The Brand Is Not the Hero. You Are.

Why I Wrote The Mentor Brand — and Why Branding Needs a Reboot.

By the time you finish this sentence, a new brand will have launched. Another one will have died. And millions of dollars will be spent trying to get you to care.

Here’s the problem:

Most brands are still stuck in the same tired story:
They think they’re the hero.

They tell you how great they are.
They bombard you with clever slogans and tear-jerking ads.
They talk about their purpose like it’s a TED Talk delivered by a founder in a hoodie.

It’s loud. It’s performative. And it doesn’t work.

The Lie We’ve Been Sold

For years, branding was about being admired.

Be aspirational. Be bold. Be everywhere.

But we forgot something essential:
People don’t want a brand to inspire them.
They want a brand that helps them.

A brand that sees them.
Understands them.
Guides them.

They want a mentor.

And here’s the twist no one tells you:
The most powerful brand stories aren’t about the brand at all.

They’re about the person on the other side — the customer — becoming something new.

That’s the premise of The Mentor Brand.

A Story That Changed Everything

I was working with a founder once — brilliant guy, obsessed with growth.

He asked me: “How do we get people to believe in us?”

I told him: “Wrong question.”

What he should have asked was:
“How do we help people believe in themselves?”

That’s what great brands do. Patagonia doesn’t sell jackets — it sells a moral stance. Strava doesn’t sell features — it sells transformation. They’re not the heroes.

They’re the guide.
The mentor.
The Obi-Wan to your Luke.

The Real Reason I Wrote This Book

Because I got tired of the branding B.S.

The jargon.
The fake purpose.
The empty manifestos written by teams that don’t believe a word of it.

I’ve spent the past 30 years helping brands and organizations find their story — and I kept seeing the same mistake:

They thought the story was theirs.

But branding is not a monologue. It’s a relationship.
And relationships are built on empathy, guidance, and trust.

If your brand can’t help someone grow, it won’t matter how cool your typeface is.

What This Book Will Teach You

This isn’t a book about storytelling theory. It’s a framework for transformation. You’ll learn:

• How to define your brand’s moral center (yes, brands have morals)
• Why emotional complexity builds stronger loyalty than feel-good fluff
• How to map your audience’s journey of transformation — and guide them through it
• Why being culturally relevant today means adapting your story, not repeating it
• And how to become a brand people don’t just buy from — but believe in

For Anyone Tired of Playing the Hero

If you’re building a brand, running a business, or leading a movement, this book is for you.

It’s not about shouting louder. It’s about showing up differently.

Because the brands that last — the ones we remember, trust, and love — don’t make the story about themselves.

They make it about us.

Ready to Rethink Branding?

The Mentor Brand is out now.

It’s not just a book.
It’s a new story for a new kind of brand.
And it starts with you.

👉 Get the book here Link
📚 Read the essence of the Mentor Brand methodology here Link
💡 Curious but skeptical? Read this FAQ (link optional)

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Apply to the Story-Driven Learning Lab

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