OBD. Obsessive Branding Disorder

I just found this title by Lucas Conley while surfing Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Conley/e/B001JPAR26/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

I read the title and felt immediately linked to it. As a brand creator and builder I have ambivalent feelings about this theory. I completely understand Obama’s point of view regarding the new meaning of value:

“We’ve become accustomed to our economic dominance in the world, forgetting that it wasn’t reckless deals and get-rich-quick schemes that got us there; but hard work and smart ideas - quality products and wise investments. So we started taking shortcuts. We started living on credit, instead of building up savings. We saw businesses focus more on rebranding and repackaging than innovating and developing new ideas and products that improve our lives.”

But on the other hand, it is not only new logos or packaging. The concept of “brand” is taking a higher order in today's societies. We are starting to build brands of our own lives.

We have branded our lifestyles, our friends, and the places we like, everything surrounding us.

Observing the way we define them, we try hard to find consistency in the attributes, descriptors and "labels" we place on them in order to get something... guess what? Exactly what we define as the branding pillars: differentiation, relevance, knowledge and esteem.

Are we trying to build a brand of ourselves even when we can consciously realize it?