Episode 16 - Run the Point with Mike Bruny

Mike Ambassador Bruny’s mission is to help individuals discover their greatness and live it out. His latest project, Brand Inside a Brand, focuses on personal branding for the working professional. He is the author of Move the Crowd: 30 Days of Hip-Hop Affirmations to Change Your Life, as well as a speaker, certified life coach, an alum of the Boston based Leaders of Color Development Program, The Partnership, Inc., and a stay-at-home dad to his 10-month-old son. He talks to Charlie about how he got to where he is today, lessons he’s learned along the way, and how to take action on something you’re passionate about and make it happen.

Key Takeaways:

2:08– Working at Intel is where Mike learned to become a professional speaker and where the idea of Brand Inside a Brand was started.

3:28 – Mike created his own curriculum helping people create a brand inside a brand while at Intel.

5:43 – One challenge you can run into is that companies don’t want you to be your own brand. 

7:03 – People who have a good, strong brand of their own are people who you wouldn’t even realize work for a company because they’re so independent.

8:29 – Part of your brand and what Mike teaches is to learn how to be more entrepreneurial, not become an entrepreneur.

11:09 – The idea of working for an employer for the intended length of your working career is obsolete. Most people move on from project to project.

15:21 – It’s about finding a job where you can show up and be the best of yourself, doing the things that you’re interested in, and the things that you’re interested in generating value.

21:35 – Mike sees hip-hop as a language of people.

24:05 – Mike has a vision of getting Seth Godin and Jay-Z on a stage together.

26:00 – Mike’s next project in the works is a community called “No More Reasonable Doubt,” a space where students of color can go to get his work and seek help.

29:27 – Mike organized an event for Charity: Water and helped raise $10,000 for them.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Brand Inside a Brand

Intel

Move the Crowd: 30 Days of Hip-Hop Affirmations to Change Your Life

The Partnership, Inc.

Ekaterina Walter

Justin Levy, Citrix

Scott Monty, Ford

Matt Cutts, Google

Robert Schofield, Microsoft

Guy Kawasaki, Apple

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jay-Z

Charity: Water

Chris Brogan

Russell Simmons, Do You!

Andre Taylor