I noticed this morning that Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) posted a link on Twitter to his first-ever Wine Library TV episode (Feb. 2006). Since he announced his “retirement” earlier this week, I decided to take a quick trip down Memory Lane.

I admit, I got a kick out of it. But, it also struck a chord with me. More on that in a minute.

To be honest, as soon as the video started to play, it triggered something in my brain that recalled the old Highlights Magazine activities I used to do as a kid - which one of these things is not like the other?

Here are the things I noticed immediately:

Episode 1 - February 2006
 

• It’s dark - Hey, it was Episode 1 - no lights yet.
• “Cool camera” from Best Buy - It’s a far cry from the HD digital video we saw in later episodes. Has that VHS warble…
• No fancy intro - No music. No graphics. Just Gary and a little bit of text.
• The walls are bare - No Jets swag, no chalkboard, no nothing.
• Less intimate - Looks like (Chris) Mott was shooting from the back wall of the office. Later episodes were shot tighter on Gary and the wines, making it feel more personal.
• Both sleeves are down - Gary’s known for, among many things, rocking the one-sleeve-up, one-sleeve-down look.
• Lame spit bucket - Gary upgraded to metal in Episode 76, a Jets-themed pail in Episode 136, then alternated a couple others until finally settling in with his cherished Jets helmet.
• A whole lot less “thunder” - Gary is very conservative and almost “corporate” in Episode 1, even introducing himself as “Director of Operations” instead of the now famous “I am your host…”
• He uses “real” flavor descriptions - Gary ultimately moved to more colorful descriptions like “racquetball,” “Big League Chew,” “sweaty sock,” and “sheep butt,” which skyrocketed his “uniqueness quotient.”

Episode 1,000 - March 2011
 

However, the progression from Episode 1 to Episode 1000 serves to illustrate why Gary has been so successful. The way I see it, the five biggest drivers of his success have been:

• Vision - From the very beginning, Gary knew he wanted to “change the wine world.” Though time, technology, tactics, etc. have changed, his vision has not. 
• Tenacity - Also known as “hustle.” Gary works until his “eyes bleed.” He has a tireless work ethic. “It’s not enough. We always want to do more… We’re going to get better. We’re going to keep pushing it.” - Gary in Episode 1.
• Sincerity - Gary genuinely cares about what he does and the people he works with and serves, and it comes across in every interaction (including in person, to which I can personally attest).
• Chops - He knows his stuff… cold.
• Gratitude - At the end of the first episode, Gary ended with the words “Thanks so much.” Nine hundred ninety-nine episodes later, he still signed off with words of sincere gratitude and appreciation: “Thank you forever… I love you.” Heck, he even wrote a book about it - The Thank You Economy (affiliate link).

I firmly believe that the development of these five traits will help anyone who wants to be successful in business - and life - get there. Which ones do you have nailed? Which ones do you need to work on? Are there any I missed?

Have you ever felt like you knew someone - I mean, really knew someone - trusted them, cared about them, only to have your world turned upside down when you found out that they weren’t at all the person you thought them to be?

Did you then doubt yourself - particularly your judgment? Did you wonder, “am I really that poor a judge of character?”

Sadly, if you’re like me, you probably answered “yes” to most (if not all) of these questions.

As someone who is a staunch advocate of social media and the real-time web and their ability to connect people and ideas from all over the world, I hear words like “authenticity” and “transparency” thrown around all the time as the key elements to “success.” I don’t argue that. In fact, I agree that both are important.

I just question how much “authenticity” and “transparency” there really is - online or in “real life.” Jonathan Fields touched on this topic in a recent blog post: “Is Social Media Killing Authenticity?” He used phrases like “cautiously authentic” and “tactically transparent.” Basically, he admits to editing what he says (and outlines some very valid reasons why) in an attempt to prevent people from taking what he says out of context and turning something benign into a gossip-laden free-for-all.

Jonathan uses social media as the backdrop, but I think the problem goes well beyond social media. It is deeply personal.

For me, authenticity and transparency matter. But, the ultimate trump card is INTEGRITY.

Remember that person you knew, trusted and cared about that knifed you in the back? Me, too. And, I would lay bets that if you stripped everything else away, you’d come to the same conclusion I did. The reason the whole thing went down like it did is because that person ended up showing zero integrity. They said one thing to your face (what you wanted to hear) and then turned around and did or said something in direct contradiction to what they said they would.

I think so many of us want to paint a certain picture of ourselves. a picture of who we want others to think we are, not necessarily who we really are. When we do that, when we operate outside and apart from our core values, (or what Gary Vaynerchuk consistently refers to as “our DNA”) we are operating outside of integrity - we do not live in a manner consistent with what we profess to be about.

Example: Picture a group of people who you can tell really enjoy being around each other. You can tell they’re close. When together, they talk about loving and serving other people, looking out for each other, picking each other up when they are down and how those things make them feel so good. They have really deep conversations, get really philosophical, even emotional. I mean they love all over each other.

Now, imagine that one of the group members falls ill and can’t make it to as many gatherings. Picture that person at home, feeling down, needing nothing more than a short phone call to ask them, “How are you doing?” or “Is there anything I can do for you?” Now, imagine the heartache when the phone doesn’t ring. No knock at the door. No Facebook wall post. No text message. Nothing.

I know what you’re thinking, “Oh, just wait. Someone will call.” I mean, this person was a member of a group of people that were all about loving and serving others, right. It makes them feel good. But, nothing.

You see, in the group setting, each person may have been authentic - loving and helping people does make a person feel good, after all (try it) - and maybe even transparent with their feelings. But, when it comes down to living it out, they don’t.

Integrity is about doing what you say you’ll do. It’s about being a person whose word means something, has value and credibility.

If you tell one person one thing (usually to try gain approval or validation), then turn around and tell another person something completely different, or worse, breach the first person’s trust (read my previous post, “The Myth of Trust”), you have no integrity.

So, be true to yourself. Value others. Be authentic. Be transparent. But, above all, be a person of integrity.

Because, at the end of the day, having integrity is more important than being liked. Isn’t it?