Having worked in the racing and automotive advertising space for more than a decade, manufacturers’ taglines often come to mind, thanks to years of compiling and reviewing the competitive landscape. Some are old, some are still around. But one I saw on TV tonight made me realize how hard many advertisers work to sell a brand, while we rarely work as hard to sell ourselves and see the things on our to-do lists get done.

Are we always pursuing perfection? Few can say yes.

Are we built tough? The way situations and people sometimes get the better of us, it doesn’t seem that way.

Does inspiration come standard? It comes in waves, at best.

Do we put people first? Ourselves, maybe. People as a whole, probably not so much.

If life is a journey, are we remembering to enjoy the ride? Not always.

Are we always moving forward? No. Sometimes it’s backwards, sometimes we’re idle. In my opinion, the latter is the worst because it implies no action of any kind has taken place.

Are we always driven by what’s inside? Often we’re driven by greed, revenge, jealousy or selfishness.

Are we going places? If we’re lucky, we have the time to make our own pursuits a priority and we don’t just sit around giving all our time to push a company or brand in the right direction.

We could learn a lot from brands. We’re often times moved by their creative and all of their efforts intended to catch our eye. But does their shiny, sparkly tagline resonate in our own life? Probably not as much as we’d like.

Tonight I am thankful for realizing the need for personal branding – something that I can use as a compass to make sure I get back on track when my attention gets diverted, and when my focus becomes clouded by the everyday.