Take It From Taylor, Beyonce, and Kanye: Image is not just about how you look!

Well, it’s been what, a week now since the Taylor Swift/Kanye West incident and people are still talking about it? I did not watch the live airing of the VMAs last week, but I did catch one of the many reruns on MTV. I must say, in the midst of all the talk about the “big incident,” I didn’t realize until I watched the show that MTV had presented such an awesome tribute to Michael Jackson that featured his sister and fellow artist Janet Jackson. I have yet to hear anyone talk about how awesome that was.

My guess is that the tribute would have been THE thing everyone would have been talking about at the water cooler the following day had Kanye not done what he did. So not only did Kanye steal Taylor’s moment from her, he also took away from a tribute to one of the most influential entertainers of all time.

Taylor’s award was the first award presentation of the night. It came right after host Russell Brand told the audience to show love for each other since that’s how Michael Jackson had always lived his life. Perhaps Kanye’s behavior was an act of love for Beyonce’s video, but it was at the expense of someone else’s feelings. The true act of love was from Beyonce herself who exemplified grace and showed compassion for Taylor.

I always tell my clients that image is not just how you look. It includes your behavior and how you present yourself to the world. We all know that Kanye’s behavior has tarnished his image, but the way Taylor and Beyonce handled the situation exemplifies an image that is both humble and dazzling at the same time.

 It is the type of image that hopefully others will want to work toward and emulate. I say “work toward” because it is something that has to be developed. We all have our weaknesses, but with God’s grace He can work in us to help us develop positive attributes.