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

0:00 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 difference. you Hey you all, welcome back for another episode. I'm pumped about today. 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.

0:43 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. No, it's not a new Mark. It's the same guy I've always been. 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. So. I'm pumped about today having Bill Blankschaen on. He's the founder and chief story architect at Story Builders. Bill works with founders and leadership teams to help them understand story, not as marketing, but as leadership infrastructure. The framework that drives decisions, alignment, and culture as organization scale. He's also the author of the book, Your Story Advantage that was just released in October of 2025.

1:26 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 of growth and complexity, which there's a ton. 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. Bill, welcome to The Necessary Entrepreneur. Mark, it's a pleasure to be here. And I love the phrasing of the necessary entrepreneur, because I think so many times entrepreneurs, sometimes wonder, are we really necessary or not? So we wrestle with those fears and really the value of our story is what it comes down to. Hmm. What's what is the value of our story?

2:08 I don't think we have a more valuable asset, frankly, as entrepreneurs or as people. I think that's a part of what we bring to the table. Because when I talk about story, I don't just mean what's happened to us. I don't just mean the events. Those are important. But it's more about how have we responded to what's happened to us? What have we learned from what's happened to us? What's the experiences we've gained, the credentials we've gained? That whole body of wisdom that we've accumulated over years? that we often just undervalue. 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 there as we go about our business. 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.

2:57 And it's a gold mine waiting to be delved into. What's the biggest idea when you wrote the book, Your Story Advantage, which is completely in line with what you just said. I'm sure you broke down the book, but what's a big idea that you had going into writing the book? It's what you just said, but can you expand on it a little bit more? Yeah, and maybe if you don't mind, I'll share some of my own story. I think that'll illustrate it because it's really how I came to get the big idea. 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, and I was doing good work. You know, I got hugs from kindergartners every day and help teens navigate life and parents figure things out.

3:39 And I was doing good work and yet inside, I had always thought of myself as a writer, but I wasn't writing. I always thought of myself as a storyteller, but I wasn't really telling stories. 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 apply it, didn't steward it well. And so I stepped away from the school, stepped into the unknown to pursue this with six kids and no income. We went for a year with no income figuring that out. you know, Mark, I never worked harder in my life in that year. 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 art and science of storytelling in that process.

4:28 And as you can well imagine, as every entrepreneur knows, I mean, there were days that, you know, I was sitting outside. I remember one day in Northeast Ohio in the springtime, was the sun was shining, birds are chirping, beautiful day, I'm writing this idea for a book. On the outside, everything was like the perfect day. And on the inside, I was wrestling with these fears of, and what if this doesn't work? What if we end up falling flat on our face? What if we end up like living in a cardboard box under a freeway overpass somewhere? What is that gonna look like? And worse, what are my kids gonna think of me when that happens? But I kept moving forward pursuing this story that was coming out of me. 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.

5:15 Other people began asking me for help in creating their books and writing their stories. And out of that eventually came story builders. 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. And what I realized from that was that my breakthrough began when I started with my story. 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 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.

5:58 Hmm. Are we, is there an unwillingness to share our stories out of? So first, is there an unwillingness? If there is, where's it derived from all fear. Yeah, there absolutely is unwillingness. I like to talk about story traps. And one of them is the confidence trap. I think that's one of the big ones is that we tend to deify others and diminish ourselves. We tend to look at somebody else's story. Dean Grazios, for example, we look at him, oh wow, look at that story, it's an entrepreneurial success. I could never be Dean. 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.

6:39 I remember one time I had lunch with a well-known business person. If I said their last name, everybody would know their last name. But I was talking about potentially working on a project, we were doing this, and they confided in me at the time. said, sometimes I get paid a lot of money to walk into boardrooms and give my advice. 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? Do I actually have anything valuable to say? Or is it just, you know, this image? And I realized at that moment that you're wrestling with the same thing everybody is wrestling with. Is what I have to say really valuable? Is my message really valuable or are there other factors here?

7:19 And so I think we all struggle with that confidence factor. I think we all struggle with what I call the normalcy trap. The normalcy trap is my story feels normal to me. I mean, what I just shared with you, that was my experience. That's what happened to me. It would be so easy for me to say, well, there's not much value in that. But then I would not be mining the value from it and sharing it with the world by just leaving it there, right? So we can be very strategic about that. And so if somebody is listening right now and they're thinking, I just don't think I have any story and so forth. I'm going to flip that around and say, the reason you don't is because your story feels normal to you. It doesn't feel valuable to you because you've lived it. feels like. Why would anybody be interested in this?

8:01 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. So how do we deal with the confidence factor, the confidence problem issue? How do we deal with that? Yeah, I think the easiest way is to get clear on your story, like to actually know what you want to say, right? So it begins with getting clear on your meaningful message is what I call it. This is like the core message that really drives you that you're passionate about. For me, my meaningful message is every story matters. 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.

8:42 It's getting clear on that meaningful message. And then becoming familiar with the storytelling structure. 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 I lay out in your story advantage and getting your clear on your message. 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. I think. 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, because it's just like going up on a stage. 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 going to say.

9:28 That removes a lot of that fear element or at least positions us to overcome that fear and push through it. same thing you did with being the student, right? Yeah, yeah, I mean, yeah, exactly. Right. You had that doubt and what's going to be outcome of my family? What are my kids going to think? And you just became the student. Yes. And, and I think it's important to realize even at that stage, I didn't have all the answers. 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. And it's the same thing with our story. You need to get enough clarity to be able to take the next step and the next step, because as you do, As you take that step, picture if you're standing in front of a forest of trees, right?

10:15 And you look and all you can see is this forest. I don't see much in there. But if you start down the path through the forest, your perspective changes. 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. I didn't even know that was there. And there's another path up there that I didn't even know existed, right? 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. And the same things with our story. 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. And now I'm finding it and sharing it and it's resonating. Did you find in leadership, all your leadership roles, they've looked different?

10:56 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? You're the adult, the dad, and then you're a leader inside when you build these organizations. 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 for them so that they can move forward with their life? It's a great question because I talk about the story ecosystem that everybody has a story ecosystem. 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. What is the meaningful message and how do you get clear on it?

11:36 And for some people that that's all they need. They need to get clear on who they are and how they tell their story. I've got a son who's getting his resume ready right now. 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. And how do I present that? Same thing with every entrepreneur has to get clear on their story for their company, for their business. Are they telling it consistently? So it begins with the brand story, but then it often should expand to a message multiplier. And that's what I call a book. A book is a message multiplier. Now, not everyone should write a book. And even those that should, the timing may not be right. There's all kinds of other factors, but it is a powerful tool. to be able to multiply your message and get into the hands of people who otherwise would never become familiar with it.

12:17 And then that third circle, the expanding circle is building on that. How do you monetize your message? How do you take that intellectual property, those ideas, that message you've developed in there and turn it into something? John Maxwell is a great example. We've done all the leadership content development for him for the last 10, 12 years now. And what John does is very good. He's stayed on brand in terms of his message and what he's trying to do. But then he's written a whole series of books from that with intellectual property in them. 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 can come from that.

12:58 But it begins with that core process of getting clear on that message. And then that opens the door. to all these other steps that can be taken. 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 would just hit with the world right now that no one's telling? 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. 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? Right. Well, I don't think any story is a retread.

13:38 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. The retreads are people who are trying to be like other people. And so if you think about, I call it the connection continuum. On the far left, you have a fresh story. That's like. Man, this is unlike anything everybody's ever seen before. It's crazy. It's outrageous. He climbed at the top of Everest and hang glider from it's amazing story. That's a fresh story. On the other side is the familiar. Like this sounds really like Dean's story or like John's story or like Mark's story or something like that. And the problem with both of those two approaches, the fresh.

14:21 people have a hard time connecting with it. actually, you end up with disconnect. How do I connect with somebody who did something so I'll never do that? I don't know how to connect with that. 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. All right, so you have disconnect and duplication. What you're after is something in the middle, a nice mix that makes it kind of just right. That of some fresh, some familiar. And so having a story that's familiar, that feels like somebody else's story, actually is a positive thing because as people we're looking to connect with stuff that we know, first of all. And then, then what's different about that? It feels familiar and yet it looks different.

15:02 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. So I had these two different experiences in my head. In Japan, Everything was very familiar. It's a very westernized traffic and signs and language and all that kind of stuff. It was familiar, but also fresh. It was different in very unique ways. 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. I struggled to connect with it. I felt out of place more when I was there. And that's not ones either good or bad. It was about connection. 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.

15:46 So the advantage there for everybody who's listening is you don't have to have a fresh, crazy, zany story. In fact, your story, your body of wisdom can look a lot like somebody else's, but your story is unique. Your experiences, no one else has had those. And so what that uniqueness that adds is what really makes it different. 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? 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 about them.

16:26 Tell me about the person, right? And I love when I can walk out and say, They're exactly who they present themselves to be. Now it's better if you have more depth inside the room. 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 just like us. It seems like not all, so they they're telling their story and they're living it every day. And so I guess the question is somewhere in between is. Have they tapped into intentionally telling the story or did it just happen to hit based upon fully who they are? Because when I, when I come out of those rooms, I do feel the best when I'm able to share.

17:09 Guys, I feel like I came out just knowing 10 % more of everything we already know about them. That feels the best for me. Yeah, I'll turn to a friend of mine, Lewis Howes, the School of Greatness, right? 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. 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 has become more and more authentic. and feeling like he's leaning into more of who he is in that way. And I would agree with that. I think it's not accidental.

17:51 You do have to be intentional about it. 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. For those who are authentic, I agree. think maybe the beauty of coming out of that room is the experience, like you said, that they're They're not unlike me. I'm not that different. 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? But his story is a great example because he leaned into his own story. He leaned to what am I good at? What do I love to do? And I'm going to be passionate about that. 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 that.

18:36 And so his breakthrough began. when he really started with his story. And I think that's where it is, and that's where authenticity is so key. 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 way that resonates with the people you're trying to connect with. And that's what we can talk more about the science behind all that, but that's what makes the difference. So what's the, what is the science behind it? Because, and I guess the context here is we have a, we have more information coming at us now than even in 2025. And I think that is going to still exponentially grow.

19:17 heard, who's the, CEO of Nvidia. I heard him sharing the other day about, think they were at Davos or something, right. And, he was on stage sharing about how we're going to need trades people. And I heard who's the guy, the blue collar guy, Mike, micro micro. Yeah. just saw, I think I love the guy. I don't know, but I think I do. 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 long time and his deep voice. he said, let me show you something. 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.

19:58 to build out the infrastructure of all of the power that we're going to need for all the data centers. And so those data centers mean that the information is not going to slow down. So in building this and all this information, what's the strategy behind this? Yeah, well, one of the data points I heard recently was that the amount of information in the world is doubling every day. Every day that amount that the content in the world is doubling at that pace. So to your point, what, what do we do with that? 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, your body of wisdom, your story is about you.

20:41 but your story is not for you. 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. And instead we have to turn it around and flip, who am I trying to reach? Who am I trying to resonate with? Because if we try to resonate with everybody, we'll connect with nobody, right? So who do I actually want this to resonate with? And I think that's especially important today when there's so many inputs coming at us. we're gonna tend to only respond to those that are really connecting with us at a deeper level. So that connection becomes key. 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 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.

21:35 And that causes it to stand out. Because now you're not noise anymore, you're telling your story in a way that's specifically designed to connect with those people. It may not connect with other people, and that's okay, because that's not your goal. But by focusing, you actually expand your potential to be able to reach at a deeper level. 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 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 except for their small little environment.

22:18 What could they take away? Would you make an argument that they should still do the same thing? absolutely. Absolutely. Cause each of us is a steward of our story. We actually, that's the one thing nobody else can manage for us. Each of us has a unique story and each of us has, I think, responsibility to do something worthwhile with it. And so going through that process, if you want to have more influence, 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. If you want to have more influence, if you want to make more impact, forget about income, forget about making money from it. If you just want influence and impact in some way, you want to expand that.

22:59 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 accelerate. that influence and that impact and allow you to reach more people, touch more lives in that way. So yes, every single one of them starts with that. So whether you say, I don't want to build a business, I don't want to build a brand, it doesn't matter. You're still living a story regardless. And people are putting you into a story. 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. wow, I can come to you when I need something like that. I have that perception of you.

23:40 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. And so that's value that we're leaving on the table that we otherwise could give to the world. 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 leadership inside one of my companies. I took away, I don't think he said it, but you could tell me if this is it. I took away that his perspective about leadership is just influence. Well, yeah, he said that leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less. When it comes down to it, it's influence. And that's what I'm talking about. So often we think of leadership as this great mystery and I gotta be famous and I gotta be this.

24:24 I had another friend, Hugh Hewitt demonstrated this to me back when I was running a school. He came in and talked to our students for a day and he said, hey, I saw this movie. I don't even remember what the movies were. I saw this movie and it wasn't that great. It was kind of boring. was this, it was that. I wouldn't really watch it. But I saw this other movie, it was incredible. It was exceptional. taught me this and this. I was blown away by this. And then he paused and he said, now, which of those two movies are you now more likely to see? And they said, well, the second one, he said, that's influence. That's leadership. I just influenced you. I just caused you to think more in this direction than another. So never think that you aren't a leader, that you aren't influencing. Cause everything we do every day influences someone else, touches someone else.

25:07 And it's really a matter of, we being intentional about it? about the story that we're telling, the story that we're living, frankly, at a deeper level. 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. 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. And that's the meaning of life. Life's over, we're done. 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. 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 live it well.

25:55 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, do you want to be this or that? And one of them was like, do you want to be a wondering something? 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? It's going to land and pop, right? Maybe you know it, but I wish I can't believe it's not coming to me right now. But I know he used to give an analogy about aiming at something, right? The one who aims at nothing, you'll hit it every time. Something like that is kind of what you're getting at. Yeah, the intentional versus unintentional. 100%. 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 tell their story.

26:46 does it feel like a lot of pressure? Does it feel, does it feel really big? I think 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. And to that extent, it's big, but it doesn't feel like a weight. I don't know if that makes any sense. It doesn't feel like a burden. You know, it's big in terms of the potential, but I think it's more an awareness of what already is. You know, each of us has this awareness and especially, you know, for your younger listeners.

27:29 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 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. I don't see it as a, yes, it's big. I don't see it as a burden though. I see it as a way to help pull others forward. and contribute in that kind of sense as that steward of a story. So I think it's huge. think it's a game changer. I think it can totally change someone's perspective, totally change a business, totally change the direction of a life. I've seen it happen.

28:10 We work with authors, people who have, helped develop their books and their businesses and all these things and their lives have been transformed. I talked to a gentleman the other day. He attributes a book that he wrote, $12 million in keynotes he's had since because of that book. 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. So to that extent, yeah, it's big, but it's not a burden. it's something that each of us already is carrying. And so why not do it well? Do you think, cause you said not everybody should write a book. 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.

28:50 What that, I mean, that built his entire, I don't know what he did before it. I wouldn't have known what he did before to form for that. A James clear atomic habits, right? Like we wouldn't know these people if they didn't write the book. Sure, absolutely. I had this experience happen to me. I like to say that a book can go places you will never go and touch more people than you'll ever know. And I saw this so clear to me. I read a book, A Profit First by Mike McCallewitz back in the day. And it transformed how we did business. And then I actually met Mike this past year at an event. were both speaking at an event and we were talking about that. said, hey, your book. It made such an impact on me. just reshaped our, I just shared with him from the heart.

29:32 And he was like, I'm so touched by that. I love hearing that. I had no idea, right? When he wrote that book, he wasn't thinking, you know, there's this guy named Bill and I think he's in Ohio. Maybe he's moved. I don't know, but I'm writing this book for Bill. Cause I've got to get this in Bill's hands, right? He had no idea whose hands it would go into. And yet it made its way to mine. It made a significant impact. And so was a pleasure to be able to tell him that. But often, That message doesn't even get back to the author. I can't even tell you how many books have found their way to me. I've never met the author, don't know them, not even sure they're still alive, but the books have transformed me. And that's the power of books. 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.

30:15 And that's really what we specialize in is brand defining storytelling. Not just words on a page that you throw out there, but let's really craft it. 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. And when people read it, they actually share it with somebody else and say, you should check out this book. Like it becomes that sticky kind of book. But you're right. 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. I mean, you mentioned Zig Ziglar, you you could easily rattle off, you know, see you at the top and. Secrets of Close and The Sail and all those fun books, right, that he wrote that really defined who he was to his audience. What an opportunity for your business in 2026.

30:57 think about because of technology, not just books. 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. Should we market to them? Can we help them build? 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. There's good about technology and there's bad, but But I bet you see it as what an opportunity for your business. Yeah, well, I think it's an opportunity for everybody's business. We've got Mark Perkins name right at the top of that. I think it's an opportunity for everybody to do that, right? Again, if you're clear on your story, opportunities like that come into focus.

31:41 And when you have clarity on that, this is who we're trying to do. This is our audience. Candidly, a lot of entrepreneurs, they don't have that clarity. Their own company doesn't have that clarity. The people on their team don't have that clarity. And therefore everything's just out of focus. And so who do we go after? Well, we're not really sure. You know, how do we, well, not really sure what's the solution that we're, I'm not really sure. Right. And they almost accidentally succeed. Whereas if they were intentional, they could dial that in, really focus on that and think about who, who are we really serving? Who's, who's in that core audience. And this is something I go through in the book, unpacking your ideal audience. But who's, who's that core audience? That's where our focus needs to be. And as we do that, we're going to engage with other people as well. But the core is what really matters.

32:24 You touched on something. Who are we serving? You don't even know you said it. It's in your DNA. The book that impacted you, I don't know if it was the most, but it seems like it is. It said, a profit first. And I think the nuances to that, so many people in businesses, they're focusing on making a profit. 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? Why did it impact you so much? Well, that book by Mike McCullough is profit first. 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. They're just surviving. They're just, you know, all right, I paid the bills, what's left?

33:05 If anything, right? 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. And if the rest doesn't work, then your business doesn't work. Like if you're not making a profit, then you just, you just have a job. You're just working for yourself. Right. So that, that was, that was so key from, from that perspective. Um, I, but there's been so many other books. I think of a book, um, if we want, let's talk about John Maxwell. 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. I've read it multiple times about the power of thinking, the power of taking time to think and reflecting, right.

33:46 The reality that. Experience is not the best teacher. Reflected experience is the best teacher. Actually thinking about what's happened to you is where you get those lessons. 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. And that brings to my mind about this idea. You know, they say there's a reason why the windshield so much larger than a rear view camera. there's all these different ideas that people have used a certain, maybe they use the platform to grow their business. And the other person said, no, it's been this. It's like the person you said, he said, Hey, I didn't really like this movie, but I really liked this one. But there might be some other people out there that really liked that other movie.

34:28 Right. And so, so if that book through reflective. learning. mean, that's, that's in reflection on what's already happened. Absolutely. mean, that resonates for me. It does because, but I think what so many people do though, is they unfortunately stay in it. They stay in, they stay in, they don't just reflect to learn. They stay in what they did and what happened. And I think that's this anxious world that we're in. Yeah. Yeah. And they say in some ways they stay stuck in the past. They stay looking at the rear view mirror. 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 weigh you down and hold you back and realize actually beneath those, lessons you learned, the power of that.

35:17 When you're done having a pity party, you have value to add to the world because of those things. They actually position you to reach certain things. You know, my friend Rory Vaiden, likes to say that you're best positioned to serve the person you once were. 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? And being willing to share about those again, not just in a, me share the, let me like an episode of Dr. Phil or something. I'm just going to tell the world about my, my problems. It's what is, what do they need? I mean, it's about you, but not for you. What, what is, what is my audit, the people I'm trying to connect with, what do they, what would benefit them? to hear about my story. Always with that in mind, if I'm trying to help them go from where they are to where they want to be.

36:02 What is your relationship with with making goals? it's complicated. Yeah. I, I, I love the concept. I like the idea of making goals. I am not as naturally goal driven. you know, I'm not naturally, well, I'll tell you, I'm not naturally numbers driven. I'm more driven by qualitative goals and rather than quantitative goals. So I, I love making goals. love getting the plan together. 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.

36:46 And so it depends sometimes very successful and going after. 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. want to have a book that I wrote appear on the New York Times list. 10 years later, the first one appeared on the list. Right? So was having that goal, writing it down. It has great power to it. And I think there's great power in doing that and having a system to support you in that. 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? Hmm. Um, when that moment of struggle shows up, do you have a mechanism, an operating system that you use?

37:29 Do you recognize it? Do you just let it be? What, what, happens? I think it's. moment where discipline is not showing up. Yeah. 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. Why am I doing this in the first place? What's the motivation? What's the aim? And then just reconnect to that of understanding that in order to get there, I have to do this, right? And just reconnecting to the why behind what I'm doing. And ultimately the who, the story behind all of that. What is that story that I'm telling? What's the story I want to tell down the road looking back because of this?

38:12 And I think that's what I tend to turn to and that usually gets me back on track pretty quickly. Outside of business, I bet your brain, maybe you have a way for it to shut down. 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 engaging with, their story, connecting with them, how you can serve them. But what makes you smile the most in the moments? that you aren't on topic for what your business life is and your purpose for serving. What makes you smile the most? I think it's, first of all, family.

38:53 I think that's a given with six kids. We've just been so blessed to have an incredible family. So spending time with them. 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. That's both the blessing and the curse that I've been given, right? But at the same time, I found myself again loving story, but engaging story that I didn't have to create. Right. 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. aren't, that don't require them with nonfiction all the time, developing IP and so forth. 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.

39:40 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. And I've just kind of reconciled myself that I'll never totally shut that off. 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. So without fully reading the book, but touching on it, right? Getting the highlights. I almost had the cliff notes. I always loved to read them before the conversations, but we're always so busy. But there was a major theme in your book about the story gap. I'd appreciate if you unlock that a little bit for us. Yeah, the story gap, mean, that was really about the gap between of the value, right?

40:25 Of what holds us back in that regard, right? 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. But they go back and they get caught in these traps that I talked about. We talked about the confidence trap, the normalcy trap. One of them is the ignorance trap. And that causes that gap because people just, I don't know what I don't know. And here's, here's entrepreneur thinking. we tend to get, we tend to over and we can do one of two things, either overanalyze or overact. can either overanalyze like, all right, that sounds great. I'll do that once I get everything figured out. Once I figure out how to do it myself, right. That, also causes that, that gap to widen.

41:05 Cause I think I got to do it all myself. Not at all. In fact, as I say in the book, if you want to elevate, you must collaborate. You have to find other people to help you do this to accelerate your growth. If you just think as an entrepreneur, great, thanks, Bill. This is one more thing to go on my to do list. This is why we exist, by the way, to partner with people, to help them get clarity on these things. And so it doesn't have to be us. It's about having an attitude. 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. Right? So that ignorance gap on the other hand, those who we have as overacting tendency. Somebody I bet already is thinking, hey, I'm going to do that. And they're already on chat GPT.

41:46 They're already letting their assistant know. They're already like, hey, let's go with this plan. Let's go. Let's get this done. Instead of, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let's be intentional about it. Again, here's where collaboration can, right? Having something guide you to that process or being intentional about the process. Either way, it's that finding that just right mix in the middle that I think is really the key to bridging that gap. So what's the cost of an incoherent story? 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. You know, I think, I think it works the other way. I think that the cost doesn't really have a limit. 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?

42:32 How did all of this change my life until we actually do it? 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. Look at all that I left on the table. Look at all that I left undone, the value I didn't add, all of these things, right? think it leads to a life that feels vaguely unfulfilled. And by vaguely, mean, doesn't feel all that great and impactful, but I can't really put my finger on why. It's all kind of fuzzy, right? Everything, to go back to that, everything's just a little out of focus. And I don't want that for people. I want people to live a life that they feel like, I went all out. I gave everything I could.

43:12 I had the greatest impact I could. I've left the legacy, the greatest legacy I could. And I did it by faith. I did it by stepping out and doing what I believe to be true, often in spite of what I see, or feel. That's what I did. And by faith, I don't mean just religious faith. I often say that you don't have to share the details of my faith to enjoy the benefits of my beliefs. And that's how I really approach that is that my beliefs drive who I am and what I deliver to the world. And I think that's true for everybody. That what we believe to be true guides our actions and what we're doing in that too. But sometimes our beliefs require us to step out before we know how it turns out.

43:54 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. 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. So what would you, it's a great conversation. I appreciate you taking this time today. 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 story, even though that's what you're, can't do that. 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.

44:38 they have all sorts of, they, aren't showing up. Not achieving anything. And I hand you the mic and I say, Bill, you got five minutes to go up and tell them where to start. I said, before you go up though, every one of them are in a different place in their life. Here's the microphone. Go make an impact on them. What do you say? the core of the message would be every story matters. And it's including the people in that room. And I would encourage them to get clear on their story and to do it by asking this question. I call it the story focus question.

45:19 And that is in that context at the end of your life, but let's fast forward and accelerate. None of us know how much time we truly have at the end of your life. What's the one thing Everybody forgets you. forget all about you. They forget the business you built. They forget the success you had. They forget all the interactions they had with you except one thing. What is that one thing that you would want them to remember? You would like, if they never forget this, please don't forget this. If you forget everything else about me, don't forget this. What is that one thing? Because we asked that question at the start of every book project, every brand project, all of that. We ask that question all the time because I have found when you ask that question and then listen internally for the answer, something often percolates to the top.

46:05 Something pops up like, I think almost like a tombstone moment. What's the one thing I want left behind? What's the one thing I want people to remember from interacting with me? Because that becomes the kind of the tip of the spear. And then you can begin self editing your life around what is supporting that. and what isn't, is this contributing to leaving that message or isn't it? Is it distracting? Is it, is it helping? What does that look like? And then you can begin cutting things away so that you can be more effective at conveying that message. And I believe that if we're more intentional about that, we can, we can actually determine our levels of impact by doing that. 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 That would be the one message I would have.

46:52 For me, that one thing is every story matters. 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. And part of that is helping them to figure out their own story. And what is my story and how much does it matter? And how can I do it differently for my business, my brand, but just me personally as well? What am I doing to make the world a better place? So good. Bill Blankschaen, thank you for giving this time to us. Mark, it's my pleasure. I always love talking story with entrepreneurs. 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 that then they can find all the other things.

47:34 Yeah, I mean, would visit our website, My Story Builders, mystorybuilders.com. They can add forward slash story and just schedule some time to chat if that works for them. I mean, there's no pressure with any of that obligation. We love hearing stories, so we would love to hear entrepreneurial stories, especially we do a lot of work with entrepreneurs helping them. We love to hear a story. If we can be of help to you, great. Mystorybuilders.com forward slash story to schedule some time to talk. We've got a bunch of free resources over there and with the book. go to yourstoryadvantage.com and we got a ton of bonuses connected to the book as well. What a benefit. Thank you. Thanks again for coming on today. You're totally welcome, Mark. I appreciate it. I appreciate the questions and your passion for helping entrepreneurs.

48:19 little bit every day. That idea of 1 % every day, matters. It's real. Exactly. All right, thank you.