Music. Movies. Books.

Songs. Stories.

We love them. Enjoy them. Remember them.

I'm not a fan of the musical, but there are 2 that I love - and have owned on DVD for years. Paint Your Wagon with Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum with Zero Mostel and Phil Silvers. Both are funny. Both make me smile. That makes them memorable for me.

Music is a much bigger player in my life. Lyrics and harmonies are the focal points for me. Songwriters have long exclaimed that most songs are about some sort of love. Often about lost love. Heartbreak and heartache. But these are audience consumables. We're watching a movie. Listening to a song. Reading a book. Reaching a big audience doesn't always rely on relatability, as evidenced by this past weekend with the release of the movie, Avengers: Infinity War. The film was produced for about $320 million and this past weekend - that's right WEEKEND - it grossed over $640 million. I've not seen it, but I know it's about superheroes. I don't know any superheroes so I know it's not relatable like that, but clearly millions of people love the fictional stories of superheroes.

We're being entertained. And it's fine. Better than fine really because I suppose it gives us the break from reality that helps us cope better with ours. All in moderation of course.

But then there are more personal stories shared by others that really impact us. Not like the temporary smiles provided by a movie like Support Your Local Gunfighter with James Garner (another favorite of mine). I even use it as my Twitter and Facebook header image because it makes me smile. I'm talking about something deeper. More impactful. Longer lasting. A real connection.

There's a guy I follow named Bryan Elliott. He produces a web series, Behind The Brand. I don't know Bryan personally, but I like him. He's earned my attention. Back in February, he posted a little segment of a longer interview he did with Seth Godin. It's about 9 minutes and it perfectly illustrates the title of today's episode. You need to watch it.

Bryan tells Seth that during their first interview back in 2009 Seth gave him the best advice. Seth didn't remember giving it to him, but it was pretty good stuff.

Bryan shared the story of his pain as an adopted boy. Grateful and thankful for the family who adopted him and loved him, Bryan grew up with the urge to find his real mother. He had questions and was desperate for answers. It's a very touching story best heard directly from Bryan. So go watch the video of him telling it. I promise you'll be moved. It just might make you a fan, even if you've never heard of him before.

Why?

Because you can't hear him, or watch him and avoid thinking, "He's real. I can relate."

I'm not adopted. I know my parents. I knew my grandparents. But back in February when I first watched the interview Bryan did with Seth, I was moved by his story. Yes, I was already following him, but the connection grew deeper for me. Bryan showed me something I hadn't seen before. He opened himself up and became vulnerable.

It's all this hard stuff - our pain, our suffering, our heartache - that forges strong connections. I say hard stuff because it's hard for people to share all that. We're prone to hide. To make sure we look good. And sound good. Proving to the world, and fooling ourselves, that we've got it all together. But we don't. Deep down we all know it, but there's just enough doubt to make us think, "I'm such a failure. Look at them!"

What we care about. That's the deal. Self-preservation. Putting on the front so others think well of us. It's inside most of us. Society has conditioned us. We've spent years looking at people who seem better, smarter, better looking, more talented,