SCRABBLE: Have you been ‘BRANDED’ ?
Some of us are branded. Some of us have actually brand ourselves. Being branded is not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing. Being branded has the characteristic of keeping us loyal and true to our particular brand.
We all know the brands that are visible: the ones burnt into the flesh of cattle to identify their owner; the ones that take the shape of logos to promote everything from Tomato Soup to Cigarets to Hybrid Automobiles.
And then there are the brands that are burned into our minds by parents and teachers and other people with positions of influence.
It was 1950. I was an 8 year old Jewish boy growing up in Detroit, Michigan. My traditional, Jewish, parents were already anticipating my Bar Mitzvah, 5 years down the pike. In their synagogue, in order for a boy to be Bar Mitzvah, he was required to have 5 years of Hebrew School training. So, every Monday thru Thursday, after public school classes ended at 3:30 PM, I’d wait on the curb at Fullerton and Cherrylawn for the Hebrew School bus to pick me up and deliver me to Mrs. Tuckle at B’nai Moshe Hebrew School. There I learned how to read and write Hebrew, chant the traditional prayers, and be steeped with the history of the Jewish people.
Noble Elementary School was my public school. It was K – 8 and housed more than 500 students. I was one of about 4 Jewish kids who attended that school. Because I was different from the student body, I was BRANDED as the ‘token Jew’. At age 8, teachers would ask me questions about my heritage as if I were an authority.
Hebrew School was not easy for me. Maybe I was just tired from 4PM – 6PM. Maybe I wasn’t motivated. Maybe I was daydreaming about all the free time being enjoyed by my Public School friends. As a result of my lackadaisical attitude, I earned poor grades at Hebrew School. Mr. Schechter, one of my teachers, often wrote the comment on my report cards, “A nice boy who doesn’t know much.” That became another BRAND for me. I still remember it vividly today and it haunted me over the years. Years later at Mumford High School, when I opted to spend my energy doing things other than earning good grade, I wore Mr. Schechter’s BRAND and used it as my excuse for being a ‘D’ student.
As an 11th Grader, for some unknown reason, I was singled out by Mrs. Armstrong to be included in an elective class called ‘LEADERSHIP’. That was almost laughable related to my academic performance. My school counselor, Mrs. Kaplan, had a fit. She had told me to my face that I was a ‘lost cause’. I was an oxymoron. Being branded ‘LEADER’ turned out to be very important for me. I put that ‘brand’ deep down in my pocket, to keep it safe, and years later I took it out and claimed the brand of LEADER for myself.
Scrabble players are riddled with brands too. Some brands are inspiring; some brands are self defeating.
The truth is, a BRAND is only a BRAND. It is not the truth; it is merely a label, manufactured by someone for some purpose.
You are free to use the BRANDS on your back or dismiss them.
If someone told you that you are a poor speller, that is only a brand, it is not true, If you have gone through life to this point believing that you are a poor speller, that has been your choice. You can change all that right now if you choose.
What BRANDS have empowered you? Keep them.
What BRANDS have limited you? Shed them.
All you have to do to create a new BRAND for yourself is take an action. Don’t believe me? Try it. You will have to shed those old notions about yourself that may be in the way. I’ll help you if you choose.
Start with the power pack of WHIZ CARDS. The top 3 sets. CLICK HERE. Create a new BRAND that is the real you.