I was cursing PR guy & author Peter Shankman Monday night.  I had taken his advice (given in a recent Business Marketing Assn. seminar). I drove a different way to work and parked in a different spot.  Seems simple enough, right?

Well, on Monday night it was cold and rainy.  And I couldn’t find my car!  Slogging through puddles, rain in my face, wind blowing down my neck…  Thanks for the suggestion, Peter.  If I had parked in my “normal” spot I, and my new shoes, would be dry.

It all came full circle on Tuesday.  I came across an article in Prevention  (Pg. 125, 12/07 Issue).  It said, “If you seek out new experiences throughout life, your brain will keep growing – sprouting new cells (neurons) and the branches between them (dendrites) – no matter your age.”

Nice!  But, can parking in a different spot (or walking around in wet Etnies) really help?  Yes, according to the article.  “Everyday novelty – even seeming inconsequential acts – can benefit your brain and literally expand your mind.”

OK, Peter, you’re forgiven (AND you’re right)!

 When I was a teenager I had a Steve Martin album.  One of the jokes on the 33rpm record went something like this… 

People ask me all the time, “Steve Martin, how can you be so funny”  Well, I say, “Each morning I put a slice of baloney in each of my shoes.  And then, I feel funny.”

And his first movie was called “The Jerk”….

I had the extreme pleasure of listening to Peter Shankman – PR man, author, sky diver, marathon runner – at a Business Marketing Assn. (BMA) event in Newark, NJ last night.  Why only 30 people showed up for the event was beyond me and, quite honestly, embarrassing. 

Anyway, what was even more personally embarrassing to me was the story Peter told about Chris Anderson’s (Editor in Chief of Wired) 10/29/07 blog where outed all the PR folks who had recently sent him news releases which were unrelated to what he writes about.  The ensuing communications ended – so far at least – with hundreds of posts and an article in the NY Times.

So, back to my embarrassment… I was reading Chris’ blog on 10/30 and said to myself, “he’s absolutely right.”  I’ve seen it done (and done it myself when doing PR).  But, I didn’t have the guts to put in my own post agreeing with Chris!  How lame is that?  I mean it’s a simple thing to do, I agreed fully and yet, for some reason, I was afraid to type my agreement.  It’s not like I couldn’t be anonymous…

One of the (many) things Shankman spoke about last night was “shaving the cat.”  As a kid, Peter shaved the family cat “to see what would happen.”  Damn, I did a lot of crazy stuff “to see what would happen.”  Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t.  Jumping my bike over the BBQ grill – worked.  Jumping my bike with the front axle nuts removed – actually worked and was a blast!  Shooting my sister in the back with an arrow – not such a good idea. 

So, why so scary to post a little comment agreeing with Anderson on his blog?  I mean, it’s not like I was going to break my collar bone, get shot with an arrow or loose my job.  I think it has something to do with the story Peter told about five baboons in a zoo cage.  Here’s a less entertaining version of Peter’s story if you don’t know it but, the bottom line is after a while it’s easy to get complacent, not experiment and NOT “see what would happen.”  Thanks for the inspiration Peter.