Your Personal Brand & Energy Leadership: A Lesson From Rocky Balboa

Today I'd like to as you to spend 3 1/3 minutes and watch this clip of Rocky talking with his son from the last Rocky movie, Rocky Balboa. This short clip has embedded in it material to talk about a wide variety of topics in personal development. I will just briefly some thoughts on personal branding and energy leadership after the clip. Please share your thoughts or how you felt watching the video in the comments.

What stood out to you? 

This clip opens with Rocky's son, Robert, being chastised for being late to work and told that he would be a nobody if it weren't for his father. He is struggling to stand up on his own and be his own person. This is personal branding and energy leadership wrapped into one.

From the personal branding side we can see that Robert can use some help defining himself, especially in relation to his famous and popular father. In some ways as we grow up and eventually leave our parents home we all face this question:

Who am I? independent of everyone else I have been depending on my whole life, who am I?

Have you ever felt like people relate to you based on your relationship to someone else? That's Tommy's brother. That's the CEO's daughter. Building your personal brand will help you be known for you.

As the scene progresses and Rocky gives his speech, what do you think about Rocky's knowledge of his personal brand? Does he live is personal brand? Does he live is brand consistently regardless of the circumstances and what others think?

This opening scene also sets the stage for a discussion of Energy Leadership.  What Energy Level 1 is Robert Balboa at?  Through Rocky's speech, what Energy Level is he exhibiting?

Robert is operating at a Level 1 Victim Energy Level. He is a victim of his father's work and fame. The world pushes him around and he takes it. Rocky on the other hand, as inspirational as his speech is, is at Level 2, Conflict Energy. Life will get you and keep you down, so you have to fight back and get up. Rocky's profession of boxing is a great metaphor for his view on life and reveals his Energetic Self Perception. You get knocked down and hurt and you just have to get up again and keep going.

If you find yourself agreeing, what does that reveal to you about your energetic self perception? How could we look at the situation at each of the different Energy Levels?