Amazing observation Derek!

Last year at RUBYCONF, I had the exquisite pleasure of meeting Derek (the narrator).  This is such a great observation from a truly inspirational, bright, and compassionate leader.

Women's Pro Soccer All-Star Game

The most "talkaboutable" thing that I experienced was when I "kinda met" Marta . While extremely brief, what I found is that she had an outstandingly strong sense of humility. Now, a brazilian dude taught me to surf...and I could immediately sense some of the same "cultural energy."

So, this made me stop and think on the drive home...a celebrity is company with a brand, the brand just happens to be them...their product or service is what they do as a public figure.

• Should a celebrity be completely humble in their public presense?
• When do you self-promote and how?
• What is the best use of time your time and money...for your fans and customers...for yourself?
• Are you better or worse off being talkaboutable like Dennis Rodman, Britney Spears, Tiger, Muhammad Ali...or do you just stay in the background (i.e. actions speak louder than words)?

In my opinion, if you are a pro athlete, actor/actress, musician, artist, etc...if your persona is part of building a fan base (and customer base), you have to treat yourself like a brand. You have to think in terms of "marketing return on investment" with yourself, your time, and your money. Even if you are not ego-centric or wealth-driven and want to help others with your celebrity, your brand is an asset...one that produces money...and one that is already talkaboutable.

This is a picture of Marta signing autographs after the game.