played a professional basketball game since 2003, and it is probably safe to assume that his dunking skills are nowhere close to what they use to be. Yet, his brand is as strong as it has ever been, and it will continue to thrive as long as people tell his story. As long as Michael Jordan is continuously compared to current players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant, his story will live on through countless NBA critics and fans. 

So how can you manage this asset? Here are three tips you can use:

1.) YOU tell YOUR story. Like any good novel, your story has twists and turns. So it is essential that you take ownership in your story, and act as the ultimate editor. That way, you can help to control the narrative and create a story that is a more accurate representation of the brand that you want to portray. Kobe Bryant retired from the NBA in 2016, but recently won an Oscar for telling his story.

2.) Place a value on your story. Stephen Curry just signed the biggest deal ever to produce television, film and possibly gaming projects. Following in the footsteps of LeBron James, athletes are placing themselves in position to capitalize on the many lucrative opportunities that are linked to their stories. Just as you should serve as the editor of your story, you should act as publisher and work to market your story and earn the financial gains you deserve.

3.) Understand that your story never ends. Like the song that never ends, a story doesn’t really end either. At some point, if it becomes boring or undesirable, people just stop telling it. But it never really ends. Long after you are gone from this world, people can continue to tell your story. So you should work to build a legacy that creates a story worthy of telling.