Memorial Day is the day to reclaim one of our greatest American values: Perception becomes reality. No,that’s not it! Professional communicators across all cultures and generations have known and utilized this manipulation of every politician, every manager, every promoter. Decades ago, I had several people in the field of public relations suggest that it was time for me to build my myth. I could never understand how they could miss the fact that my musical skills and professional life did not require a myth. I did, however, have the need to create my own authority. Although this is the truest of American values, no one suggested it to me. The lesson of claiming my own personal authority was finally taught to me at age forty-two! Although there were immediate benefits, it took another decade before it sank in and became integrated into my being. Utilizing our self-determined authority, if we have earned it, is how we; the talented, the educated, the bold and the caring, win.
