He starred in “High Adventure With Lowell Thomas” for many years, traveling around the world to show America what life was like in remote, exotic parts of the globe.

Are you underwater on your mortgage? Do you have migraine headaches? Is your dog getting fleas all over your house? These are pains a product or service might solve.

It doesn’t always have to be a major pain. One of the smartest new products I’ve seen is the taco shell with a flat bottom. It lets you stand the taco up on the plate while you add the fillings. And if you put it down to take a drink of water, it won’t fall over and spill meat and lettuce all over the table, chairs and floor.

Where’s the pain? For the mom, it’s having to clean up after her kids on taco night. The flat-bottomed shells eliminate most of the mess. A time-saver, a tension-tamer, a neater way to eat tacos, wow! Why did no one think of this before? Maybe because nobody bothered to ask, “Where’s the pain?” for the consumer (the mom, who usually does the grocery shopping).

Pain relief in taco shell form. Brilliant! So it’s not just advertising that makes the sale; it’s also a smart new product idea. But the bottom line, for manufacturers and creators of advertising, is the same: Where’s the pain? and how can we make it go away? If you can answer those two questions and follow up to create a product or message customers see as some kind of salvation, you’re in business. Otherwise, you’re just a me-too. And nobody wants to be that.

In this article, seven experts share their secrets for building their personal brands. Well worth reading.

On the other hand, I have a love-hate relationship with the word, “branding.” So many people use it to mean “a logo.” But it’s so much more than that. In this article, Josh Kaufman says “branding” is an overrated buzzword. But then he offers several tips as to how to improve your reputation, which is really what it’s all about.

Name that movie for 10 points.

You can hire one freelancer — either a designer or a writer — or a team to get your project done. Call me for writing projects or referrals to professional designers, project managers and media planning freelancers I can recommend.

So how do you turn features into benefits? By following the WIIFM method. “What’s in it for me?” is the first question the prospect will ask. And it’s the crucial question you must answer. A fact sheet for a banana might list features like “attractive yellow hue,” “soft texture,” “delicious flavor,” etc. But does that make you want to buy a banana? If you’ve never heard of it before? No. Only if it has a benefit for you. In selling, WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) applies to bananas and every other thing under the sun.

“What do I need a banana for?” your prospect asks.

You reply, “Well, bananas are delicious and handy to take on a trip, ’cause they have their own wrapper. They’re great for snacks or sliced on cereal. Each banana has only 100 calories and no fat. They provide the potassium you need every day to stay healthy. And they’re natural and unprocessed, with no food additives. Oh, and by the way, kids love ‘em.”

“Okay, sounds pretty good, but I’m looking for new menu ideas. Got any?”

“You can make fantastic banana nut bread with it, or ring a fruit salad with alternating slices of banana and kiwi, or — well, here — here’s our new banana cookery booklet, ‘Go Bananas With Bananas!’ There are literally hundreds of ways you can use bananas in salads and desserts!”

“All right — I’m sold!”

What’s the difference between a feature and a benefit? A feature is a “so what?”, while a benefit is the “what’s in it for me?”, the sizzle of the steak, the one thing that makes prospective customers sit up and take notice.

The old AIDA formula still holds:

• Attention

You must get the prospect’s attention so they’ll listen to your message. A great visual, a compelling headline, or on TV or radio, a curious sound (or silence)…

• Interest

You must tell him or her something that interests him or her in your product. Some way to use it to solve a problem, some way the product enhances their life, makes them look more attractive, saves them money…

• Desire

What would make your targeted prospect desire the product? (Better health, wealth, quality of life, convenience, deliciousness, fun?)

• Action

You’ve hit the prospect with the benefits that should appeal to them. If they have a need that your product can fill, then they may go out and buy it.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It is, but often, advertisers present a list of features, thinking surely the prospect can figure out how the features are beneficial to them. It’s best not to count on their taking the time to connect the dots.

So as an advertiser creating a campaign, always ask, “What does my prospective customer need this (product or service) for?” If you can’t think of an answer, well… think harder.

When you were in high school or college, maybe you dreamed of going off with the Peace Corps and digging wells in Africa, or bringing technology to people in remote jungle villages. Those are worthy dreams. Did you follow them? If not, there’s still plenty you can do to make a difference. Right now, starting right where you are.

Start by thinking about ecology. I mean your inner ecology. Your thoughts — are they positive? If not, they could be harming your health, and you could be polluting the atmosphere around you with negativity. Whatever your mental attitude, it’s catching. Make sure you’re infecting people around you with a spirit of helpfulness, optimism and kindness. Everyone around you will benefit and feel uplifted.

But “improving the world” means something much bigger, doesn’t it? you ask. Sure, if you’re in a position to do that. Bill Gates, with billions at his disposal, can make enormous humanitarian projects happen by signing a check. I assume you don’t have BG’s economic resources. But you have plenty of human resources to draw on. Creativity, empathy, and energy, just to name a few. And those are all you need to start improving the world.

You don’t have to take on the whole world at once. Focus on the things you can control. Most of them reside within yourself. Your attitude, your appearance, your way of relating to others, your viewpoint on life.

Ask yourself what you think the purpose of life is. Is it to gain the admiration of rich people? To make a bundle and retire to Costa Rica? To have a mini-mansion with an Olympic-sized pool in the backyard? Or maybe to scramble up the career ladder as fast as possible?

I’m not going to say those ideas are wrong. But they’re all “gimme” things geared to puffing up your own ego. I will suggest that most of them won’t (a) make you happy; or (b) improve anyone else’s life to any great degree.

It appears that the thing that makes human beings happiest is helping and interacting meaningfully with other people. Like spending time playing with your child or grandchild. Checking in with elderly neighbors to see if they need anything at the grocery store. Volunteering to teach one person to read. Or even something simple, like picking up a discarded hamburger wrapper or soda can and throwing it in the trash. Seeing a clean city makes everybody feel more like keeping it that way.

Smiling at people. Really taking in what they have to say. Understanding the viewpoint of someone you disagree with. These are little things, but still, they can begin to make your world a better place to live.

So don’t wait a moment. Start thinking about small or big things you can do to help other people and your community. And start improving your world right now.

So what if you’ve never done exactly that kind of project before? You have a working brain and all the research materials in the whole world, literally, at your fingertips!

By saying, “Yes, I can!” I have had interesting assignments ranging from casting talent for training videos to helping a business owner develop a strategic business plan. I’ve written humorous greeting cards and articles for specialty magazines to funeral directors (It’s actually fun!), and helped clients think through barriers and puzzling problems. Sometimes a client just needs a sounding board.

One client needed a brainstorming leader to help them win a big piece of business for a client who before this had given them only small assignments. “Yes, I can do that!”

As a result of the brainstorm sessions, we created a brand personality profile, complete with music, on DVD, and that company (a small graphic design firm) won a $1 million project for an international bioscience company away from a big international PR firm. Good thing, because I’d told the creative director I’d charge him half the fee, and when (notice, “when,” not “if”) the business came in, I’d charge him the other half.

Sometimes you gotta go out on a limb and trust your own abilities to reap rewards. I’m proud of what the small graphics firm and I did together. It was fun, challenging, and a true adventure. The DVD was so successful, when the three-minute presentation was over, the marketing director was getting misty. Wiping her eyes, she managed to say, “You KNOW who we are!” And awarded the small graphics firm the project. Now, that’s a success that’s better than any advertising award you can name

Next time someone asks you, “Can you do that?” unless it’s brain surgery or working on Rolls-Royce engines — obviously something you can’t do without considerable specialized training — say, “Yes, I can!” And go for it!

Is there a way around this time-lag between billing and receiving the money?

Some smaller clients who have control of their checkbooks will write a check sooner. But big companies with Accounts Payable people seem to drag their big corporate feet. Either that, or it takes that long to go through the maze of corporate bookkeeping.

The bills I get are due within a week or two. Like for utilities, insurance, mortgage payments and other things. At the Quik-Trip, it’s pay right then or go home hungry. So why do big companies get the big breaks?

If anybody has devised a system for being paid sooner than 30 days later, please share.

Y’see, I have an interest-bearing checking account. And for every day my receivables are delayed, I’m forfeiting interest! Actually losing money! So what should I do, charge clients my unearned interest for 30 days?

What do you do? I’d really love to know.

You’ve spent a whole hour interviewing someone by phone for an article. You typed it out on your computer while talking, instead of relying on hastily scribbled (unreadable) notes. How professional of you! Then you moved on to a different project. Then you called your tech-savvy friend to see how to get rid of some annoying pop-up messages and a few other issues. The fix for one thing was to empty the Trash. So that’s what you did.

Your tech-savvy friend had been extolling the virtues of Time Machine (We’re Mac people; you PC people can go do something else for awhile.). You: “Hm. Interesting.” While barely paying attention. When would I ever need THAT?, you think. I save absolutely everything. If they ever have a writers’ version of “Hoarders,” I’ll be on it. Thanking your friend, you hang up.

Dissolve to next day –

You open Word files related to the article you were working on. One after another. Looking for your interview notes. Uh-oh. Search the Trash folder in vain. OMG! I THREW AWAY MY NOTES! you cry. Am I going to have to call that poor woman and interview her all over again? OH NOOOOO.

Then you remember a few words your friend said about Time Machine. You bumble around for a few minutes, then stumble upon the right button. Suddenly, a 3-D depiction of the last, say, 20 backups it did (once an hour) appears to leap out of the screen at you. Wowsers! You click one toward the back, and in a couple more clicks, there’s your interview document! SAVED!

After a couple more simple maneuvers, you’ve restored it to your desktop as a Word document, and voila! It’s as if you weren’t an idiot after all.

Time Machine saved my tuchas. Someday it may save yours.

This has been a public service message from one relieved writer to you.