Draw Your Hot Dog.

Today's Marketing Cookie comes with a typo that might be a hidden gem. "You enthusiasm" instead of "Your enthusiasm." But think about it – isn't there a world of difference between having enthusiasm for your work and being enthusiastic in it? "Having" implies something you possess; "being" defines what you embody. Are you just acting enthusiastic, or does your zest for work truly define you? If you're puzzled by the leap from "having" to "being," let me tell you a little tale.

A short time after my wife and I were married, we quit trying to be actors in NY and moved to a quiet little town called, Wilmore, Kentucky. I would get up at the crack of dawn to work behind the deli counter at a tiny grocery store, then after lunch, I washed dishes in a college cafeteria. Once I was done with the dishes, I worked nights and weekends painting pots for "Fast Eddy" who owned a local pottery shop. I must have been working roughly ninety hours a week in those days. Meanwhile, there were people all around me, who couldn't find any job at all. Although all three of my jobs only paid minimum wage, I can tell you I was grateful for every hour of work I was given! In fact, I was downright enthusiastic.

One day in the deli, I wanted to create a sale and promote some lunch specials. So, I drew a picture of a hot dog with crayon on a piece of deli paper. You have to understand that Wilmore was a really tiny town, and the next nearest grocery store was at least 10 miles away. Although having a sale wouldn't make a whole lot of sense when you're the only game in town, my boss let me go a head and do it anyway. My crayon art on the sign somehow caught the eye of a successful businessman who was visiting from Lexington. The businessman took the cigar out of his mouth, pointed to the sign I had drawn and asked, "Who-ah drew this-here hot dog?".

I said, "I did."

The businessman looked at the sign, and then back at me, and said, "You should work for me."

It turned out that the businessman owned a database of every thoroughbred horse that had ever lived, and he needed a "kid" to help him figure out how to put his horses on the internet. On Monday morning, I traded my deli apron and pricing gun for a necktie, and desktop computer. I had no prior Internet or computer experience, but somehow he thought this young kid who makes signs with crayons in a deli would help him achieve his goals. He paid me $8 per hour, which meant that I was able to quit one of my jobs. I was so grateful for the job, that I read every book I could find about the Internet, I taught myself how to write HTML, and when Netscape was finally released to replace the Mosaic browser, I designed my first-ever corporate Website.

That hot dog picture is how I started my marketing career. It's true.

I was not hired that day for my hot dog drawing skills. I was just a young, starving kid who was standing behind a deli counter, in the middle of nowhere, who took uncommon pride in his work. He saw that I was enthusiastic, despite my situation, and that was enough for him to take a chance on me—and I jumped at the opportunity.

The best career advice I can give you is to draw your hot dog with enthusiasm. In whatever you are doing, do it to the best of your ability, with purpose, commitment, and enthusiasm. Let them see that you are enthusiastic, and I promise that if you do, it will soon pay off.