Productive Procrastination! My secret weapon for staying productive...

For my students, the dream chasers, and art-trepreneurs, who often ask, "Mr. Bill Berry, how do you stay so motivated? Well, today, I'm actually not feeling it.

Yes, I "should" be putting the finishing touches on my third book, and I "should" be applying the notes I got back from my wonderful beta readers. (Thank you for reading over 600 pages in a matter of days, ya'll rock!)

And yes, I "should" be moving the banana trees that are impeding the pouring of a concrete slab that will soon turn into the new addition at the St Pete Micro Farm and allow me to officially begin offering residency and on-site stays for performers/writers/artists who want to come and work on their show/book/projects! (I'm super excited about this, and it's coming before the end of the year!)

Yes, I should be doing all that... But I'm just not feeling that today...

So, instead of being a bump on a log and ending today unproductively, instead, I'm asking, "What am I in the mood to work on?"

Oh, I know, let's do some research on my world records as featured on recordsetter.com

Why would I do that? Couple of reasons, and they should be of interest if you're a creative.

1: Almost any talented or creative person can set a record and submit it to record setter, so if you're looking to beef up your resume and accolades, it's a great way to do it.

2: I'm about to do a website update, and it'd be useful to know the exact number of records I have. (Since I don't actually know)

3: SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has become a recent hobby of mine. I'm fascinated by the AI arc in relation to the managegement of data and knowledge and I want to experiment with how my actions directly affect exposure through various internet and AI search parameters.

4: I'm always looking to grow my knowledge and understanding so I can pass it on to all of you and assist you in your journey as art-trepreneurs.

So let's dive into it!

After doing some internet hunting, this is what I've got:

Longest Successful Basketball Shot While Sword Swallowing. Berry made a successful basketball shot from a distance of 15 feet while swallowing a sword. (And here's a video of me breaking that record with a 20'+ shot.) Longest 'off the wall' basketball shot while sword swallowing.

Longest self started ball spin on the handle of a swallowed sword.

Most Clubs Juggled While Sword Swallowing.

Most Catches Juggling Five Clubs While Swallowing A Sword. Bill Berry made 50 catches juggling five clubs while swallowing a sword. (arguably a repeat of the above record, so it will count as 1 only)

Most Clubs Juggled And Passed By Three People Swallowing Swords. Dan Meyer, Bill Berry, and Ted Campbell juggled and passed nine clubs while sword swallowing. They set the record in celebration of World Sword Swallower's Day 2015 at Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium in Orlando, Florida.

Most Catches Juggling Two Balls And A Flaming Chainsaw While On Fire. Bill Berry completed 15 catches while juggling two balls and a flaming chainsaw. He was on fire during the attempt.

Mr. Bill Berry - The Only Person to Ever Sword Swallow and Execute a Scorpion Kick Simultaneously.

(Aside, since it came up in the search, I've often stated that my first Sword Swallowing student, Frankie Stilletto, has a world record for escaping a straight jacket while sword swallowing, but I completely forgot that she has this second record as well: Most Catches Juggling Three Balls While Hula Hooping And Swallowing A Sword)

The Sword of Swords, I had the honor of being the 16th sword swallower to take down the infamous "Sword Of Swords". So I'm also a participant in this record.

So, we'll call it 7 world records (Plus 4 more on Guinness World Records) for 11 records total. See, sounds pretty good right? That looks good on a resume...

Okay, now that I've got it cataloged, I'll post it here, and on my blog at mrbillberry.com. This will extend my reach as a sword swallower and performer, and help my name come up when people search for this type of entertainment.

Recognition = More Gigs

So, what's the point of me telling you all this?

Well, my hope is that you'll see how I've leveraged a few of my skills, predominantly sword swallowing and juggling, to create interesting scenarios that resulted in new world records.

Now, turn it around and ask, how can you do the same? Will you set a serious record, or a silly one?

Longest basketball shot while standing on someones shoulders?

Or longest time reciting the ABC's while laying on a massage table getting massaged without falling asleep?

Because it really can be anything...Half of record setting is finding your unique skillset then thinking of a way to turn it into a "notable" record.

Or, if nothing is coming to mind. You can always go through the existing records, and break one that's already up there. Maybe even turn it into a competition between you and the original record holder, so you drum up some excitement. Or, if you really can't think of anything, comment on here, tell me you're stuck, and we brain storm until we come up with a record for you to set.

Most paperclips interlinked to form the longest paperclip chain in history!

Point is, anyone can set a world record if they want to badly enough.

And once set, it can help you build a stronger resume.