The old alchemical dream was changing lead into gold. Paradoxically, the new pop culture dream is: changing one's personality - It's all about Brand 'ME'. Nothing says it better than the 20-something woman with designer sun glasses perched on her head and a springy, confident, jeans-clad gait browsing through the airport bookshop. She walks out with 'the brand called you' by Peter Montoya and 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' by Stephen R Covey and its sequel 'The 8^th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness', under her gym-toned arms. In the age of Tomkat, Brangelina, King Khan and Big B (in no particular order of priority, I like to be politically correct you see, don't want to get any fan following going ballistic over my trivial opinion) its now also about Brand 'ME'

So you are supposed to be the architect of your own life and kismet and you always thought this was only for the birds and bees - not for fools saving it all for a perpetually deferred tomorrow. The pursuit of happiness is the new mantra, fate be damned. And now you hop onto anything that gets you there. Or, become anything that gets you there faster. Cinderella's fairy godmother helped her catapult from cottage to castle on a glass slipper. Such fairy tales no longer exist. Today one needs to bank on his own mettle to elbow out the competition on the way up career and social ladders, sometimes skipping rungs enroute. It has to be today, it has to be this minute, so put on your running shoes and 'Just do it'.

Ambition may be as old as sin, but it was never this upfront or blatant. In a world that was a gentler place, ambition came diluted or camouflaged. Or euphemized into something you did for the country or society - or at the very least, the family. But for most people, the doorways to dreams were locked. Aspirations were on hold. Inhibitions held sway. Those pecking orders are now topsy-turvy. Father or even big brother doesn't necessarily know best. Take the family: the individual can even see himself as separate from both his family and community. And increasingly, as the number of diasporic Indians increase, his country and he can go their separate ways too. Many success stories today are of individuals, and not necessarily of families. The new heroes are likely to be self-made in the 'ME' mould. Dreams no longer need to be escapist fare, vicariously lived-out in darkened cinema halls.

Today the Brand 'ME' has his/ her blueprint to the future with a route map for life-both professional and personal. Previous generations did this too. But the goals were more distant, more vague. Moreover, the milestones had more distance between them. Today not only are the goals more sharply defined, the milestones follow one another in quick succession., hierarchies are not fixed anymore…no more Lakshman rekhas and paradise is 'anywhere abroad'; for an increasing number of people. This exodus is the new take on the Quit India movement.

And in this brazen new world failure has a bad smell about it. You have to be driven, 18-hour weekdays, followed by quasi-orgiastic letting-go weekends. Recharge forty winks to allow you to grab life by the horns. There's a feeling that if you don't keep running, you'll lose your place. An underling is likely to be an impatient understudy, snapping at the heels of the one just above on the career ladder. You don't bask in past glory anymore, you just got to keep going and keep going real fast.

Paradoxically, the good life comes with a bill: uncertainty. Many among the younger generation are on the looking-for-themselves-trip. Any given day young men and women form serpentine lines outside temples and holy places. It's usually the same crowd that goes clubbing most nights. Reflect on their sensibilities, many of whom do not know what they want to do in life, they get bored so easily. Idealism is out, pragmatism is in. Materialism may be at full tide, but alongside there is also a move towards mysticism.

Look at me. I am unique, different in a way only I can be. I am a brand. Brand 'ME' is the sum total. Get yourself a brand manager. If you can have your own financial planner and medical counselor, why can't you have your own brand manager? The best way to do this is to take a rain check with someone who knows you well, a close friend or colleague you trust, who knows which of your shoe screeches or why your ring-tone affects sensibilities. By conducting a performance appraisal, he/ she can tell you why you are making zero-impact in the corner room. He can even give you an indication of your internal and external market values and conduct informal peer surveys to gauge your popularity. And if you still want to tag yourself, he could position you as an economy brand, bargain brand or a premium brand. Love me or hate me, but you simply cannot ignore me.