#184 - How to Unlock Your Story Advantage | Bill Blankschaen on Storytelling, Leadership, and Building a Message That Moves People

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When we are willing to be authentic and vulnerable in strategic ways, share who you are in
a way that resonates with the people you're trying to connect with, that's what makes the

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difference.

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you

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Hey you all, welcome back for another episode.

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I'm pumped about today.

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I don't know exactly where it's going to go, but the foundation of the guests that we have
and what we're going to talk about and his story is tremendous to me.

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And if you would have heard the previous five minutes of the discussion we would have had,
you would have said, wow, that's a new Mark.

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No, it's not a new Mark.

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It's the same guy I've always been.

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It's just being a little more, more open-minded to the world and what's happening and what
people believe and what drives them and how they can make positive impacts in the world.

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So.

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I'm pumped about today having Bill Blankschaen on.

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He's the founder and chief story architect at Story Builders.

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Bill works with founders and leadership teams to help them understand story, not as
marketing, but as leadership infrastructure.

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The framework that drives decisions, alignment, and culture as organization scale.

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He's also the author of the book, Your Story Advantage that was just released in October
of 2025.

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which explores how intentional narrative becomes a competitive advantage for
entrepreneurs, which is what we talk about on this show a ton, especially during periods

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of growth and complexity, which there's a ton.

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I'm looking forward to unpacking how story actually shows up in execution, leadership
behavior, and decision-making, and where founders tend to get it wrong.

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Bill, welcome to The Necessary Entrepreneur.

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Mark, it's a pleasure to be here.

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And I love the phrasing of the necessary entrepreneur, because I think so many times
entrepreneurs, sometimes wonder, are we really necessary or not?

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So we wrestle with those fears and really the value of our story is what it comes down to.

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Hmm.

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What's what is the value of our story?

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I don't think we have a more valuable asset, frankly, as entrepreneurs or as people.

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I think that's a part of what we bring to the table.

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Because when I talk about story, I don't just mean what's happened to us.

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I don't just mean the events.

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Those are important.

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But it's more about how have we responded to what's happened to us?

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What have we learned from what's happened to us?

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What's the experiences we've gained, the credentials we've gained?

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That whole body of wisdom that we've accumulated over years?

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that we often just undervalue.

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We don't see the value in it because it feels normal to us and we trivialize it and it's
kind of like the awkward child over in the corner of the room and we're just leaving it

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there as we go about our business.

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But I believe that if we turn into that value and develop that value and share it well, we
unleash what I call your story advantage onto the world.

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And it's a gold mine waiting to be delved into.

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What's the biggest idea when you wrote the book, Your Story Advantage, which is completely
in line with what you just said.

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I'm sure you broke down the book, but what's a big idea that you had going into writing
the book?

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It's what you just said, but can you expand on it a little bit more?

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Yeah, and maybe if you don't mind, I'll share some of my own story.

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I think that'll illustrate it because it's really how I came to get the big idea.

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You know, there was a time in my life when I was running a private school, a private
Christian school up in Ohio, Northeast Ohio, not too far from where you're located, but,

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and I was doing good work.

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You know, I got hugs from kindergartners every day and help teens navigate life and
parents figure things out.

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And I was doing good work and yet inside,

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I had always thought of myself as a writer, but I wasn't writing.

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I always thought of myself as a storyteller, but I wasn't really telling stories.

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And so I eventually reached the place where I realized if I don't do something with this
calling within me that I was going to look back years later and regret it, that I didn't

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apply it, didn't steward it well.

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And so I stepped away from the school, stepped into the unknown to pursue this with six
kids and no income.

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We went for a year with no income figuring that out.

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you know, Mark, I never worked harder in my life in that year.

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I studied everything I could about storytelling and publishing and work with publishers
and created book proposals and shopped into publishers and became a student of kind of the

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art and science of storytelling in that process.

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And as you can well imagine, as every entrepreneur knows, I mean, there were days that,
you know, I was sitting outside.

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I remember one day

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in Northeast Ohio in the springtime, was the sun was shining, birds are chirping,
beautiful day, I'm writing this idea for a book.

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On the outside, everything was like the perfect day.

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And on the inside, I was wrestling with these fears of, and what if this doesn't work?

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What if we end up falling flat on our face?

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What if we end up like living in a cardboard box under a freeway overpass somewhere?

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What is that gonna look like?

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And worse, what are my kids gonna think of me when that happens?

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But I kept moving forward pursuing this story that was coming out of me.

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And when I did that, that book actually, I was working on that day, actually got picked up
by a publisher, ended up writing the book, realized I'm actually really good at this.

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Other people began asking me for help in creating their books and writing their stories.

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And out of that eventually came story builders.

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And now we've worked with people from John Maxwell to Lewis Howes to Dean Graziosi to all
these other big names that people know of and all kinds of people in between.

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And what I realized from that was that my breakthrough began when I started with my story.

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And that I think was the big idea for this book was that your breakthrough begins when you
start with your story, when you lean into that and commit to cultivating that, it

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unleashes the real you to the world in a powerful way that then can propel your business,
your brand, your impact, your influence, and your income.

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Hmm.

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Are we, is there an unwillingness to share our stories out of?

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So first, is there an unwillingness?

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If there is, where's it derived from all fear.

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Yeah, there absolutely is unwillingness.

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I like to talk about story traps.

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And one of them is the confidence trap.

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I think that's one of the big ones is that we tend to deify others and diminish ourselves.

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We tend to look at somebody else's story.

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Dean Grazios, for example, we look at him, oh wow, look at that story, it's an
entrepreneurial success.

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I could never be Dean.

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But we miss the fact that there was a time when Dean was looking at Tony Robbins and
saying, well, I could never be Tony.

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I remember one time I had lunch with a well-known business person.

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If I said their last name, everybody would know their last name.

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But I was talking about potentially working on a project, we were doing this, and they
confided in me at the time.

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said, sometimes I get paid a lot of money to walk into boardrooms and give my advice.

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But I got to tell you, there are times that I wonder, do they really care about what I say
or do they just want my last name in the room?

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Do I actually have anything valuable to say?

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Or is it just, you know, this image?

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And I realized at that moment that you're wrestling with the same thing everybody is
wrestling with.

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Is what I have to say really valuable?

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Is my message really valuable or are there other factors here?

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And so I think we all struggle with that confidence factor.

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I think we all struggle with what I call the normalcy trap.

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The normalcy trap is my story feels normal to me.

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I mean, what I just shared with you, that was my experience.

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That's what happened to me.

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It would be so easy for me to say, well, there's not much value in that.

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But then I would not be mining the value from it and sharing it with the world by just
leaving it there, right?

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So we can be very strategic about that.

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And so if somebody is listening right now and they're thinking, I just don't think I have
any story and so forth.

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I'm going to flip that around and say, the reason you don't is because your story feels
normal to you.

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It doesn't feel valuable to you because you've lived it.

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feels like.

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Why would anybody be interested in this?

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But the fact is there are a lot of people who would resonate with your story if it were
told well and it could advance your entire business venture.

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So how do we deal with the confidence factor, the confidence problem issue?

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How do we deal with that?

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Yeah, I think the easiest way is to get clear on your story, like to actually know what
you want to say, right?

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So it begins with getting clear on your meaningful message is what I call it.

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This is like the core message that really drives you that you're passionate about.

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For me, my meaningful message is every story matters.

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And out of that comes on this passion of helping people tap into their story and develop
it and fuel it and build it and so forth.

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It's getting clear on that meaningful message.

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And then becoming familiar with the storytelling structure.

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And the storytelling structure that I created is really just drawn from being that art and
studying the art and science of storytelling and developing this five part structure that

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I lay out in your story advantage and getting your clear on your message.

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And then how am I telling it well and how can I apply it not just for my brand, in to make
any message matter.

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I think.

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So I think that's my response to that is the way you overcome those confidence barriers
and stuff is to prepare, to actually know what the story is and how to tell it well,

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because it's just like going up on a stage.

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If you go up on a stage and think, I've got to come up with something to say on the spot,
that's very different than I have time to plan and prepare and I go up knowing what I'm

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going to say.

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That removes a lot of that fear element or at least positions us to overcome that fear and
push through it.

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same thing you did with being the student, right?

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Yeah, yeah, I mean, yeah, exactly.

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Right.

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You had that doubt and what's going to be outcome of my family?

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What are my kids going to think?

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And you just became the student.

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Yes.

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And, and I think it's important to realize even at that stage, I didn't have all the
answers.

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You know, I, I, I had enough clarity on what I thought was the path ahead to overcome that
fear and step out and to go in that direction.

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And it's the same thing with our story.

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You need to get enough clarity to be able to take the next step and the next step, because
as you do,

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As you take that step, picture if you're standing in front of a forest of trees, right?

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And you look and all you can see is this forest.

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I don't see much in there.

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But if you start down the path through the forest, your perspective changes.

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And now you begin to see deeper into the forest and you see, there's like a little cabin
over there and there's something in the tree over there.

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I didn't even know that was there.

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And there's another path up there that I didn't even know existed, right?

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The more you're willing to move forward with the light that you have and the clarity you
have, the more light and clarity you get.

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And the same things with our story.

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When you commit to tapping into it and developing it and diving into it, you realize,
there's a lot of depth there that I didn't even realize was there in the first place.

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And now I'm finding it and sharing it and it's resonating.

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Did you find in leadership, all your leadership roles, they've looked different?

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I mean, if you're leading a Christian school, you're a leader, you have six kids, you're a
leader inside your family, right?

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You're the adult, the dad, and then you're a leader inside when you build these
organizations.

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Is it important for whether they, does everyone have to write the book or does, or, or
should everybody, could they receive almost the same benefit from constructing their story

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for them so that they can move forward with their life?

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It's a great question because I talk about the story ecosystem that everybody has a story
ecosystem.

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And if you think of three expanding circles, that'll help visualize that the first circle
is your brand story and that's your message maker.

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What is the meaningful message and how do you get clear on it?

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And for some people that that's all they need.

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They need to get clear on who they are and how they tell their story.

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I've got a son who's getting his resume ready right now.

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He's putting it out in the world and he's got to get clear on what story am I telling even
at that level.

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And how do I present that?

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Same thing with every entrepreneur has to get clear on their story for their company, for
their business.

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Are they telling it consistently?

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So it begins with the brand story, but then it often should expand to a message
multiplier.

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And that's what I call a book.

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A book is a message multiplier.

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Now, not everyone should write a book.

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And even those that should, the timing may not be right.

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There's all kinds of other factors, but it is a powerful tool.

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to be able to multiply your message and get into the hands of people who otherwise would
never become familiar with it.

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And then that third circle, the expanding circle is building on that.

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How do you monetize your message?

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How do you take that intellectual property, those ideas, that message you've developed in
there and turn it into something?

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John Maxwell is a great example.

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We've done all the leadership content development for him for the last 10, 12 years now.

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And what John does is very good.

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He's stayed on brand in terms of his message and what he's trying to do.

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But then he's written a whole series of books from that with intellectual property in
them.

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what we have done so much is to take that intellectual property and build things out of it
to monetize it, whether coaching programs, trainings, workshops, all sorts of stuff that

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can come from that.

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But it begins with that core process of getting clear on that message.

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And then that opens the door.

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to all these other steps that can be taken.

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Is there a message out here that as you will continue to your career, helping people
structure their stories and their brands, is there a message out here that you feel like

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would just hit with the world right now that no one's telling?

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there a story now it has to be the story of our lives, but you just, you know, invoke John
Maxwell and talk about Grazia.

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Is there a story there that you haven't seen anyone expanding on that could be more
impactful in the world or this, or these just retreads?

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Right.

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Well, I don't think any story is a retread.

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And I think that's part of the value of understanding that is I think a lot of people
dismiss their story and think it's just a retread.

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The retreads are people who are trying to be like other people.

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And so if you think about, I call it the connection continuum.

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On the far left, you have a fresh story.

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That's like.

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Man, this is unlike anything everybody's ever seen before.

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It's crazy.

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It's outrageous.

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He climbed at the top of Everest and hang glider from it's amazing story.

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That's a fresh story.

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On the other side is the familiar.

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Like this sounds really like Dean's story or like John's story or like Mark's story or
something like that.

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And the problem with both of those two approaches, the fresh.

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people have a hard time connecting with it.

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actually, you end up with disconnect.

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How do I connect with somebody who did something so I'll never do that?

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I don't know how to connect with that.

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On the other side, if you're actually trying to be like somebody else and it just feels
too familiar, it feels like you're just duplicating.

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All right, so you have disconnect and duplication.

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What you're after is something in the middle, a nice mix that makes it kind of just right.

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That of some fresh, some familiar.

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And so having a story that's familiar, that feels like somebody else's story,

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actually is a positive thing because as people we're looking to connect with stuff that we
know, first of all.

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And then, then what's different about that?

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It feels familiar and yet it looks different.

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know, good example, when I was traveling with my family, we took a month and went to Japan
and I spent a week in Vietnam.

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So I had these two different experiences in my head.

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In Japan,

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Everything was very familiar.

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It's a very westernized traffic and signs and language and all that kind of stuff.

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It was familiar, but also fresh.

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It was different in very unique ways.

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When I was in Vietnam, I don't know if you've ever been there, but it was far more
unfamiliar and fresh and different than Japan.

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I struggled to connect with it.

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I felt out of place more when I was there.

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And that's not ones either good or bad.

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It was about connection.

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And I think that's the way for all of us is when something, we want our story to be
familiar in powerful ways and yet fresh.

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So the advantage there for everybody who's listening is you don't have to have a fresh,
crazy, zany story.

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In fact, your story, your body of wisdom can look a lot like somebody else's, but your
story is unique.

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Your experiences, no one else has had those.

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And so what that uniqueness that adds is what really makes it different.

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So I think we might've just answered this question I have here, but how do people, is that
the best way to tell the story?

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Because I look at, when I walk into a room of people who have big brands, sometimes I walk
into those rooms now and how I articulate this, when I come out, everyone wants to know

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about them.

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Tell me about the person, right?

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And I love when I can walk out and say,

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They're exactly who they present themselves to be.

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Now it's better if you have more depth inside the room.

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But the funny thing is everyone thinks they're different, but what I want to come out and
communicate to the world is I have massive respect for what they've built, but they're

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just like us.

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It seems like not all, so they they're telling their story and they're living it every
day.

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And so I guess the question is somewhere in between is.

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Have they tapped into intentionally telling the story or did it just happen to hit based
upon fully who they are?

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Because when I, when I come out of those rooms, I do feel the best when I'm able to share.

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Guys, I feel like I came out just knowing 10 % more of everything we already know about
them.

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That feels the best for me.

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Yeah, I'll turn to a friend of mine, Lewis Howes, the School of Greatness, right?

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So he is one of the most authentic guys, first of all, behind the scenes, he's exactly
what you get on camera and there's no discontinuity to that.

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And it's been a privilege for me to work alongside, we've written several books together,
but it's a privilege to watch his growth and journey, which he's been public about, as he

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has become more and more authentic.

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and feeling like he's leaning into more of who he is in that way.

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And I would agree with that.

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I think it's not accidental.

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You do have to be intentional about it.

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So the story you're telling doesn't just happen and to be in the room with people who are
maybe more well-known at the moment than you are or something like that.

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For those who are authentic, I agree.

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think maybe the beauty of coming out of that room is the experience, like you said, that
they're

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They're not unlike me.

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I'm not that different.

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You know, there was a time when Louis was on his couch in his sister's house and living
off the couch and not sure what he was going to do, right?

263
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But his story is a great example because he leaned into his own story.

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He leaned to what am I good at?

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What do I love to do?

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And I'm going to be passionate about that.

267
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And it really came down to asking questions of people and satisfying his curiosity, which
then led to the School of Greatness show, which then created that momentum all around

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that.

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And so his breakthrough began.

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when he really started with his story.

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And I think that's where it is, and that's where authenticity is so key.

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And when we are willing to be authentic and vulnerable in strategic ways, and that's
important, it isn't just dump out who you are under the world, but share who you are in a

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way that resonates with the people you're trying to connect with.

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And that's what we can talk more about the science behind all that, but that's what makes
the difference.

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So what's the, what is the science behind it?

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Because, and I guess the context here is we have a, we have more information coming at us
now than even in 2025.

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And I think that is going to still exponentially grow.

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heard, who's the, CEO of Nvidia.

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I heard him sharing the other day about, think they were at Davos or something, right.

280
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And, he was on stage sharing about how we're going to need trades people.

281
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And I heard who's the guy, the blue collar guy, Mike, micro micro.

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Yeah.

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just saw, I think I love the guy.

284
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I don't know, but I think I do.

285
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But I saw he put something out yesterday and I don't see much as content show up my
algorithms, but he said, you know, you all know that I've been talking about this for a

286
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long time and his deep voice.

287
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he said, let me show you something.

288
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He turned around a lab top and played the CEO of Nvidia talking about now we're going to
need more trades people, hundreds of thousands of more now.

289
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to build out the infrastructure of all of the power that we're going to need for all the
data centers.

290
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And so those data centers mean that the information is not going to slow down.

291
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So in building this and all this information, what's the strategy behind this?

292
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Yeah, well, one of the data points I heard recently was that the amount of information in
the world is doubling every day.

293
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Every day that amount that the content in the world is doubling at that pace.

294
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So to your point, what, what do we do with that?

295
00:20:30,349 --> 00:20:38,763
Well, I think the first thing you do, and this is the very first thing I tell people when
they're figuring out their brand story is you have to understand that your story, your,

296
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your body of wisdom, your story is about you.

297
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but your story is not for you.

298
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And that pivot, I think is critical when, cause most of us are thinking, I have a message
to share, I have something to share, it's about me and I'm going to share it, here it is.

299
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And instead we have to turn it around and flip, who am I trying to reach?

300
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Who am I trying to resonate with?

301
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Because if we try to resonate with everybody, we'll connect with nobody, right?

302
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So who do I actually want this to resonate with?

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And I think that's especially important today when there's so many inputs coming at us.

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we're gonna tend to only respond to those that are really connecting with us at a deeper
level.

305
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So that connection becomes key.

306
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So I think turning that around, and that's where the storytelling structure helps to do
that, is once you turn that around, you walk through the five steps of the storytelling

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structure and it forces you to craft your story and your message specifically for the
people that you want to reach, for your audience, for your customer, whatever that is.

308
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And that causes it to stand out.

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Because now you're not noise anymore, you're telling your story in a way that's
specifically designed to connect with those people.

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It may not connect with other people, and that's okay, because that's not your goal.

311
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But by focusing, you actually expand your potential to be able to reach at a deeper level.

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What can people take away from this that are, maybe you would influence them to read the
book, to grab onto the infrastructure, but what could they learn if they don't have a

313
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desire to build a big brand to influence folks, but they just want to improve themselves
as a human, maybe get better inside their organization that the world will never know them

314
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except for their small little environment.

315
00:22:18,142 --> 00:22:19,234
What could they take away?

316
00:22:19,234 --> 00:22:22,780
Would you make an argument that they should still do the same thing?

317
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absolutely.

318
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Absolutely.

319
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Cause each of us is a steward of our story.

320
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We actually, that's the one thing nobody else can manage for us.

321
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Each of us has a unique story and each of us has, I think, responsibility to do something
worthwhile with it.

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And so going through that process, if you want to have more influence,

323
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And who doesn't, you know, as a dad, as a leader, as a community member and your neighbor,
what, in your HOA for crime, whatever the case may be.

324
00:22:51,482 --> 00:22:56,545
If you want to have more influence, if you want to make more impact, forget about income,
forget about making money from it.

325
00:22:56,545 --> 00:22:59,707
If you just want influence and impact in some way, you want to expand that.

326
00:22:59,707 --> 00:23:09,212
I guarantee by getting clear on your story and who you're, who you're trying to reach and
impact more, all of that process will force you to get clarity and clarity will

327
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accelerate.

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00:23:10,420 --> 00:23:15,502
that influence and that impact and allow you to reach more people, touch more lives in
that way.

329
00:23:15,502 --> 00:23:17,743
So yes, every single one of them starts with that.

330
00:23:17,743 --> 00:23:21,406
So whether you say, I don't want to build a business, I don't want to build a brand, it
doesn't matter.

331
00:23:21,406 --> 00:23:23,926
You're still living a story regardless.

332
00:23:23,926 --> 00:23:27,518
And people are putting you into a story.

333
00:23:27,518 --> 00:23:35,607
The question is, is it an intentional one, their understanding and perceiving you in that
way, or you're that person who does those things and that's why.

334
00:23:35,607 --> 00:23:38,710
wow, I can come to you when I need something like that.

335
00:23:38,710 --> 00:23:40,512
I have that perception of you.

336
00:23:40,512 --> 00:23:47,636
Or in fact, do you have what others need in your community and in the world and they don't
even know it because you haven't told your story well.

337
00:23:47,636 --> 00:23:53,740
And so that's value that we're leaving on the table that we otherwise could give to the
world.

338
00:23:54,015 --> 00:24:01,030
Since going back to John Maxwell, since you've been so influential for 10 or 11 years
there and reading his leadership books, I've used one of them for a book study with

339
00:24:01,030 --> 00:24:02,812
leadership inside one of my companies.

340
00:24:02,812 --> 00:24:06,534
I took away, I don't think he said it, but you could tell me if this is it.

341
00:24:06,534 --> 00:24:11,317
I took away that his perspective about leadership is just influence.

342
00:24:12,365 --> 00:24:14,525
Well, yeah, he said that leadership is influence.

343
00:24:14,525 --> 00:24:16,265
Nothing more, nothing less.

344
00:24:16,265 --> 00:24:18,745
When it comes down to it, it's influence.

345
00:24:18,745 --> 00:24:20,484
And that's what I'm talking about.

346
00:24:20,484 --> 00:24:24,825
So often we think of leadership as this great mystery and I gotta be famous and I gotta be
this.

347
00:24:24,885 --> 00:24:28,945
I had another friend, Hugh Hewitt demonstrated this to me back when I was running a
school.

348
00:24:28,945 --> 00:24:34,245
He came in and talked to our students for a day and he said, hey, I saw this movie.

349
00:24:34,245 --> 00:24:35,545
I don't even remember what the movies were.

350
00:24:35,545 --> 00:24:37,745
I saw this movie and it wasn't that great.

351
00:24:37,745 --> 00:24:38,585
It was kind of boring.

352
00:24:38,585 --> 00:24:39,505
was this, it was that.

353
00:24:39,505 --> 00:24:41,335
I wouldn't really watch it.

354
00:24:41,335 --> 00:24:43,525
But I saw this other movie, it was incredible.

355
00:24:43,525 --> 00:24:44,297
It was exceptional.

356
00:24:44,297 --> 00:24:45,167
taught me this and this.

357
00:24:45,167 --> 00:24:46,588
I was blown away by this.

358
00:24:46,588 --> 00:24:51,030
And then he paused and he said, now, which of those two movies are you now more likely to
see?

359
00:24:51,451 --> 00:24:54,792
And they said, well, the second one, he said, that's influence.

360
00:24:54,792 --> 00:24:55,674
That's leadership.

361
00:24:55,674 --> 00:24:56,736
I just influenced you.

362
00:24:56,736 --> 00:24:59,919
I just caused you to think more in this direction than another.

363
00:24:59,919 --> 00:25:03,270
So never think that you aren't a leader, that you aren't influencing.

364
00:25:03,270 --> 00:25:07,362
Cause everything we do every day influences someone else, touches someone else.

365
00:25:07,383 --> 00:25:10,230
And it's really a matter of, we being intentional about it?

366
00:25:10,230 --> 00:25:14,684
about the story that we're telling, the story that we're living, frankly, at a deeper
level.

367
00:25:14,684 --> 00:25:23,753
And that's really what, in the last chapter of the book, I talk about that, how so many
people live what Mark Twain called a soap bubble life.

368
00:25:23,753 --> 00:25:31,109
He said, we're like soap bubbles that drift through the air and are iridescent and
glittery, and then we pop, and then we're gone.

369
00:25:31,109 --> 00:25:32,640
And that's the meaning of life.

370
00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:34,151
Life's over, we're done.

371
00:25:34,441 --> 00:25:43,622
And to me, regardless of your faith background, I think we all want our life to have a
better meaning and a deeper meaning and a deeper purpose and to be a story worth telling.

372
00:25:43,622 --> 00:25:54,444
And the only way to do that is to actually be intentional about how we're living that and
what our story is and give thought to that so that we can be stewards of that story and

373
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live it well.

374
00:25:55,939 --> 00:26:08,154
Something I hate when something pops in my mind and I don't remember the exact thing, but
I heard something from Zig Ziglar, something he probably said 30 years ago, but he said,

375
00:26:08,154 --> 00:26:09,352
do you want to be this or that?

376
00:26:09,352 --> 00:26:12,274
And one of them was like, do you want to be a wondering something?

377
00:26:12,635 --> 00:26:18,897
Or do you want, he was pretty much, do you want to be intentional or do you want to be to
that point, the Mark Twain, the bubble just flying through the air?

378
00:26:18,897 --> 00:26:20,377
It's going to land and pop, right?

379
00:26:20,377 --> 00:26:23,747
Maybe you know it, but I wish I can't believe it's not coming to me right now.

380
00:26:23,747 --> 00:26:27,430
But I know he used to give an analogy about aiming at something, right?

381
00:26:27,430 --> 00:26:30,293
The one who aims at nothing, you'll hit it every time.

382
00:26:30,293 --> 00:26:32,655
Something like that is kind of what you're getting at.

383
00:26:32,655 --> 00:26:34,804
Yeah, the intentional versus unintentional.

384
00:26:34,804 --> 00:26:35,345
100%.

385
00:26:35,345 --> 00:26:45,095
Does this feel taking this approach, you having access to this knowledge and this
information and your story now holding on to being able to share and influence people to

386
00:26:45,095 --> 00:26:46,456
tell their story.

387
00:26:46,838 --> 00:26:48,660
does it feel like a lot of pressure?

388
00:26:48,660 --> 00:26:53,204
Does it feel, does it feel really big?

389
00:26:58,209 --> 00:26:59,162
I think

390
00:27:01,683 --> 00:27:09,459
I think for those of us who choose to steward our stories well, we see the value of it and
the potential impact of it.

391
00:27:09,459 --> 00:27:13,863
And to that extent, it's big, but it doesn't feel like a weight.

392
00:27:13,863 --> 00:27:14,993
I don't know if that makes any sense.

393
00:27:14,993 --> 00:27:16,633
It doesn't feel like a burden.

394
00:27:16,794 --> 00:27:23,600
You know, it's big in terms of the potential, but I think it's more an awareness of what
already is.

395
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:29,134
You know, each of us has this awareness and especially, you know, for your younger
listeners.

396
00:27:29,328 --> 00:27:39,898
who are more just starting out on their journey, for them to be intentional about crafting
that story and seeing their life as a story to be told and that they can do it with that

397
00:27:39,898 --> 00:27:47,765
in mind knowing that before too long, I'll be able to look backwards and see the value of
that and help others who are coming along the same journey.

398
00:27:47,765 --> 00:27:50,306
I don't see it as a, yes, it's big.

399
00:27:50,306 --> 00:27:51,727
I don't see it as a burden though.

400
00:27:51,727 --> 00:27:55,810
I see it as a way to help pull others forward.

401
00:27:55,860 --> 00:28:00,665
and contribute in that kind of sense as that steward of a story.

402
00:28:00,665 --> 00:28:03,027
So I think it's huge.

403
00:28:03,027 --> 00:28:04,411
think it's a game changer.

404
00:28:04,411 --> 00:28:09,243
I think it can totally change someone's perspective, totally change a business, totally
change the direction of a life.

405
00:28:09,243 --> 00:28:10,294
I've seen it happen.

406
00:28:10,294 --> 00:28:16,140
We work with authors, people who have, helped develop their books and their businesses and
all these things and their lives have been transformed.

407
00:28:16,140 --> 00:28:17,351
I talked to a gentleman the other day.

408
00:28:17,351 --> 00:28:23,536
He attributes a book that he wrote, $12 million in keynotes he's had since because of that
book.

409
00:28:23,626 --> 00:28:33,072
And so there's all kinds of stories like that of people who have had the leverage their
ideas, their story, their impact to create something that's much bigger than them.

410
00:28:33,072 --> 00:28:35,925
So to that extent, yeah, it's big, but it's not a burden.

411
00:28:35,925 --> 00:28:39,246
it's something that each of us already is carrying.

412
00:28:39,246 --> 00:28:41,017
And so why not do it well?

413
00:28:41,311 --> 00:28:43,994
Do you think, cause you said not everybody should write a book.

414
00:28:43,994 --> 00:28:50,640
And as you were saying, the people like I think about people I haven't met, but a Darren
Hardy wrote a book called the compound effect.

415
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:54,002
What that, I mean, that built his entire, I don't know what he did before it.

416
00:28:54,002 --> 00:28:56,204
I wouldn't have known what he did before to form for that.

417
00:28:56,204 --> 00:28:58,546
A James clear atomic habits, right?

418
00:28:58,546 --> 00:29:01,604
Like we wouldn't know these people if they didn't write the book.

419
00:29:01,604 --> 00:29:02,424
Sure, absolutely.

420
00:29:02,424 --> 00:29:05,044
I had this experience happen to me.

421
00:29:05,044 --> 00:29:11,564
I like to say that a book can go places you will never go and touch more people than
you'll ever know.

422
00:29:11,564 --> 00:29:14,404
And I saw this so clear to me.

423
00:29:14,844 --> 00:29:19,184
I read a book, A Profit First by Mike McCallewitz back in the day.

424
00:29:19,184 --> 00:29:22,024
And it transformed how we did business.

425
00:29:22,024 --> 00:29:24,944
And then I actually met Mike this past year at an event.

426
00:29:24,944 --> 00:29:27,124
were both speaking at an event and we were talking about that.

427
00:29:27,124 --> 00:29:28,132
said, hey, your book.

428
00:29:28,132 --> 00:29:29,532
It made such an impact on me.

429
00:29:29,532 --> 00:29:32,313
just reshaped our, I just shared with him from the heart.

430
00:29:32,313 --> 00:29:33,974
And he was like, I'm so touched by that.

431
00:29:33,974 --> 00:29:35,004
I love hearing that.

432
00:29:35,004 --> 00:29:36,116
I had no idea, right?

433
00:29:36,116 --> 00:29:41,177
When he wrote that book, he wasn't thinking, you know, there's this guy named Bill and I
think he's in Ohio.

434
00:29:41,177 --> 00:29:41,897
Maybe he's moved.

435
00:29:41,897 --> 00:29:43,588
I don't know, but I'm writing this book for Bill.

436
00:29:43,588 --> 00:29:46,014
Cause I've got to get this in Bill's hands, right?

437
00:29:46,014 --> 00:29:48,674
He had no idea whose hands it would go into.

438
00:29:48,674 --> 00:29:49,975
And yet it made its way to mine.

439
00:29:49,975 --> 00:29:51,315
It made a significant impact.

440
00:29:51,315 --> 00:29:53,016
And so was a pleasure to be able to tell him that.

441
00:29:53,016 --> 00:29:54,323
But often,

442
00:29:54,323 --> 00:29:56,384
That message doesn't even get back to the author.

443
00:29:56,384 --> 00:29:58,975
I can't even tell you how many books have found their way to me.

444
00:29:58,975 --> 00:30:03,878
I've never met the author, don't know them, not even sure they're still alive, but the
books have transformed me.

445
00:30:03,878 --> 00:30:06,179
And that's the power of books.

446
00:30:06,179 --> 00:30:15,293
And so when we think about putting something out there that can have an impact, we're
literally unleashing something to the world if we do it intentionally.

447
00:30:15,293 --> 00:30:19,545
And that's really what we specialize in is brand defining storytelling.

448
00:30:19,545 --> 00:30:22,996
Not just words on a page that you throw out there, but let's really craft it.

449
00:30:22,996 --> 00:30:31,191
into a powerful tool, an asset for you, your business, your brand, so that it can
dramatically increase the likelihood that it's going to have an impact.

450
00:30:31,191 --> 00:30:35,033
And when people read it, they actually share it with somebody else and say, you should
check out this book.

451
00:30:35,033 --> 00:30:37,264
Like it becomes that sticky kind of book.

452
00:30:37,264 --> 00:30:37,875
But you're right.

453
00:30:37,875 --> 00:30:43,377
All these names that you've had never, you would never have heard of them were it not for
a book that had been written.

454
00:30:43,377 --> 00:30:47,839
I mean, you mentioned Zig Ziglar, you you could easily rattle off, you know, see you at
the top and.

455
00:30:47,936 --> 00:30:53,960
Secrets of Close and The Sail and all those fun books, right, that he wrote that really
defined who he was to his audience.

456
00:30:54,090 --> 00:30:57,232
What an opportunity for your business in 2026.

457
00:30:57,232 --> 00:31:00,775
think about because of technology, not just books.

458
00:31:00,775 --> 00:31:09,791
Now you have access to, you could probably, I bet you have a list of hundreds of people
that probably, I bet you identify these people that could have brands.

459
00:31:09,791 --> 00:31:10,792
Should we market to them?

460
00:31:10,792 --> 00:31:11,782
Can we help them build?

461
00:31:11,782 --> 00:31:20,489
You probably have this list that now there's so many folks that have an opportunity to do
this, to impact the world than they ever did before.

462
00:31:20,489 --> 00:31:22,764
There's good about technology and there's bad, but

463
00:31:22,764 --> 00:31:26,796
But I bet you see it as what an opportunity for your business.

464
00:31:26,796 --> 00:31:29,067
Yeah, well, I think it's an opportunity for everybody's business.

465
00:31:29,067 --> 00:31:31,667
We've got Mark Perkins name right at the top of that.

466
00:31:32,802 --> 00:31:36,094
I think it's an opportunity for everybody to do that, right?

467
00:31:36,094 --> 00:31:41,747
Again, if you're clear on your story, opportunities like that come into focus.

468
00:31:41,747 --> 00:31:43,908
And when you have clarity on that, this is who we're trying to do.

469
00:31:43,908 --> 00:31:44,909
This is our audience.

470
00:31:44,909 --> 00:31:47,591
Candidly, a lot of entrepreneurs, they don't have that clarity.

471
00:31:47,591 --> 00:31:49,561
Their own company doesn't have that clarity.

472
00:31:49,561 --> 00:31:51,682
The people on their team don't have that clarity.

473
00:31:51,682 --> 00:31:53,893
And therefore everything's just out of focus.

474
00:31:53,893 --> 00:31:55,084
And so who do we go after?

475
00:31:55,084 --> 00:31:56,376
Well, we're not really sure.

476
00:31:56,376 --> 00:32:00,279
You know, how do we, well, not really sure what's the solution that we're, I'm not really
sure.

477
00:32:00,279 --> 00:32:00,822
Right.

478
00:32:00,822 --> 00:32:02,886
And they almost accidentally succeed.

479
00:32:02,886 --> 00:32:10,250
Whereas if they were intentional, they could dial that in, really focus on that and think
about who, who are we really serving?

480
00:32:10,250 --> 00:32:11,781
Who's, who's in that core audience.

481
00:32:11,781 --> 00:32:15,134
And this is something I go through in the book, unpacking your ideal audience.

482
00:32:15,134 --> 00:32:16,955
But who's, who's that core audience?

483
00:32:16,955 --> 00:32:18,866
That's where our focus needs to be.

484
00:32:18,866 --> 00:32:21,437
And as we do that, we're going to engage with other people as well.

485
00:32:21,437 --> 00:32:23,906
But the core is what really matters.

486
00:32:24,116 --> 00:32:24,996
You touched on something.

487
00:32:24,996 --> 00:32:25,896
Who are we serving?

488
00:32:25,896 --> 00:32:27,416
You don't even know you said it.

489
00:32:27,416 --> 00:32:28,656
It's in your DNA.

490
00:32:30,396 --> 00:32:34,416
The book that impacted you, I don't know if it was the most, but it seems like it is.

491
00:32:34,416 --> 00:32:35,916
It said, a profit first.

492
00:32:35,916 --> 00:32:40,876
And I think the nuances to that, so many people in businesses, they're focusing on making
a profit.

493
00:32:42,416 --> 00:32:47,476
So I'm sure it's a play on that like, Hey, and can you expand on a little bit more for
those of us that haven't read it?

494
00:32:47,476 --> 00:32:49,521
Why did it impact you so much?

495
00:32:49,521 --> 00:32:53,412
Well, that book by Mike McCullough is profit first.

496
00:32:53,412 --> 00:33:00,895
So it is about a business book, semantics of putting profit first and actually so many
people are in business, they're not making any money.

497
00:33:00,895 --> 00:33:02,235
They're just surviving.

498
00:33:02,235 --> 00:33:05,616
They're just, you know, all right, I paid the bills, what's left?

499
00:33:05,616 --> 00:33:07,036
If anything, right?

500
00:33:07,036 --> 00:33:15,238
And his whole proposition was let's flip that and instead pay yourself first, take your
profit first and then pay everything else out of the rest.

501
00:33:15,238 --> 00:33:17,506
And if the rest doesn't work,

502
00:33:17,506 --> 00:33:19,026
then your business doesn't work.

503
00:33:19,026 --> 00:33:21,926
Like if you're not making a profit, then you just, you just have a job.

504
00:33:21,926 --> 00:33:23,306
You're just working for yourself.

505
00:33:23,306 --> 00:33:23,626
Right.

506
00:33:23,626 --> 00:33:27,706
So that, that was, that was so key from, from that perspective.

507
00:33:27,766 --> 00:33:29,746
Um, I, but there's been so many other books.

508
00:33:29,746 --> 00:33:32,946
I think of a book, um, if we want, let's talk about John Maxwell.

509
00:33:32,946 --> 00:33:39,386
Um, one of them, but his most impactful books for me is a book, maybe some people haven't
even heard of it's called thinking for a change.

510
00:33:39,386 --> 00:33:46,006
I've read it multiple times about the power of thinking, the power of taking time to think
and reflecting, right.

511
00:33:46,006 --> 00:33:46,984
The reality that.

512
00:33:46,984 --> 00:33:48,895
Experience is not the best teacher.

513
00:33:48,895 --> 00:33:51,706
Reflected experience is the best teacher.

514
00:33:51,706 --> 00:33:55,479
Actually thinking about what's happened to you is where you get those lessons.

515
00:33:55,479 --> 00:34:03,624
you know, books like that, that can enable us to really go deep, that are intentional,
those are the kind of books that have really shaped who I have become.

516
00:34:03,835 --> 00:34:06,848
And that brings to my mind about this idea.

517
00:34:06,848 --> 00:34:11,152
You know, they say there's a reason why the windshield so much larger than a rear view
camera.

518
00:34:11,152 --> 00:34:16,470
there's all these different ideas that people have used a certain, maybe they use the
platform to grow their business.

519
00:34:16,470 --> 00:34:18,678
And the other person said, no, it's been this.

520
00:34:18,678 --> 00:34:24,142
It's like the person you said, he said, Hey, I didn't really like this movie, but I really
liked this one.

521
00:34:24,423 --> 00:34:28,145
But there might be some other people out there that really liked that other movie.

522
00:34:28,526 --> 00:34:29,087
Right.

523
00:34:29,087 --> 00:34:32,439
And so, so if that book through reflective.

524
00:34:32,685 --> 00:34:33,225
learning.

525
00:34:33,225 --> 00:34:36,627
mean, that's, that's in reflection on what's already happened.

526
00:34:37,345 --> 00:34:37,956
Absolutely.

527
00:34:37,956 --> 00:34:39,389
mean, that resonates for me.

528
00:34:39,389 --> 00:34:45,673
It does because, but I think what so many people do though, is they unfortunately stay in
it.

529
00:34:48,399 --> 00:34:52,453
They stay in, they stay in, they don't just reflect to learn.

530
00:34:52,594 --> 00:34:54,878
They stay in what they did and what happened.

531
00:34:54,878 --> 00:34:57,145
And I think that's this anxious world that we're in.

532
00:34:57,145 --> 00:34:57,445
Yeah.

533
00:34:57,445 --> 00:34:57,945
Yeah.

534
00:34:57,945 --> 00:35:00,606
And they say in some ways they stay stuck in the past.

535
00:35:00,606 --> 00:35:02,188
They stay looking at the rear view mirror.

536
00:35:02,188 --> 00:35:11,152
And I think that's the power of leaning into that story is coming to grips with you, with
your failures, with the things that haven't worked well, with the things that tend to

537
00:35:11,152 --> 00:35:17,195
weigh you down and hold you back and realize actually beneath those, lessons you learned,
the power of that.

538
00:35:17,195 --> 00:35:22,337
When you're done having a pity party, you have value to add to the world because of those
things.

539
00:35:22,337 --> 00:35:24,187
They actually position you to reach certain things.

540
00:35:24,187 --> 00:35:25,970
You know, my friend Rory Vaiden,

541
00:35:25,970 --> 00:35:30,529
likes to say that you're best positioned to serve the person you once were.

542
00:35:30,710 --> 00:35:36,750
And so for a lot of us, that is people who have failed and people who have tried and
didn't succeed and people who did, right?

543
00:35:36,750 --> 00:35:42,590
And being willing to share about those again, not just in a, me share the, let me like an
episode of Dr.

544
00:35:42,590 --> 00:35:43,170
Phil or something.

545
00:35:43,170 --> 00:35:46,490
I'm just going to tell the world about my, my problems.

546
00:35:46,670 --> 00:35:47,850
It's what is, what do they need?

547
00:35:47,850 --> 00:35:50,050
I mean, it's about you, but not for you.

548
00:35:50,090 --> 00:35:55,004
What, what is, what is my audit, the people I'm trying to connect with, what do they, what
would benefit them?

549
00:35:55,004 --> 00:35:56,956
to hear about my story.

550
00:35:56,977 --> 00:36:01,742
Always with that in mind, if I'm trying to help them go from where they are to where they
want to be.

551
00:36:02,483 --> 00:36:06,849
What is your relationship with with making goals?

552
00:36:08,659 --> 00:36:09,529
it's complicated.

553
00:36:09,529 --> 00:36:11,701
Yeah.

554
00:36:14,443 --> 00:36:16,435
I, I, I love the concept.

555
00:36:16,435 --> 00:36:18,347
I like the idea of making goals.

556
00:36:18,347 --> 00:36:21,889
I am not as naturally goal driven.

557
00:36:21,959 --> 00:36:26,589
you know, I'm not naturally, well, I'll tell you, I'm not naturally numbers driven.

558
00:36:26,669 --> 00:36:31,533
I'm more driven by qualitative goals and rather than quantitative goals.

559
00:36:31,534 --> 00:36:34,276
So I, I love making goals.

560
00:36:34,276 --> 00:36:36,067
love getting the plan together.

561
00:36:36,261 --> 00:36:46,228
But I often struggle in the space in between because I always, have no shortage of other
ideas of things we could go after and do and chase.

562
00:36:46,228 --> 00:36:49,171
And so it depends sometimes very successful and going after.

563
00:36:49,171 --> 00:36:56,157
I mean, good example, I set a goal many years ago that, within 10 years, I want to be a
New York Times bestselling writer.

564
00:36:56,157 --> 00:36:59,079
want to have a book that I wrote appear on the New York Times list.

565
00:36:59,079 --> 00:37:00,991
10 years later, the first one appeared on the list.

566
00:37:00,991 --> 00:37:01,221
Right?

567
00:37:01,221 --> 00:37:04,913
So was having that goal, writing it down.

568
00:37:04,979 --> 00:37:07,599
It has great power to it.

569
00:37:07,599 --> 00:37:12,019
And I think there's great power in doing that and having a system to support you in that.

570
00:37:12,019 --> 00:37:22,635
At the same time, I think like everybody, I struggle at times to, all how do I maintain
that consistency with it and keep it in focus over a length of time?

571
00:37:22,995 --> 00:37:24,115
Hmm.

572
00:37:24,115 --> 00:37:29,635
Um, when that moment of struggle shows up, do you have a mechanism, an operating system
that you use?

573
00:37:29,635 --> 00:37:30,775
Do you recognize it?

574
00:37:30,775 --> 00:37:32,795
Do you just let it be?

575
00:37:33,235 --> 00:37:34,855
What, what, happens?

576
00:37:39,066 --> 00:37:40,621
I think it's.

577
00:37:40,621 --> 00:37:42,839
moment where discipline is not showing up.

578
00:37:43,031 --> 00:37:43,641
Yeah.

579
00:37:43,641 --> 00:37:49,623
And the moment when discipline isn't showing up, I think I reconnect with why am I doing
this in the first place is what I strive to do.

580
00:37:49,623 --> 00:37:51,493
Why am I doing this in the first place?

581
00:37:51,493 --> 00:37:52,334
What's the motivation?

582
00:37:52,334 --> 00:37:53,754
What's the aim?

583
00:37:54,034 --> 00:37:59,347
And then just reconnect to that of understanding that in order to get there, I have to do
this, right?

584
00:37:59,347 --> 00:38:02,517
And just reconnecting to the why behind what I'm doing.

585
00:38:02,517 --> 00:38:06,088
And ultimately the who, the story behind all of that.

586
00:38:06,088 --> 00:38:07,749
What is that story that I'm telling?

587
00:38:07,749 --> 00:38:12,360
What's the story I want to tell down the road looking back because of this?

588
00:38:12,506 --> 00:38:18,056
And I think that's what I tend to turn to and that usually gets me back on track pretty
quickly.

589
00:38:18,056 --> 00:38:22,910
Outside of business, I bet your brain, maybe you have a way for it to shut down.

590
00:38:22,910 --> 00:38:33,018
That's what I'm going to ask to not, to not discuss and think about this all the time,
but, I bet your brain is always operating in some manner, thinking about the people you're

591
00:38:33,018 --> 00:38:37,352
engaging with, their story, connecting with them, how you can serve them.

592
00:38:37,352 --> 00:38:42,996
But what makes you smile the most in the moments?

593
00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:48,788
that you aren't on topic for what your business life is and your purpose for serving.

594
00:38:48,788 --> 00:38:50,593
What makes you smile the most?

595
00:38:51,265 --> 00:38:53,945
I think it's, first of all, family.

596
00:38:53,945 --> 00:38:56,050
I think that's a given with six kids.

597
00:38:56,050 --> 00:38:58,972
We've just been so blessed to have an incredible family.

598
00:38:58,972 --> 00:39:00,314
So spending time with them.

599
00:39:00,314 --> 00:39:08,870
I actually, as you say that, I realized one of the reasons I do this is to, because you're
right, my brain's always on, always moving, always four steps ahead of me.

600
00:39:08,870 --> 00:39:11,793
That's both the blessing and the curse that I've been given, right?

601
00:39:11,793 --> 00:39:13,214
But at the same time,

602
00:39:13,214 --> 00:39:20,279
I found myself again loving story, but engaging story that I didn't have to create.

603
00:39:20,420 --> 00:39:20,710
Right.

604
00:39:20,710 --> 00:39:28,675
So whether it's, it's some, some actually really good high quality, shows or films or
something like that, or reading books that are, fiction books, right.

605
00:39:28,675 --> 00:39:32,078
aren't, that don't require them with nonfiction all the time, developing IP and so forth.

606
00:39:32,078 --> 00:39:40,803
So finding those kinds of things, or, know, we live in Orlando now, you know, being able
to go to Disney or places like that, that value creativity.

607
00:39:40,803 --> 00:39:47,457
be with family, unplug from that, out in nature, be able to do all those kind of things, I
think are ways that I've found to do that.

608
00:39:47,457 --> 00:39:51,911
And I've just kind of reconciled myself that I'll never totally shut that off.

609
00:39:51,911 --> 00:39:59,356
It's just a matter of when do I want to give it complete control and when do I need to
throttle it back in that respect.

610
00:40:00,428 --> 00:40:03,812
So without fully reading the book, but touching on it, right?

611
00:40:03,812 --> 00:40:04,640
Getting the highlights.

612
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:05,854
I almost had the cliff notes.

613
00:40:05,854 --> 00:40:08,817
I always loved to read them before the conversations, but we're always so busy.

614
00:40:08,817 --> 00:40:12,380
But there was a major theme in your book about the story gap.

615
00:40:14,424 --> 00:40:16,991
I'd appreciate if you unlock that a little bit for us.

616
00:40:18,082 --> 00:40:25,037
Yeah, the story gap, mean, that was really about the gap between of the value, right?

617
00:40:25,037 --> 00:40:27,819
Of what holds us back in that regard, right?

618
00:40:27,819 --> 00:40:36,442
And so when I would talk about the story gap, mean, we, even right now, but there's
someone listening right now who is like, I see the value and I think I should do that.

619
00:40:36,442 --> 00:40:40,355
But they go back and they get caught in these traps that I talked about.

620
00:40:40,355 --> 00:40:42,616
We talked about the confidence trap, the normalcy trap.

621
00:40:42,616 --> 00:40:44,477
One of them is the ignorance trap.

622
00:40:44,759 --> 00:40:48,132
And that causes that gap because people just, I don't know what I don't know.

623
00:40:48,132 --> 00:40:49,684
And here's, here's entrepreneur thinking.

624
00:40:49,684 --> 00:40:54,809
we tend to get, we tend to over and we can do one of two things, either overanalyze or
overact.

625
00:40:54,809 --> 00:40:57,691
can either overanalyze like, all right, that sounds great.

626
00:40:57,691 --> 00:40:59,794
I'll do that once I get everything figured out.

627
00:40:59,794 --> 00:41:02,807
Once I figure out how to do it myself, right.

628
00:41:02,807 --> 00:41:05,329
That, also causes that, that gap to widen.

629
00:41:05,329 --> 00:41:06,861
Cause I think I got to do it all myself.

630
00:41:06,861 --> 00:41:07,442
Not at all.

631
00:41:07,442 --> 00:41:11,605
In fact, as I say in the book, if you want to elevate, you must collaborate.

632
00:41:11,813 --> 00:41:15,554
You have to find other people to help you do this to accelerate your growth.

633
00:41:15,554 --> 00:41:18,305
If you just think as an entrepreneur, great, thanks, Bill.

634
00:41:18,305 --> 00:41:20,977
This is one more thing to go on my to do list.

635
00:41:20,977 --> 00:41:26,118
This is why we exist, by the way, to partner with people, to help them get clarity on
these things.

636
00:41:26,118 --> 00:41:27,580
And so it doesn't have to be us.

637
00:41:27,580 --> 00:41:29,170
It's about having an attitude.

638
00:41:29,170 --> 00:41:36,162
I need to find the people I need to find who can help me bridge this gap, who can help me
help me get across that gap.

639
00:41:36,162 --> 00:41:36,332
Right?

640
00:41:36,332 --> 00:41:39,169
So that ignorance gap on the other hand,

641
00:41:39,169 --> 00:41:42,160
those who we have as overacting tendency.

642
00:41:42,300 --> 00:41:44,740
Somebody I bet already is thinking, hey, I'm going to do that.

643
00:41:44,740 --> 00:41:46,182
And they're already on chat GPT.

644
00:41:46,182 --> 00:41:47,453
They're already letting their assistant know.

645
00:41:47,453 --> 00:41:48,793
They're already like, hey, let's go with this plan.

646
00:41:48,793 --> 00:41:49,143
Let's go.

647
00:41:49,143 --> 00:41:50,944
Let's get this done.

648
00:41:50,944 --> 00:41:52,705
Instead of, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

649
00:41:52,705 --> 00:41:53,966
Let's be intentional about it.

650
00:41:53,966 --> 00:41:56,397
Again, here's where collaboration can, right?

651
00:41:56,397 --> 00:42:01,229
Having something guide you to that process or being intentional about the process.

652
00:42:01,229 --> 00:42:07,001
Either way, it's that finding that just right mix in the middle that I think is really the
key to bridging that gap.

653
00:42:07,987 --> 00:42:10,987
So what's the cost of an incoherent story?

654
00:42:12,558 --> 00:42:19,290
Well, you know, those, those, visa commercials are about, you know, such and such cost me
this and this cost me this, but this is priceless.

655
00:42:19,290 --> 00:42:21,451
You know, I think, I think it works the other way.

656
00:42:21,451 --> 00:42:24,093
I think that the cost doesn't really have a limit.

657
00:42:24,093 --> 00:42:32,436
It's very hard to put a number on because we will never know the full cost of what that
lack of influence, the lack of impact, the lack of income, how did that change?

658
00:42:32,436 --> 00:42:36,487
How did all of this change my life until we actually do it?

659
00:42:36,653 --> 00:42:43,273
And then as we tell it well, and we're on the other side of it, we look back and like, Oh
man, I can't imagine ever having been in that case.

660
00:42:43,273 --> 00:42:44,793
Look at all that I left on the table.

661
00:42:44,793 --> 00:42:48,893
Look at all that I left undone, the value I didn't add, all of these things, right?

662
00:42:48,893 --> 00:42:54,173
think it leads to a life that feels vaguely unfulfilled.

663
00:42:54,173 --> 00:43:01,773
And by vaguely, mean, doesn't feel all that great and impactful, but I can't really put my
finger on why.

664
00:43:01,773 --> 00:43:03,253
It's all kind of fuzzy, right?

665
00:43:03,253 --> 00:43:06,453
Everything, to go back to that, everything's just a little out of focus.

666
00:43:06,663 --> 00:43:08,144
And I don't want that for people.

667
00:43:08,144 --> 00:43:11,575
I want people to live a life that they feel like, I went all out.

668
00:43:11,575 --> 00:43:12,876
I gave everything I could.

669
00:43:12,876 --> 00:43:14,467
I had the greatest impact I could.

670
00:43:14,467 --> 00:43:17,588
I've left the legacy, the greatest legacy I could.

671
00:43:17,588 --> 00:43:20,459
And I did it by faith.

672
00:43:20,580 --> 00:43:28,193
I did it by stepping out and doing what I believe to be true, often in spite of what I
see, or feel.

673
00:43:28,193 --> 00:43:29,004
That's what I did.

674
00:43:29,004 --> 00:43:31,805
And by faith, I don't mean just religious faith.

675
00:43:31,970 --> 00:43:38,275
I often say that you don't have to share the details of my faith to enjoy the benefits of
my beliefs.

676
00:43:38,275 --> 00:43:43,884
And that's how I really approach that is that my beliefs drive who I am and what I deliver
to the world.

677
00:43:43,884 --> 00:43:45,721
And I think that's true for everybody.

678
00:43:45,721 --> 00:43:49,804
That what we believe to be true guides our actions and what we're doing in that too.

679
00:43:49,804 --> 00:43:54,367
But sometimes our beliefs require us to step out before we know how it turns out.

680
00:43:54,627 --> 00:44:04,400
And that's where faith comes in, where often, in fact, we have to step out and say, all
right, I believe my story matters, therefore I will do this and I will live that out.

681
00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:13,161
I won't just say the words because all of us can say the words of what we claim to
believe, but none of us truly know what we believe until we act on what we believe.

682
00:44:13,569 --> 00:44:15,981
So what would you, it's a great conversation.

683
00:44:15,981 --> 00:44:18,482
I appreciate you taking this time today.

684
00:44:18,803 --> 00:44:28,547
if you walked into a room today, you weren't prepared, your whole wife experience and
story has prepared you, but you can't talk about the book that you wrote and telling our

685
00:44:28,547 --> 00:44:30,704
story, even though that's what you're, can't do that.

686
00:44:30,704 --> 00:44:38,284
hand you the mic and there's a hundred people in seats looking at you of they've
accomplished a lot in a professional world.

687
00:44:38,284 --> 00:44:41,045
they have all sorts of, they, aren't showing up.

688
00:44:41,119 --> 00:44:43,301
Not achieving anything.

689
00:44:43,542 --> 00:44:51,630
And I hand you the mic and I say, Bill, you got five minutes to go up and tell them where
to start.

690
00:44:51,630 --> 00:44:56,636
I said, before you go up though, every one of them are in a different place in their life.

691
00:44:56,636 --> 00:44:58,018
Here's the microphone.

692
00:44:58,018 --> 00:44:59,709
Go make an impact on them.

693
00:45:01,485 --> 00:45:02,516
What do you say?

694
00:45:03,971 --> 00:45:07,712
the core of the message would be every story matters.

695
00:45:08,051 --> 00:45:11,394
And it's including the people in that room.

696
00:45:11,895 --> 00:45:16,767
And I would encourage them to get clear on their story and to do it by asking this
question.

697
00:45:16,767 --> 00:45:18,937
I call it the story focus question.

698
00:45:19,218 --> 00:45:25,330
And that is in that context at the end of your life, but let's fast forward and
accelerate.

699
00:45:25,330 --> 00:45:28,711
None of us know how much time we truly have at the end of your life.

700
00:45:29,372 --> 00:45:31,012
What's the one thing

701
00:45:31,412 --> 00:45:32,492
Everybody forgets you.

702
00:45:32,492 --> 00:45:33,332
forget all about you.

703
00:45:33,332 --> 00:45:34,512
They forget the business you built.

704
00:45:34,512 --> 00:45:35,672
They forget the success you had.

705
00:45:35,672 --> 00:45:39,372
They forget all the interactions they had with you except one thing.

706
00:45:39,732 --> 00:45:43,532
What is that one thing that you would want them to remember?

707
00:45:43,532 --> 00:45:46,792
You would like, if they never forget this, please don't forget this.

708
00:45:46,792 --> 00:45:49,512
If you forget everything else about me, don't forget this.

709
00:45:49,512 --> 00:45:51,712
What is that one thing?

710
00:45:51,712 --> 00:45:56,292
Because we asked that question at the start of every book project, every brand project,
all of that.

711
00:45:56,292 --> 00:45:58,932
We ask that question all the time because

712
00:45:59,026 --> 00:46:05,582
I have found when you ask that question and then listen internally for the answer,
something often percolates to the top.

713
00:46:05,582 --> 00:46:08,886
Something pops up like, I think almost like a tombstone moment.

714
00:46:08,886 --> 00:46:10,708
What's the one thing I want left behind?

715
00:46:10,708 --> 00:46:13,810
What's the one thing I want people to remember from interacting with me?

716
00:46:14,272 --> 00:46:17,174
Because that becomes the kind of the tip of the spear.

717
00:46:17,214 --> 00:46:23,346
And then you can begin self editing your life around what is supporting that.

718
00:46:23,346 --> 00:46:26,928
and what isn't, is this contributing to leaving that message or isn't it?

719
00:46:26,928 --> 00:46:27,958
Is it distracting?

720
00:46:27,958 --> 00:46:28,999
Is it, is it helping?

721
00:46:28,999 --> 00:46:29,949
What does that look like?

722
00:46:29,949 --> 00:46:35,761
And then you can begin cutting things away so that you can be more effective at conveying
that message.

723
00:46:35,902 --> 00:46:44,005
And I believe that if we're more intentional about that, we can, we can actually determine
our levels of impact by doing that.

724
00:46:44,005 --> 00:46:50,580
And so the time that I would have, I'd probably put in a great story to support it, to
really make it come to life and all that, but

725
00:46:50,580 --> 00:46:52,322
That would be the one message I would have.

726
00:46:52,322 --> 00:46:55,024
For me, that one thing is every story matters.

727
00:46:55,024 --> 00:47:02,029
And so I try to put everything I can into helping people see the value of their story and
how to cultivate their story and live a story worth telling.

728
00:47:02,070 --> 00:47:04,812
And part of that is helping them to figure out their own story.

729
00:47:04,812 --> 00:47:07,114
And what is my story and how much does it matter?

730
00:47:07,114 --> 00:47:11,738
And how can I do it differently for my business, my brand, but just me personally as well?

731
00:47:11,738 --> 00:47:14,510
What am I doing to make the world a better place?

732
00:47:15,482 --> 00:47:16,496
So good.

733
00:47:16,496 --> 00:47:19,683
Bill Blankschaen, thank you for giving this time to us.

734
00:47:19,843 --> 00:47:21,511
Mark, it's my pleasure.

735
00:47:21,511 --> 00:47:24,214
I always love talking story with entrepreneurs.

736
00:47:24,214 --> 00:47:32,611
Yeah, your story advantage, the book that just came out and we'll tag it and all the
content that we put out, but what's the one place they should go and interact with you

737
00:47:32,611 --> 00:47:34,644
that then they can find all the other things.

738
00:47:34,732 --> 00:47:39,774
Yeah, I mean, would visit our website, My Story Builders, mystorybuilders.com.

739
00:47:39,774 --> 00:47:44,764
They can add forward slash story and just schedule some time to chat if that works for
them.

740
00:47:44,764 --> 00:47:46,917
I mean, there's no pressure with any of that obligation.

741
00:47:46,917 --> 00:47:53,340
We love hearing stories, so we would love to hear entrepreneurial stories, especially we
do a lot of work with entrepreneurs helping them.

742
00:47:53,340 --> 00:47:54,200
We love to hear a story.

743
00:47:54,200 --> 00:47:55,941
If we can be of help to you, great.

744
00:47:55,941 --> 00:48:00,727
Mystorybuilders.com forward slash story to schedule some time to talk.

745
00:48:00,727 --> 00:48:03,604
We've got a bunch of free resources over there and with the book.

746
00:48:03,618 --> 00:48:08,102
go to yourstoryadvantage.com and we got a ton of bonuses connected to the book as well.

747
00:48:09,058 --> 00:48:09,771
What a benefit.

748
00:48:09,771 --> 00:48:10,262
Thank you.

749
00:48:10,262 --> 00:48:11,956
Thanks again for coming on today.

750
00:48:12,438 --> 00:48:13,711
You're totally welcome, Mark.

751
00:48:13,711 --> 00:48:14,560
I appreciate it.

752
00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:18,560
I appreciate the questions and your passion for helping entrepreneurs.

753
00:48:19,458 --> 00:48:20,434
little bit every day.

754
00:48:20,434 --> 00:48:22,516
That idea of 1 % every day, matters.

755
00:48:22,516 --> 00:48:23,368
It's real.

756
00:48:23,704 --> 00:48:24,604
Exactly.

757
00:48:24,984 --> 00:48:26,065
All right, thank you.