"But as we continued to contemplate the meaning of world fame as it related to us, it became clear that we intended to make a world famous difference by having a positive impact upon each person we encountered. To this day, we continue to define world fame as situations come up at the market. What is it to be world famous, for example, when things are slow at work? What does world famous look like when customers treat us badly?" John Yokoyama, owner of the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market

The words "World Famous" are part of the name of a business at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. This farmer's market is an extremely popular tourist attraction. When the stand selling fish first added the words to its name it was unknown. The owner and employees wanted to be world famous, and decided to act as if they were already good enough to be world famous for their customer service. They made decisions based on what they thought a world class business would do. They decided that they would give the customer a wide selection of fresh products. That resulted in large ice filled tables displaying fresh fish. Another decision was that they would process a customer's order as quickly as possible. That meant when a customer selected a fish they wanted, an employee would not take the time to walk over to counter to hand it to the person wrapping it. Instead they would throw it to them. Some people purchase a fish just so they can see it fly through the air. That became an iconic part of their market. People gather around hoping to witness it. When a major sports event is televised from Seattle, one of the local scenes shown before a commercial is usually a shot of a fish being thrown at the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market. Several books have been written about their business and employees have been speakers at many leadership conferences.

What would happen if you adopted their approach to your entertainment? How do you learn how a world famous entertainer acts? I don't mean a "Prima Donna" doing things like insisting on yellow roses in the dressing room. I mean if a clown or magician is good enough to be world famous what would they do to be that good? One way to learn that is to find places where you can be around them. I have had the pleasure of performing in a show with magician Shawn Farquahr and seeing him at several magic conventions. (Shawn is a FISM Champion. FISM is the "Olympics" of magic. Every four years the champions of national and international magic organizations compete at FISM.) When we appeared in a variety show together I stood off stage and watched him during the tech rehearsal. He knew exactly what he needed in terms of lighting and sound. He treated the technical people with respect. He didn't make demands, but said things like, "I don't know if we can do this or not, but if we could direct a red light down at this spot I think it would look really cool during the beginning of this illusion." We took a dinner break after our tech rehearsal, and when we returned there was a red spot changing down right where he had requested it. Shawn immediately thanked the theater's technical people by name. (Since then I always try to learn the names of the technical people and address them respectfully by their name.) When I have seen him around other magicians I have been impressed by his passion for the art and willingness to share ideas, especially with young magicians beginning their studies. He takes the time to talk to everyone who wants to speak to him. The opportunity to be around outstanding entertainers is why I try to attend some type of variety arts conference each year.

The next best way to learn how they act is to read their biographies and critical studies of their work. For example, in The Jack Benny Show, Milt Josephsberg, one of Benny's comedy writers, describes how Benny vetoed a sure-fire topical joke in one script because he was afraid it might embarrass a young woman involved in the event inspiring the joke. After Benny told a blue joke in a setting where that type of humor was expected he discovered somebody had quoted him in a setting where it was not appropriate. He made it his policy for the rest of his career to never use humor that was not acceptable everywhere.

How does a world famous clown, magician, or other variety artist act? How do they develop their material? How do they prepare for a performance? How do they handle their props? How do they interact with the technical people who contribute to how well their act appears on stage? What is their relationship like with their audience? How do they handle public relations? How do they treat the media? How do they interact with other entertainers?