After my senior prom, I remember all of the students in my class were hustled over to a large mansion to play casino games with fake chips until around 2:00 in the morning. Apparently the school had set this up, so that the kids would not be out drinking and creating trouble after the dance. The plan worked. Actually, it was about the only time I ever saw so many of my classmates sober on a weekend night.

The idea of the party was that all of the students would play mock casino games and then save up their chips and exchange them for tickets, which they could use for drawings for various prizes at the end of the night. For some strange reason, I was on a major winning streak that night. I think we all started out with $1,000 in chips and by the end of the night had something like $120,000 in chips. It was a total embarrassment; I had so many chips I could hardly carry them. Most of the other kids from the prom were standing around pondering how they had only a few chips left, while I had this incredible cache of chips.

I became extremely concerned I might win all the prizes, which consisted of typewriters, coffee makers, a week’s use of a hi-end automobile, and more. The auction started around 1:00 am, and sure enough I kept winning prize after prize. Despite the fact that there were at least 150 kids standing under a tent for the auction, I won every fourth or fifth prize that was handed out—and there must have been at least 50 prizes given away. After awhile I started going up to claim my prize and then I would simply hand whatever I got to one of my friends in the audience. No one ever got angry with me, which I attribute mostly to my giving away most of the prizes I won.

The final prize of the evening was a week’s use of a brand new $54,000 Cadillac Allante. This was the prize I wanted the most. At the time this was the nicest and most expensive car that Cadillac had ever made, and I thought it would be a ton of fun to drive it around for a week. I had heard Cadillac did something ridiculous like make the bodies of the cars in Italy, then put them on a specially modified 747 and fly them to Detroit for final assembly. In any event, I was quite interested in the car and was hopeful that I would win it. As it turned out, I did win the car for an entire week when the drawing was finally concluded at 2:00 in the morning. Afterwards all of the kids were released from the mansion.

It was a lot of fun driving around the Allante for a week. Cadillac had launched the car in 1987, in an attempt to restore Cadillac to a position of premier luxury car maker like Mercedes and Jaguar. In recalling my week with the Allante, I believe it was one of the nicest cars I have ever driven. A 1992 comparison test by Car and Driver compared the Allante to the Jaguar XJS V12 convertible and the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, rating the Cadillac higher overall. In this respect, the car achieved its goal of outperforming its competition.

However, ultimately the car failed. General Motors only produced 21,430 of the automobiles in its entire production run from 1987 to 1993. Because the car did not sell well, it ended up getting cancelled. According to a former GM employee:

“It was due for a significant styling change, it needed a power top, and a number of new technological features were scheduled to be introduced on it. All that would have required a very significant investment…$300 to $500 million dollars…at a time when GM was hemorrhaging money and struggling to survive, which was very hard to justify on such a low-volume car, even though it was serving us well as an image vehicle.

“What would be the best use of that capital? Should it be invested in the low-volume Allante, or should we put it to work on higher-volume vehicles in the Cadillac lineup? That was ultimately where that money went, to the El Dorado, Seville, and De Ville, where it could have a much greater payback for our customers and stockholders.

Regrettably, it was economics that killed Allante, not the car itself, which reached the point in 1993 where it was absolutely a leader among any vehicles in the world in performance, handling, image, and presence. In retrospect, it was probably the right decision, but it bothered me—and a lot of other key people in the Cadillac family—a great deal that we had to discontinue it.” http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1987-1993-cadillac-allante8.htm

The Allante demonstrates something that companies and individuals are often trying to do, to be all things to all people. General Motors felt that it needed a different kind of car to compete in the “ultra high end” of automobiles and it produced a very good car; however, the car ultimately failed, primarily because it was a Cadillac and not a Mercedes or a Jaguar. If the car had had another brand name, I believe it might have succeeded. However, using the Cadillac name brand for this particular style of car simply could not (and did not) work.

Many car companies have made this mistake in the past, and even more recently. For example, Volkswagen became well known for the Beetle and other small cars in the United States. When people think of a Volkswagen here in the United States, they typically think of a small and relatively inexpensive car. In 2004, Volkswagen introduced the ultra expensive Volkswagen Phaeton to the United States. The car was designed to compete with BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes. In 2004, the company sold just 1,433 Phaetons in the United States, and in 2005, it only sold 820 of the Phaetons. Volkswagen pulled out the Phaeton from the market in the 2006 model year. The Phaetons had either V8 or V12 engines, depending on the build—and they were all extremely luxurious, yet the car has depreciated massively, now selling at a fraction of the original cost.

In the case of the Phaeton and the Allante, both car manufacturers experienced major and catastrophic failure with two cars that were seeking to be the best in a certain category. Each of these cars failed because the core brands—Volkswagen and Cadillac—did not have the same prestige level as the actual product. Someone who wants a lot of prestige is more likely to purchase a Mercedes than a Volkswagen (no matter how well the Volkswagen performs). Similarly, someone who wants an ultra expensive sports car is more likely to purchase a Ferrari or a Porsche than a Cadillac. That is just the way it is. Certain brands come to represent something in a consumer’s mind and no matter what the manufacturer does and no matter how good the product is, people cannot be convinced otherwise.

• When Honda wanted to introduce a premium car, it did not call it a Honda. Instead, it launched a brand called Acura and even made sure the car was sold in separate dealerships, to avoid any confusion. The Acura has been an incredibly successful brand for Honda.
• Similarly, when Toyota decided to enter the premium car space, it too introduced another brand, Lexus. It likewise did not put the new models in Toyota showrooms and it required that the car be sold in separate dealerships. The Lexus has been an incredibly successful brand for Toyota.

What does this mean for you and your career? The experiences of Cadillac, Volkswagen, Acura, and Lexus have a tremendous lesson to teach you. If you want to be seen as something different and appeal to a different audience, you need to make a complete change. In the case of Honda and Toyota, they succeeded by distancing themselves in name, style, and in principle. And this helped them succeed.

A couple of months ago I was drinking a Diet Coke in Australia. A friend and I were sitting down and we struck up a conversation with a couple of girls sitting near us. One of the girls told us she was getting ready to move to Tasmania and start a new life. She was obviously a lower-class sort of girl and she said that she wanted to move away so she could be a completely different person; she felt that Australia was “stifling”. I did not ask why; however, hers is a story I have heard countless times from numerous people.

Last summer I traveled to Alaska and met many people who had picked up and moved there from different areas around the United States. They all talked of how they had wanted to “escape” and were seeking some new, different life. They wanted to be perceived as something other than what they were, and they felt like they needed to move to a completely different geographical region in order to accomplish this.

I live in Malibu, California, which is a pretty small town, compared to the towns surrounding it. Just this past Friday I was at a dinner and I met a guy there who told me he had moved to Malibu because he wanted to start a new life and get away from people. He had moved from around 30 miles away.

Most of our ancestors moved to the United States because they wanted to be perceived as different from how they were seen in their home countries. They wanted to escape classism and to have opportunities that were not available to everyone.

I have some personal experiences with changing and being seen as a different person. In fact, my experience is so profound and so unusual that I have scarcely told the story to anyone. I am going to share it with you now.

When I was practicing law, I absolutely hated it. In fact, I spent most of my time planning my escape. However, when you are working in a large law firm, it is very difficult to consider doing anything else because the pay is so good. The pay at large law firms is typically far more money than a young attorney could ever make on his or her own. In addition, when you are working in a large law firm, it is extremely important to protect your reputation and position yourself as someone who is loyal and deserving of promotion to partnership. You need to appear as if you have blinders on and would not be willing to do anything else with your life. In order to promote you, the law firm has to believe that you are incredibly committed.

The problem I had with practicing law is that I was not committed to working inside of a law firm—not for life. For me it was just too risky of a proposition because I saw so many people lose their jobs without warning whenever the workload at the firm would start to dry up—and inevitably this always happened. At some point in around October of 1999, I decided that I was going to need to do and become something completely different in my life. Since the primary skill I possessed at the time was practicing law, I figured that I would need to start my own practice—or at least practice law to some extent if I left the large law firm where I was working. However, I was still incredibly torn as to whether I should remain with the law firm, or start my own practice and/or do something else altogether.

While I had some clients at the time, I did not know if they would come with me if I were to leave the law firm. I figured I would need to put an advertisement in the Yellow Pages in order to attract the clients I would need to support myself. However, the problem with putting an advertisement in the Yellow Pages was that if the law firm I worked for saw the advertisement I would surely be fired; the name in the advertisement would give me away. I did not want to be fired. In addition, I was still not 100% committed to quitting my job. I needed to figure something out. I had called the Yellow Pages and met with them and, with a few days left before the deadline to get an advertisement in the book, I started getting calls several times a day from the Yellow Pages sales person.

I had to make a choice whether or not to put an advertisement in the Yellow Pages. Although the Yellow Pages was scheduled to come out in the beginning of January, the deadline for putting the advertisement in it was in October. What I needed was a way I could (1) put an advertisement in the Yellow Pages in order to start my law practice in January if I chose and (2) a way to put an advertisement in the Yellow Pages that would allow me to back out if I chose to remain with the law firm to and continue earning an insane amount of money.

Having attended law school in the South and having worked with many attorneys who conducted their affairs with a tremendous amount of formality, I had seen many attorneys use their first initial in front of their name and go by their middle name. After an incredible amount of deliberation with myself (the situation was so bizarre I really had no way to talk to anyone about it), I decided to call the law firm I was placing an advertisement for A. Harrison Barnes and Associates. In college many of my friends had called me Harrison; however, as far as the people I was practicing law with knew, my name was Andy, and I often went by my formal first name, Andrew.

Prior to the advertisement coming out in the second week of January, out of a sense of honor and morality, I gave notice at my law firm. I was not sure that I wanted to practice law with my solo practice, or what I wanted to do really. I had placed the advertisement with the Yellow Pages to give me options in case I decided that this was indeed what I wanted to do. While a separate story is involved with my giving notice, the essence of it was this: The law firm told me that if I was unhappy, they would rather I spend the next three months looking for a job and remaining employed by the law firm—instead of leaving.

In looking for a job I spoke with legal recruiters. I became incredibly interested in recruiting and decided I would much prefer this to practicing law. Suddenly I started recruiting attorneys at many of the law firms I was interviewing with, and I decided that as a recruiter I could still use the business name A. Harrison Barnes and Associates, which I had established with my advertisement in the Yellow Pages. I had an office address, telephone number and answering service, plus I was very short on money, so keeping this name appeared to make the most sense. Without really thinking about it, I started using my middle name in everything I did in relation to the business. I reasoned that many of the law firms I was recruiting for and interviewing for jobs with would have been confused had the recruiter they had just spoken with also been someone by the same name who had recently interviewed with their firm for a $200,000 a year job.

By the time I left the law firm in March of 2000, my recruiting business was up and running using the name “Harrison Barnes” and I had developed so many relationships with law firms, candidates and so forth that going back to “Andy Barnes” or “Andrew Barnes” seemed almost impossible.

In considering this name change, which I have done over the years, the two different names and people I called myself represented completely different people. On the one hand, Andy Barnes represented a lawyer who was very studious and who sat behind a desk doing research all day, kissing up to the people he was working for. On the other hand, Harrison Barnes represented an aggressive and thorough recruiter who had a lot of fun and made his living a completely different way. I have never been 100% comfortable with the name change; however, in reality I am a completely different person as a recruiter than I ever was as an attorney. Ultimately, I am very happy with this change. I am sure I would have succeeded as a recruiter as Andy Barnes; however, at the same time, Andy Barnes the attorney is a far different brand than Harrison Barnes the legal recruiter and businessman.

In your career and life, it is often important and downright essential that you are able to change your brand. If you are seen as one sort of person by the people around you, change will often become impossible. You may want to become someone completely different, but being defined by your brand is something that will continually hold you back. In India, for example, there exists a caste system which has been in place for more than 3,000 years. The lowest class among the castes in India is the Dalit. The Dalit caste is so low that the people are considered almost less than human. They typically do the worst jobs and even their presence is said to pollute the higher castes of people. There are specified cleansing rituals that higher caste people are supposed to follow should they come into contact with a Dalit person.

In India approximately one fourth of the population, 250,000,000 people, are Dalit. Dalit people cannot get the same jobs as the non-Dalits. For example, the jobs of the Dalit involve cleaning up human and animal waste, dealing with the bodies of dead animals and so forth. Many Dalits also work as scavengers. In many rural areas of India to this day, Dalits are prevented from accessing certain water sources, restaurants and eating places, schools and temples. Many Dalits work in something approaching slave-like conditions to pay off debts that are often generations old. They live in segregation and typically experience a very high rate of violence and crime. In fact, so much violence has been committed against Dalits that in 1989 the government passed what is called The Prevention of Atrocities Act:

The Prevention of Atrocities Act (POA) is a tacit acknowledgement by the Indian government that caste relations are defined by violence, both incidental and systemic.^[43] In 1989, the Government of India passed the Prevention of Atrocities Act (POA), which clarified specific crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (the Dalits) as “atrocities,” and created strategies and punishments to counter these acts. The purpose of The Act was to curb and punish violence against Dalits. Firstly, it clarified what the atrocities were: both particular incidents of harm and humiliation, such as the forced consumption of noxious substances, and systemic violence still faced by many Dalits, especially in rural areas. Such systemic violence includes forced labor, denial of access to water and other public amenities, and sexual abuse of Dalit women. Secondly, the Act created Special Courts to try cases registered under the POA. Thirdly, the Act called on states with high levels of caste violence (said to be “atrocity-prone”) to appoint qualified officers to monitor and maintain law and order. The POA gave legal redress to Dalits, but only two states have created separate Special Courts in accordance with the law. In practice the Act has suffered from a near-complete failure in implementation. Policemen have displayed a consistent unwillingness to register offenses under the act. This reluctance stems partially from ignorance and also from peer protection. According to a 1999 study, nearly a quarter of those government officials charged with enforcing the Act are unaware of its existence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit

Being a Dalit is no different than being a brand like Cadillac or Volkswagen, which, due to its inherent association in peoples’ minds, can only go so far. The Dalits are limited in society due to their “brand”, which holds them back in a tremendous way. In order to escape this brand, they now must go to cities where the caste system is less prevalent, or even change their religion completely, or move to a different country—like the United States. Many Dalits, for example, have converted to Islam—a religion that believes there is a strong equality amongst everyone who is Islamic. In some respects, the conflict between Pakistan (primary religion Islam) and India (with its caste system and Hinduism as the predominant religion) is a conflict between differing social classes and brands.

In this respect, it is important to see that the power of brands is something that is prevalent in all societies, in commerce, and it can have a tremendous impact on what happens to you in your own career and life. Brand power is all around us. Your life is being shaped by your brand and what you represent. What do you want your brand to say? Do you need to make a complete change and develop a different brand completely in order to reach your full potential? Perhaps you might.

The best thing I ever did in my life was change my personal brand and how I was perceived by my colleagues. It was not an easy thing to do. However, for your long-term success and in order to reach your potential in life it is often necessary to change your brand. You can change your brand by moving, you can change your brand by doing something completely different, you can change your brand by changing the people you associate with.

Do you think what I am talking about is nonsense? Many of the world’s most famous people have chosen to undergo a name change at some point in their careers, for the benefit of their brand. Here is a list of the original names of many popular movie stars, many of whose brands you are surely familiar with.

A

Edie Adams – Elizabeth Edith Enke Maud Adams – Maud Wickstrom Nick Adams – Nicholas Adamshock Ben Affleck – Benjamin Geza Affleck Eddie Albert – Edward Albert Heimberger Alan Alda – Alphonso D’Abruzzo Jane Alexander – Jane Quigley Fred Allen – John Sullivan Woody Allen – Allen Konigsberg June Allyson – Ella Geisman Don Ameche – Dominic Felix Amici Julie Andrews – Julia Wells Jennifer Aniston – Jennifer Anastassakis Laura Antonelli – Laura Antonaz Eve Arden – Eunice Quedens Beatrice Arthur – Bernice Frankel Jean Arthur – Gladys Greene Fred Astaire – Frederick Austerlitz Christopher Atkins – Christopher Bauman Frankie Avalon – Francis Thomas Avalonne

B Lauren Bacall – Betty Joan Perske Kevin Bacon – Kevin Norwood Bacon Christian Bale – Christian Charles Philip Bale Kaye Ballard – Catherine Balotta Eric Bana – Eric Banadinovic Anne Bancroft – Anna-Maria Louisa Italiano Antonio Banderas – José Antonio Dominguez Bandera Brigitte Bardot – Camille Javal Rona Barrett – Rona Burstein Gene Barry – Eugene Klass John Barrymore – John Blythe Kathy Bates – Kathleen Doyle Bates Orson Bean – Dallas Burrows Tony Bennett – Anthony Dominick Benedetto Jack Benny – Benjamin Kubelsky Tom Berenger – Thomas Michael Moore Halle Berry -Halle Maria Berry Milton Berle – Milton Berlinger Joey Bishop – Joseph Gottlieb Jack Black – Thomas Black, Jr. Amanda Blake – Beverly Louise Neill Robert Blake – Michael Gubitosi Cate Blanchett – Catherine Elise Blanchett Orlando Bloom – Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom Victor Borge – Borge Rosenbaum Ernest Borgnine – Ermes Effron Borgnino David Bowie – David Robert Jones Marlon Brando – Marlon Junior Brandeau Fanny Brice – Fanny Borach Jeff Bridges – Jeffrey Leon Bridges Charles Bronson – Charles Buchinski Mel Brooks – Mel Kaminsky Yul Brynner – Yul Taidje Kahn, Jr. Sandra Bullock – Sandra Annette Bullock George Burns – Nathan Birnbaum Ellen Burstyn – Edna Gilhooley Richard Burton – Richard Walter Jenkins Steve Buscemi – Steven Vincent Buscemi Red Buttons – Aaron Chwatt

C James Caan – James Langston Edmund Caan Nicolas Cage – Nicolas Kim Coppola Michael Caine – Maurice Micklewhite Rory Calhoun – Francis Timony Durgin Jim Carrey – James Eugene Carrey Cyd Charisse – Tula Ellice Finklea Charo – María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza Cher – Cherilyn Sarkisian George Clooney – George Timothy Clooney Lee J. Cobb – Leo Jacoby Claudette Colbert – Lily Chauchoin Mike Connors – Krekor “Kirk” Ohanian Robert Conrad – Conrad Robert Falk Lou Costello – Louis Francis Cristillo Kevin Costner – Kevin Michael Costner Daniel Craig – Daniel Wroughton Craig Joan Crawford – Lucille Le Sueur Michael Crawford – Michael Dumble-Smith Bing Crosby – Harry Lillis Crosby Tom Cruise – Thomas Mapother IV Tony Curtis – Bernard Schwartz

D Matt Damon – Matthew Paige Damon Rodney Dangerfield – Jacob Cohen Bobby Darin – Walden Robert Cassotto Geena Davis – Virginia Elizabeth Davis Doris Day – Doris von Kappelhoff Daniel Day-Lewis – Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis Jimmy Dean – Seth Ward Yvonne De Carlo – Peggy Middleton Sandra Dee – Alexandra Zuck John Denver – Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. Johnny Depp – John Christopher Depp II John Derek – Derek Harris Danny DeVito – Daniel Michaeli Cameron Diaz – Cameron Michelle Diaz Leonardo DiCaprio – Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio Angie Dickinson – Angeline Brown Matt Dillon – Matthew Raymond Dillon Troy Donahue – Merle Johnson, Jr. Diana Dors – Diana Fluck Kirk Douglas – Issur Danielovitch Mike Douglas – Michael Delaney Dowd, Jr. Kirsten Dunst – Kirsten Caroline Dunst

E Clint Eastwood – Clinton Eastwood, Jr. Barbara Eden – Barbara Huffman Vince Edwards – Vicent Edward Zoino Ron Ely – Ronald Pierce Dale Evans – Frances Octavia Smith Chad Everett – Raymond Cramton

F Douglas Fairbanks – Douglas Ullman Colin Farrell – Colin James Farrel Will Ferrell – John William Ferrell Stepin Fetchit – Lincoln Perry Sally Field – Sally Mahoney W.C. Fields – William Claude Dukenfield Peter Finch – William Mitchell Rhonda Fleming – Marilyn Louis Joan Fontaine – Joan de Havilland Glenn Ford – Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford John Ford – Sean O’Fearna John Forsythe – John Freund Jodie Foster – Alicia Christian Foster Jamie Foxx – Eric Marlon Bishop Tony Franciosa – Anthony Papaleo Connie Francis – Concetta Franconero?

G Greta Garbo – Greta Gustafsson John Garfield – Julius Garfinkle Judy Garland – Frances Gumm James Garner – James Scott Bumgarner Paul Giamatti – Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti Mel Gibson – Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson Whoopie Goldberg – Caryn Johnson Bobcat Goldthwait – Robert Francis ‘Bobcat’ Goldthwait John Goodman – John Stephen Goodman Eydie Gorme – Edith Gormezano Cary Grant – Archibald Leach Hugh Grant – Hugh John Mungo Grant Peter Graves – Peter Aurness Rocky Graziano – Rocco Barbella Joel Grey – Joe Katz Jake Gyllenhaal – Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal

H Buddy Hackett – Leonard Hacker Gene Hackman – Eugene Allen Hackman Tom Hanks – Thomas Jeffrey Hanks Jean Harlow – Harlean Carpentier Woody Harrelson – Woodrow Tracy Harrelson Naomie Harris – Naomie Melanie Harris Rex Harrison – Reginald Carey Josh Hartnett – Joshua Daniel Hartnett Ethan Hawke – Ethan Green Hawke Helen Hayes – Helen Brown Rita Hayworth – Margarita Cansino Charlton Heston – Charles Carter Steven Hill – Solomon Krakovsky Hulk Hogan – Terry Jene Bollea William Holden – William Franklin Beedle, Jr. Billy Holiday – Eleanora Fagan Judy Holliday – Judith Tuvim Bob Hope – Leslie Townes Hope Robert Horton – Meade Howard Horton, Jr. Leslie Howard – Leslie Stainer Harry Houdini – Ehrich Weiss Rock Hudson – Roy Scherer Jr. Helen Hunt – Helen Elizabeth Hunt Tab Hunter – Arthur Andrew Gelien

I Burl Ives – Burle Icle Ivanhoe

J David Janssen – David Meyer Don Johnson – Donald Wayne Al Jolson – Asa Yoelson Jennifer Jones – Phyllis Isley Louis Jourdan – Louis Gendre

K Danny Kaye – David Kaminsky Boris Karloff – William Henry Pratt Diane Keaton – Diane Hall Howard Keel – Harold Leek Nicole Kidman – Nicole Mary Kidman Larry King – Larry Zeigler Keira Knightley – Keira Christina Knightley Ted Knight – Tadeus Wladyslaw Konopka Ben Kingsley – Krishna Banji

L Cheryl Ladd – Cheryl Stoppelmoor Frankie Laine – Frankie LoVecchio Veronica Lake – Constance Ockleman Dorothy Lamour – Mary Kaumeyer Mario Lanza – Alfredo Cocozza Michael Landon – Eugene Orowitz Larry the Cable Guy – Daniel Lawrence Whitney Stan Laurel – Arthur Jefferson Jude Law – David Jude Heyworth Law Steve Lawrence – Sidney Leibowitz Heath Ledger – Heathcliff Andrew Ledger Gypsy Rose Lee – Rose Louise Hovick Janet Leigh – Jeanette Morrison Jerry Lewis – Joseph Levitch Hal Linden – Harold Lipshitz Little Richard – Richard Penniman Carole Lombard – Jane Peters Jack Lord – John Joseph Ryan Sophia Loren – Sophia Scicoloni Peter Lorre – Laszio Lowenstein Bela Lugosi – Bela Ferenc Blasko

M Moms Mabley – Loretta Mary Aitken Shirley MacLaine – Shirley Beatty Elle MacPherson – Eleanor Gow Tobey Maguire – Tobias Vincent Maguire Lee Majors – Harvey Lee Yeary II Karl Malden – Mladen Sekulovich Jayne Mansfield – Vera Jane Palmer Fredric March – Frederick Bickel Rocky Marciano – Rocco Francis Marchegiano? Dean Martin – Dino Crocetti Chico Marx – Leonard Marx Groucho Marx – Julius Marx Gummo Marx – Milton Marx Harpo Marx – Adolph Marx Zeppo Marx – Herbert Marx Walter Matthau – Walter Matuschanskayasky Ewan McGregor – Ewan Gordon McGregor Audrey Meadows – Audrey Cotter Jayne Meadows – Jayne Cotter Ethel Merman – Ethel Zimmerman Ray Milland – Reginald Truscott-Jones Ann Miller – Lucille Collier Guy Mitchell – Albert George Cernick Marilyn Monroe – Norma Jean Baker Yves Montand – Ivo Levi Demi Moore – Demetria Gene Guynes Garry Moore – Thomas Garrison Morfit Julianne Moore – Julie Anne Smith Rita Moreno – Rosita Alverio Harry Morgan – Harry Bratsburg Bill Murray – William James Murray

N Sam Neill – Nigel John Dermot Neill Chuck Norris – Carlos Ray Kim Novak – Marilyn Pauline Novak

O Hugh O’Brian – Hugh Krampke Maureen O’Hara – Maureen Fitzsimons Gary Oldman – Leonard Gary Oldman

P Al Pacino – Alfredo James Pacino Patti Page – Clara Ann Fowler Jack Palance – Walter Palanuik Gwyneth Paltrow – Gwyneth Kate Paltrow Bert Parks – Bert Jacobson Guy Pearce – Guy Edward Pearce Minnie Pearl – Sarah Ophella Colley Cannon Gregory Peck – Eldred Gregory Peck Bernadette Peters – Bernadette Lazzaro Lou Diamond Phillips – Lou Upchurch Joaquin Phoenix – Joaquin Rafael Phoenix Edith Piaf – Edith Gassion Slim Pickens – Louis Lindley Mary Pickford – Gladys Smith Brad Pitt – William Bradley Pitt Natalie Portman – Natalie Hershlag Stephanie Powers – Stefania Federkiewicz

Q Anthony Quinn – Antonio Rudolfo Oaxaca Quinn

R Tony Randall – Leonard Rosenberg Ahmad Rashad – Bobby Moore Johnnie Ray – John Alvin Martha Raye – Margaret Theresa Yvonne Reed Donna Reed – Donna Belle Mullenger Della Reese – Delloreese Patricia Early Keanu Reeves – Keanu Charles Reeves Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman) – Paul Reubenfeld Burt Reynolds – Burton Leon Reynolds, Jr. Debbie Reynolds – Mary Frances Reynolds Joan Rivers – Joan Sandra Molinsky Harold Robbins – Frances Kane Tim Robbins – Timothy Francis Robbins Julia Roberts – Julia Fiona Roberts Edward G. Robinson – Emmanuel Goldenberg Ginger Rogers – Virginia McMath Roy Rogers – Leonard Slye Mickey Rooney – Joe Yule Jr. Meg Ryan – Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra Winona Ryder – Winona Horowitz

S Telly Savalas – Aristotelis Harris Savalas Peter Sellers – Richard Henry Sellers Jane Seymour – Joyce Frankenberg Omar Sharif – Michael Shalhoub Charlie Sheen – Carlos Irwin Estevez Christian Slater – Christian Michael Leonard Hawkins Buffalo Bob Smith – Robert Emil Schmidt Ann Sothern – Harriet Lake Sissy Spacek – Mary Elizabeth Spacek Kevin Spacey – Kevin John Fowler Robert Stack – Robert Modini Sylvester Stallone – Sylvester Gardenzio Jean Stapleton – Jeanne Murray Barbara Stanwyck – Ruby Stevens Connie Stevens – Concetta Ingolia James Stewart – James Maitland Stewart Sharon Stone – Sharon Vonne Stone Gale Storm – Josephine Cottle Meryl Streep – Mary Louise Streep Hilary Swank – Hilary Ann Swank

T Robert Taylor – Spangler Arlington Brugh Danny Thomas – Muzyad Yakhoob Billy Bob Thornton – William Robert Thornton Uma Thurman – Uma Karuna Thurman Tina Turner – Annie Mae Bullock Twiggy – Leslie Hornby

U Peter Ustinov – Peter Alexander von Ustinow

V Roger Vadim – Roger Vladimir Plemiannikov Rudolph Valentino – Rudolpho D’Antonguolla Abigail Van Buren – Pauline Ester Friedman Jean-Claude Van Damme – Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg

W Christopher Walken – Ronald Walken Andy Warhol – Andrew Warhola Denzel Washington – Denzel Jermaine Washington, Jr. David Wayne – Wayne McMeekan John Wayne – Marion Michael Morrison Sigourney Weaver – Susan Alexandra Weaver Clifton Webb – Webb Parmalee Hollenbeck Johnny Weissmuller – Peter Jànos Weissmuller Raquel Welch – Raquel Tejada Tuesday Weld – Susan Kerr Wells Nathaniel West – Nathaniel Wallenstein Weinstein Gene Wilder – Jerome Silberman Bruce Willis – Walter Willison Kate Winslet – Katherine Elizabeth Winslet Shelley Winters – Shirley Schrift Reese Witherspoon – Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon Elijah Wood – Elijah Jordan Wood Natalie Wood – Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko Jane Wyman – Sarah Jane Fulks

Y Gig Young – Byron Barr

Z Renée Zellweger – Renée Kathleen Zellweger Catherine Zeta-Jones – Catherine Jones

All of these people have achieved great things, and in order to do so, they changed their brand. You too should think about your brand, who you represent, and what it means. You have one shot at this life and you want to have the best brand possible. Your brand is everything and you should make it all that it can be.

THE LESSON

Your brand, or the things you represent, shapes your life. You have to make a complete change if you wish to be seen as something different or appeal to a different audience. It is essential for both your career and your life that you know how to change your brand. Even if you wish to become someone or something completely different, being defined by your brand will continually hold you back.