I can say, I knew you when”, “Now that you’ve hit the big time….” were just two of the comments that a number of people who caught the recent piece that ABC’s 20-20 featured highlighting the work that we do. Want to know the truth?
My experience has been that media exposure such as this; local, national, international TV, Radio, print, internet and other media (Brad and I estimate that our work has been featured in some manner, to close to 50,000,000 people over the last decade) is pretty much just that. Exposure. Here is what most people don’t understand.
One would assume that an appearance on one show would lead to another. The average person, as we are, meaning that we are not correspondents or reporters or panel members, appearing on TV in some kind of “expert” or information giving role, has a rationed amount of time they can be seen on-camera. The unwritten rule, as I have been told by TV people, is that one has 3-4 minutes over a 6-month period of time. So if you appear on one TV show or network, unless there are very special circumstances (think of the odds of getting hit by lightening and you will be close to the right odds) you will not appear on another TV show or network for at least 6 months, if ever. The media can only “use” you so much.
My original lesson around this was when we were caught up a few years ago when there was a flurry around something called “Financial Infidelity”. An article appeared in the Wall Street Journal about the issue and we were quoted. The networks immediately began calling. We were talking to a number of them about a number of different angles on the story. When we decided to do the Today Show, everyone else just went away. All of the others, a number of who had originally called us and were deep into planning a story, suddenly went away. They didn’t call back. They didn’t answer calls, they simply vanished. So when one says “Yes” to one of them, we learned that we were saying “No” to all the others.
Another assumption that one might make would be that if you had a book that was mentioned during the interview, that book sales would go through the roof. Actually, my experience has been that if you sell a dozen more than usual as a result of that publicity that would be surprising.
Yet one more assumption that one might make would ne would be a significant increase in phone calls. Beyond congratulatory calls from family and friends, my experience has been that one might get a couple. Web site hits? Now, in this digital age, one could expect……..Sorry again.
Those trends have been true, so far, this time also.
Have I learned a lot from this most recent experience? You bet. Was it challenging? Yes. Am I glad I did it? Pretty much. Am I glad it is over? YES. Would I do it again? Maybe. Do I think that having this topic brought into the spotlight for a moment in time is going to help some people realize that there is help for their suffering? Yes, we’ve heard from some of them. Is this going to change me/my life? No. Is that OK with me? Absolutely.
I recently shared an awareness that I had with a friend. “When I feel connected and whole, I have everything I need; when I don’t feel connected I will try anything I can find”. “And, there will never be enough of whatever I find to give me that connection”.
“Want to know the truth?”
“When I feel connected and whole, I have everything I need; when I don’t feel connected I will try anything I can find”. “And, there will never be enough of whatever I find to give me that connection”