Branding

I remember seeing this scene in Batman Begins for the first time and my mind being blown. At the time, I was busy trying to live the rockstar dream. My bandmates and I were getting ready to produce our first LP and thinking of cover designs. When I saw this scene, it hit me like a ton of bricks. We needed a symbol! Something that would come to represent us. When people saw a sticker on a street sign in town, they wouldn't have to struggle to read the band name, they would know that it was us. I didn't realize it at the time, but what we were really figuring out is the importance of branding.

As of lately, I have been thinking about this scene again, but applying it to teaching. Deep down inside, that rock star dream still lives on. I may not ever be a famous musician, but I can be a rock star in the field of education. Thanks to social media, I think achieving that dream is more possible than ever. However, branding is essential!

As Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) says in the scene above, branding symbolizes the essence of all you are. So, I got thinking about a symbol that would represent me. What are my assets? What are my core beliefs? Well, I know that learning is my passion. I know that I love to see that passion ignited in others. I have ideas that pop into my head and  become obsessions. I chase those ideas not knowing where they will lead me. Those ideas turn into massive projects in which I gain an understanding in things I never knew before. All of this from just a tiny little SPARK! And that's when I stumbled across my brand. I am beginning to call these ideas "Seibert Sparks."

As I move forward in education, I want these sparks to catch fire. I want them to spread out of control. I want others to join me on my never-ending journey of learning. With social media, I think that it is easier than ever to have ideas spread, but the ideas have to be branded well. In culinary school, I was taught that "The eye eats first." Before others will join me, I need to make myself appealing. In the digital age, it's all about branding.

The spark has ignited. Time to go chase it.