You may not think you are famous, but you are.

Liz was always happy. It was her personal legend. She was known for it, and because of that people wanted to work with her, be around her, have her as a friend and colleague.

Michelle cced her buddies on any email to her manager. That was her personal legend. She was known for it, and because of that people didn’t trust her. They saw her mistrust of management and knew that regardless of her talent, she wasn’t someone they wanted to attach to.

Richard asked for feedback and responded with gratitude when he received it – every time. That was his legend. He was known for it, and because of that people loved working for him and trusted that they could tell him anything.

You may not realize it, but you are well known, even famous. So what are you famous for?

One of my hobbies is my fish tank. For all of my supplies I go to a store called Aquarium Adventure. The store is set up like a real aquarium. The tanks are all well staged, and each area of the store feels like an exhibit. I go there for supplies and also just for fun.

Yesterday I passed a sign for an aquarium supply store called the Fish Factory. Now I have no idea what the Fish Factory is like. It could be beautiful or not. But what a difference in what these two names evoke - The Fish Factory vs. Aquarium Adventure.

I think there is an obvious marketing lesson in here, but there is also a lesson for living.

Factory living is static, predictable, consistent. And at times this can be comforting.

Adventure living is daring, surprising, exciting. At times we need this experience.

There is a pendulum issue here. We can swing too far to either of these extremes. So where is your pendulum? Is work feeling like more factory or adventure these days? How about life?

If you’ve swung too far to either extreme it might be time to take a moment and turn that pendulum around.

I hope this isn’t getting complicated. Two days ago I wrote that we should all be using more video in our lives - both personally and professionally. Yesterday I showed a video where inhibition went out the window and I said, “Yes. We should all be more like that.” Now here’s one more video fresh out today from a source (Apple) that usually really gets how to communicate honest enthusiasm, but this time (I think) missed the mark. In fact, this video gives us the best of both worlds.

The first guy in the video is fine (at first). Love the accent. The second guy is great. He sounds like a normal person. I trust him. He sounds like he’s giving his honest assessment of the product. Then we go back to the first guy and he gives us this:

There’s no up. There’s no down. There’s no right or wrong way of holding it. I don’t have to change myself to fit the product. It fits me.

Now I know this is a promotional video, but have you ever been frustrated that your computer or smart phone or Kindle had an up? Have you then cried out in frustration that you must change yourself to fit this aggravating up only orientation?

The rotating screen is cool. So talk about it like it’s cool. Instead Apple is trying too hard to express the wonderfulness of their new product. It gets worse. Guy number 3 tells us:

If you see something, you just reach out and tap it. It’s completely natural. You don’t even think about it. You just . . . DO.

I hope you can actually see the video, because this guy truly seems like he would fit in an 80’s SNL spoof commercial telling us about the wonders of a bank that just makes change. His enthusiasm seems either fake or unhealthy, like he’s the guy you slowly edge yourself away from at the cocktail party.

Thankfully, guy number 4 brings us back to a way of speaking that feels honest. The word to describe him - natural.

We all sell - whether product or ideas, whether to customers, colleagues, kids, or spouses. And we all buy. As for me, I’d rather buy my iPad from guy 2 or 4.

SIDE NOTE: The one place Apple could have been unnatural in a good way they also failed. Four speakers in the video. Four white guys. Surprising.

Yesterday I wrote that it is a video world. Today I offer this incredible video.

And yes, newsletter subscribers will recall that last June I posted another uke video. (BTW, this little guy looks like he has been watching that video too.)

For those of us who aren’t ridiculous musical prodigies I think there is a great lesson in the I’m Yours video. This kid doesn’t know the words. (I’m fairly certain that isn’t the Japanese translation he’s singing.) He’s just belting out something that feels right. He’s going with it. He’s in the flow and doesn’t care how it sounds. He’s loving what he’s doing.

Compare that with how adults act when they don’t know the words. Most of us clam up or mumble. Worse, we sing the wrong words and get embarrassed. Then we quiet down the next time or spend the next 20 minutes feeling bad or stupid. At some point between 5 years old and 25 we allow shame to overpower joy.

That isn’t the way it has to be. In fact, when you mumble, the shame creeps in. But when you belt it out the way this kid does, confidence and joy will conquer shame. So forget about judgments and throw yourself in.

Erin and Jeff are getting married. As most couples do, they wanted to make sure that people saved their wedding date on their calendars. So they sent out a save the date . . . video. And not just any video - an awesome, movie trailer, mashup video with clips from tons of your favorite movies along with sub-titles that I assume are meant for the Wong side of the family. Here’s the video.

[Sorry, Erin and Jeff pulled the video. You can try this one instead. Not amazing the way Erin and Jeff were, but it makes the point.]

So other than being pretty cool, what does this matter for the likes of you and me? More and more this is a video world. And the technology is breaking down any excuse you may have for not using video. My guess is most people reading this blog own a digital video camera. If not you can buy a flip video cam for under $200 or a webcam for under $50. So video is cheap, but where should you use it?
* Resumes
* Business Proposals
* Thank You Notes
* Holiday Cards
* Electronic Introductions
* Pitching a New Idea to the Boss
You name it. Video makes a presentation stand out. You don’t need Erin and Jeff’s editing talent. With almost no experience I put this video together for the launch of Be the Hero. The editing process probably took about 90 minutes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jikgDCaQyS8&color1=0×5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
I welcome you to write a comment on this post. Even better, post a video. Which one will we all take more notice of?

I didn’t get to watch the lawyers make their cases. That doesn’t happen during jury selection. But I did get to watch numerous potential jurors make a case for being let out of jury duty. I was not impressed. They were alternately huffy and squeamish. Had they been on the witness stand the jury deliberation would have unanimously determined that they were lying under oath. Plus, even with the obvious falsehoods, they utterly failed to make their case.

The lawyers asked straight out, “Can you set aside your past experiences and be objective in this case?”

If you want out of jury duty and you are asked this question, sit straight up. Look the lawyer directly in the eyes and say clearly and in a strong voice, “No.” You might even add a flourish. “No. My experiences have left me with feelings far too strong for me to remain objective.” There. You’re done with it.

Instead, these potential jurors scowled and made great displays of how annoyed they were to answer these questions, and said things like, “I don’t know.” “I’ll do my best, but . . .” “I can’t absolutely promise you.” Of course, then the lawyers had to ask each one of them a dozen more questions. It wasted all of our time and these individuals who so clearly wanted to get out of jury duty had utterly failed to make their case to do so.

BROADER LESSON: If there is something you really want, make your case clearly. Don’t waffle. Don’t be huffy about it. State your desire or belief as directly as you can.

In my case, I told the lawyers I had a speech to give that would require me to be out of state. I thought my speech was pretty important and a great case for not serving. Little did I know at the time how much better that same case could be made.

My friend Alison Dorlen used to love to say, “speed kills” when we played pool together. It is tempting to simply hit the ball as hard as you can and watch all the ricochets and hope for the best. But usually the best doesn’t happen with that method. In fact, when you slow down, both in terms of how quickly you make your shot and how hard you hit the cue ball, your shots gain accuracy and effectiveness. You become a better player.

Fault operates in a similar fashion. My jury duty case was a medical malpractice case. The family was suing the doctor. Their father/husband had died. The doctor and hospital must be at fault. Someone must be to blame. Complications are unacceptable. It must be someone’s fault.

The thing about fault is that the more you focus on it, the more you seek out who was responsible for something bad that happened, the more your world becomes about criticizing, blaming, and defending. When you focus on fault you make people wary of what they do around you. You teach the people around you (your employees, colleagues, children) to be the first to point the finger so that they gain the upper hand in the blame game. And you destroy your own ability to accept responsibility graciously, to say, “I did that. I made a mistake. I’m sorry. I’ll fix it.”

Fault kills. It kills your happiness and your pleasantness to be around. It kills your effectiveness as an employee, a parent, and a leader.

It’s easy to make these pronouncements and point the finger at others. “Other people blame. I’ve known them. They’re awful.” But the truth is we are all seduced into the blame game from time to time.

I do it. When I do it it’s a mistake. I’m sorry for that. I’m going to do my best to fix it.

I’ve seen layoffs and had to fire people. I’ve witnessed a loved one battle cancer. A friend of mine’s son has gone through 3 brain surgeries. Yet I’ve never seen people express so much pain and outrage as those asked to serve 5 days of jury duty. Thursday I was called to serve on a civil trial. It sounded interesting. I would have been happy to serve. Inconvenienced? Yes. But happy to serve. Hey, variety is the spice of life. I think sitting on a trial would have been fascinating. It was a medical malpractice suit. Healthcare is a hot topic. Sounds great to me.

I was dismissed (probably due to my upcoming travel schedule to deliver keynotes in Las Vegas and Miami). Now before you say that it’s easy for me to say I wanted to serve when I was dismissed, know this. The last time I was called for jury duty I did serve. Happily. For 30 days. And it was fascinating.

I didn’t lose my job or my family. I don’t look back now, 9 years later, and trace a string of life tragedies or career setbacks to that unfortunate turn of events.

But this week I saw people whine and complain. I saw some lie shamelessly, and really poorly I might add. You would have thought that those selected were going in front of a firing squad. They weren’t. They were just going to (have to/get to) serve jury duty.

There’s a broader lesson here. What do you tell yourself you have to do? I have to go to work. I have to take the car in. I have to pick up my kids. In fact, you get to do all of those things. If you’re lucky, you even get to serve on jury duty.

Do you speak French? Creole? Hmm. Me neither. Still, this is beautiful.
Once I got past the sheer enjoyment of watching and listening to that video it sparked thoughts about how we communicate? Did you understand what they were saying? Did you feel it?
We communicate in so many ways. All day long you are telling people things with your face, your body, your tone. The way you dress and walk carries a message.
What are you communicating outside of your words? When you get beyond the lyrics of your life, is the background music you are playing to people really what you want it to be?

Did you see the latest rave for Avatar? Or the one that wasn’t quite so giddy?

What about the news of the 6.1 aftershock in Haiti?

How about the latest corporate memo on security?

You receive too many emails. The web draws you in and keeps going forever. At home the TV has seemingly endless options to occupy you. There is a never ending supply of distraction in your life.

Everyone living in the information age society has a job in common. If you are an executive or a programmer or a marketer or a stay at home parent, your primary responsibilities all share this - your performance depends on the speed with which you discard non-essential information.

Get rid of the memos. Turn off the TV. Delete the joke email without reading it. Choose not to read the article your friend sent to you. Refuse to click another link.

Of course, there are some things you do want to read. Some people you should trust when they tell you you absolutely must check out this website (and this one and this one) or video or picture.

Did you click through? If not, you just might be a better person for it.