THE MESSAGE OF EASTER... SORT OF?

On Easter Sunday Jesus rose from the dead, launching a religion, Christianity, that spread his message of love to the four corners of the earth and changed the world forever.

It is doubtful that two thousand odd years later we would still celebrate Jesus' life and ressurection had he not been centered in his role as the son of God, grounded in his faith and to round it off a master communicator.

For argument's sake in our brand personality matrix Jesus is firmly in the top right hand quadrant, the thought leader.

Beyond his Christian message we would do well to learn from his methods as a communicator to aid our own causes.

1. He knew his subject

Jesus knowledge of the scripture was evident at an early age. As precocious boy he was once feared lost but found engaged in deep conversation with the Jewish leaders in the temple in Jerusalem.

As a young adult he went away into the desert to deepen his faith before emerging 40 days later to announce his mission.

Even for the son of God it took time to prepare for his mission. There are no shortcuts. To ascend to thought leadership you need an education and experience all of which take time.

2. He tapped into powerful networks

Since Judaism the established religion became quickly hostile to him and his message, Jesus set up on tapping into other powerful networks.

He recruited among the fishing -- seven of his disciples were fishermen, trading and even tax collecting communities. These were all men respected in their respective fields who could be used to relay the message.

From this core he recruited others who he sent out into the world to preach the message.

Jesus was an outstanding character in his own right drawing huge crowds wherever he went but he knew that for his message to gain traction he needed others to help him spread the word.

One of the most pwoerful communication tools is word of mouth, especially from some who you respect.

In the modern world this would mean tapping into established media to build your personal brand.

3. He employed third party endorsements

After performing miracles he often told the healed to go out and tell what God had done for them.

The power of third party endorsements can not be understated. Your brand will get much more traction from others talking well of you and your work than going out and blowing your own trumpet.

We can mine Jesus' story for many more communication lessons but these three can serve as the bedrock of spreading your own message, hopefully to the four corners of the earth --- and why not?