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need is Indeed. If you're a creator,

2:30

entrepreneur, business owner, you have to learn

2:32

how to tell better stories. If you

2:34

do not do this, you will fall

2:36

behind because you're going to fall into

2:38

the information trap. There's so much information

2:40

out there already. You're going to get

2:42

lost in it because you're just regurgitating

2:45

all the same things. There's no new

2:47

information. There really isn't. It's how you wrap that

2:49

information, how you put a bow on it, how

2:51

you present it. This is why in Japan,

2:53

when you go to Japan, everything they

2:55

do is neatly packaged because they want

2:57

to increase the experience that you have

2:59

and customer service and all that kind

3:01

of stuff. I mean, they represent that

3:03

so, so well. I mean, they go

3:05

a little overboard with work ethic and

3:07

those kinds of things, especially, you know,

3:09

I recently read an article that people

3:11

who work in the anime industry there

3:13

are working like 70, 80 hours a

3:15

week, which is not okay, but as far as

3:17

the culture of giving. That's what we

3:20

do as entrepreneurs, as creators. We

3:22

are in the business of giving.

3:24

And if you're just giving the

3:26

same old information, it's not going

3:28

to feel like a gift. It

3:30

was Ryan Trahan, a young and

3:32

really popular YouTubeer who once said

3:34

in an interview that he treats

3:37

his videos like a gift to his audience.

3:39

And I love that because when you

3:41

think about it that way, you wouldn't

3:43

just like... Scrap something together if you

3:46

truly wanted to give somebody a gift you

3:48

think about it you present it you wrap

3:50

it in a nice bow and You offer

3:52

it. It's Japanese culture. It's good

3:54

creator culture. My dogs agree. They just

3:56

barked because my wife walked in the door

3:59

and I implore I beg you, you learn how

4:01

to tell story. And that's exactly

4:03

what I'm going to teach you how

4:05

to do today. Now, learning story just

4:07

isn't going to happen overnight. However, there

4:09

are some frameworks, there are some ideas,

4:12

there are some principles that I want

4:14

you to think about, and again, speaking

4:16

about it in a sense of a

4:19

creator online, a brand, a business, somebody

4:21

wanting to connect with somebody before, some

4:23

movements, some actions, some transaction, whatever it

4:25

might be. There's many different kinds of

4:28

stories. Fiction and nonfiction books that

4:30

each have story in it. There

4:32

are fiction and nonfiction movies, television

4:35

shows, screen plays, poems, etc. We're

4:37

talking about the online creator space,

4:39

but a lot of these principles

4:41

are the same throughout and then I'll have

4:43

some tips for you as well. This is

4:45

a window of some of the stuff that

4:47

I talked about in a recent workshop inside

4:50

of the SPI community because when there are

4:52

hot topics we want to bring people on

4:54

and many times it's myself to come on

4:56

and teach certain things that are happening. I

4:58

did a workshop about AI when that was

5:00

coming on and so this is one of

5:02

the benefits of being in the SPI community

5:05

is getting access immediately to things

5:07

like that when we see things like that

5:09

when we see patterns like that. Knowing how

5:11

to tell a good story is the most

5:13

powerful skill that anyone can learn. As AI is

5:15

here, as more and more information gets

5:17

uploaded into the internet and force-fed to

5:19

everybody, it's those stories that you tell

5:21

that are really going to connect with

5:24

people. So that's number one. It's a

5:26

way to connect with people with more

5:28

than just information. Number two,

5:30

it transforms information into

5:32

relatable experiences. And if

5:34

you're selling anything, maybe even selling a

5:36

call to action like a click. to join your

5:39

email list or to even just think

5:41

about an idea when you shape that

5:43

information into a story that's relatable when

5:45

a person has an experience through your

5:47

experience that you're telling or somebody

5:49

else's whose story you're telling. It

5:51

becomes something that grabs attention and

5:53

it becomes something that helps a

5:55

person go deeper with you, that relatable

5:57

experience. If you've been on Instagram or

5:59

Tik, and shorts and you've seen a

6:01

lot of short form video, you'll notice

6:04

that a lot of the videos that

6:06

have popped off and have done really

6:08

really well, or even ones that you

6:11

stick around and watch, are ones that

6:13

begin with a story. I was at

6:15

the grocery store and this woman came

6:17

up to me. Now you need to

6:19

know what happens, right? Versus, here are

6:21

the top five reasons why you need

6:23

to start a podcast, which again,

6:26

I've been sharing that kind of

6:28

information for years. And see, I've

6:30

captured your attention again. And you'll have

6:32

to go back into the archives to

6:34

find that story. I might tell it

6:36

on stage again at some point as

6:38

far as how that came to be.

6:40

Now stories can take concepts

6:42

that are complex and make

6:45

them accessible and memorable for

6:47

people. And that last part's

6:49

really important. Stories are things that

6:51

we remember, and it's also things that

6:54

we then share. Both positive stories

6:56

and dramatic and negative stories.

6:58

Those ones with consequence, those

7:00

ones with drama, those are

7:02

the things that seem to capture a lot

7:04

of people's attention. Hence, a lot of

7:06

the drama that we love to watch as

7:08

just human beings and just following

7:10

other people's lives and the drama

7:13

that they go through. It's unfortunately

7:15

something that we as humans are

7:17

interested in more than really anything.

7:20

I'm not saying. Just bring drama

7:22

to bring drama. There's enough drama

7:24

in the world already, but when

7:26

you can include dramatic ups and

7:29

downs in the stories that you're

7:31

telling, you're more dramatically able to

7:33

make connections, create something memorable,

7:36

create something shareable. Stories inspire

7:38

action. These are the things that

7:40

get people to click, to buy,

7:43

to change, to transform. Stories

7:45

can communicate your values. without explicitly stating

7:47

them, right? When you tell a story

7:49

about an interaction that you've had, you

7:51

are through that story sharing the kind

7:53

of person that you are one way

7:55

or another versus, hey guys, these are

7:57

the three things you'll love about me.

7:59

I am honest, I am trustworthy,

8:01

and I will, whatever. Like that

8:03

just comes across as kind of

8:06

arrogant versus here's the story and

8:08

here's how I handled it. And

8:10

then finally, stories help you stand

8:12

out. Just, that's it. They help you stand

8:15

out. So I'm gonna give you a framework

8:17

and this is very much. mirroring a

8:19

lot of frameworks that are out there.

8:21

It's my own take on it. The

8:23

hero's journey, as maybe you've heard it

8:25

before, a transformation of somebody in some

8:27

way, shape, or form. That's what we're

8:29

gonna go over here. But I have

8:31

a specific way that I like to

8:33

approach this when I'm creating content, when

8:35

I'm telling story, and especially when I

8:37

am. for example, on a podcast and

8:39

trying to share information, or when I'm

8:41

on an interview and I want to,

8:43

you know, present myself in a way

8:45

that's memorable. I don't just share facts.

8:47

I wrap those facts inside of stories that

8:49

are relatable. So it all starts with the

8:52

normal life and this is going to be

8:54

a circle that takes back to the beginning,

8:56

but in a different sort of way. And

8:58

it starts with the normal life. So for

9:01

me, many of you know my story of

9:03

how I became an entrepreneur of

9:05

how I became. Right that was the

9:07

normal life for me. I was

9:09

on my way to becoming an

9:11

architect. I had just gotten a

9:13

promotion I had just proposed and

9:15

things were great until they weren't

9:17

and this is where a trigger Happens

9:20

right a lot of times in these

9:22

heroes journeys you see sort of just

9:24

like scene one scene two scene three

9:26

or act two act four kind of

9:28

thing I have specific things that happen

9:30

or actions moments that then take

9:33

a person from one stage or one

9:35

act to the next and this first

9:37

one from the normal life there is

9:39

a trigger some trigger event that

9:41

starts this whole thing off and for

9:43

me my trigger event from the

9:45

normal life was I got laid off

9:48

that completely swept the rug under

9:50

me and allowed me to not even know

9:52

where I was going next because I had

9:54

this plan and all of a sudden it

9:56

was gone from there we have the normal

9:59

life then a trigger event or

10:01

action or moment that then

10:03

takes us to, well, what do we

10:05

want now? What do I desire?

10:08

What is the challenge that you're

10:10

now facing? And for me, I was

10:12

just lost. I needed to make

10:14

money and I had no plan

10:16

B. This is what I wanted.

10:19

I needed to make money, but

10:21

and I wanted to have this

10:23

family and I lost my job.

10:25

Then... attention point needs to come into play. So this event

10:27

happened and you're now in this situation, we need to amplify what is happening

10:29

here in some way, shape, or form. So again, in my story, and by

10:31

the way, I've told the story many times, I used to tell my story

10:33

in a very, I used to tell my story in a very light way.

10:36

Yeah, I used to be an architect and then I became an entrepreneur

10:38

and I started my business online. That's exactly how it happened. And

10:40

unfortunately, when I told it was told it that I told it

10:42

that way, and you're now, and you're now, and you're now, and

10:44

you're now, and you're now, and you're now, and you're now, and

10:46

you're now, and you're now, and you're now, and you're now, and

10:48

you're now, and you're now, and you're now, and you're now, and

10:50

you're now, and you're now, and you're now, and you're now, and

10:52

you're now, with how this all happened rather

10:54

I just wanted to help people and

10:56

answer more questions but the truth is

10:59

when I discovered that when you go

11:01

deeper in these stories create connection that

11:03

the deeper I went the more intriguing

11:05

I became the more authoritative I became

11:08

the more trustworthy I became and the

11:10

more relatable I became and this was

11:12

on my own blog and then later

11:14

my podcast and of course on other

11:16

podcast too so although I've been interviewed

11:19

hundreds of times before a lot of

11:21

interviewers Say Pat I know you're probably

11:23

tired of telling your story. I say

11:25

no, I am not at all tired of telling

11:27

my story for two reasons. Number one, I

11:30

know it's going to be the thing that

11:32

connects me to your audience who has probably

11:34

never heard my story before. So that's really

11:36

important for me. I don't brush over that.

11:38

And number two, every time I tell my

11:41

story, I can get better. I can refine

11:43

it. I can go deeper. I can understand

11:45

more about it and what makes people want

11:47

to then work with me or invest in

11:50

my programs and my programs and such.

11:52

So going back to where we

11:54

were, the normal life, I was an

11:56

architect, trigger moment,

11:58

I had gotten laid off. where I

12:00

am now as a result of that

12:02

trigger I was lost I didn't have

12:05

a job I didn't have any money

12:07

coming in and I really just

12:09

wanted to survive and then the

12:11

amplification of that the

12:14

tension point this amplifies and

12:16

shows the reader the listener

12:18

the viewer just how bad

12:20

things are and for me I found

12:22

that this thing that I could

12:24

then share that would highlight this

12:26

was I moved back in with

12:28

my parents life was moving backwards.

12:31

That's the tension point, the

12:33

amplification of the challenge. Now

12:35

I didn't, again, I didn't know

12:37

this framework. I had sort of

12:39

discovered this and learned it and

12:42

have adopted a lot of other

12:44

people's styles into my own, but

12:46

when I randomly was interviewed on

12:49

a podcast several years ago, I

12:51

remember mentioning that I had

12:53

moved back in with my parents

12:55

and I remember a visceral sort

12:57

of like... from the interviewer like

12:59

I heard an audible gasp and

13:01

that was my signal that oh my

13:03

gosh this actually like made an impact

13:06

when I said this again I was just

13:08

learning as I was going but when I

13:10

said you know I moved back in my parents

13:12

really oh my gosh what was that like

13:14

I leaned into that from that

13:16

point forward and it makes sense right

13:18

that is like the opposite direction of

13:21

where I wanted to go in normal

13:23

life normal life this thriving

13:25

career climbing the corporate ladder

13:27

And after getting laid off, moving

13:29

back in with my parents, that

13:31

was like not just climbing down

13:33

the ladder, that was like digging a

13:35

hole, right? So again, telling that story

13:37

in a way that leans into those

13:40

things. Next is then a discovery.

13:42

This is a moment of hope, a

13:44

glimpse of some other world that I

13:46

didn't know about before and for me.

13:48

The discovery was the world

13:50

of online business. And many of you

13:52

again have heard the story before. I

13:54

found a podcast called Internet Business Mastery

13:56

hosted by Sterling and Jay. I listened

13:58

to one particular episode. about a person

14:01

named Cornelius who was helping

14:03

people pass the PM exam,

14:05

the project management exam. And

14:07

that was my discovery in

14:10

that aha moment as some people might

14:12

call it, right? Now does that mean

14:14

I'm a success right after that? No,

14:16

you have to go from discovery

14:19

to self doubt in some way. So

14:21

again, when you're telling the story, you

14:23

see this glimpse of hope, but then

14:25

all of a sudden it gets pulled

14:27

away or like it's. thrown in the water

14:30

and you lose it again, right? You're so close,

14:32

but then you get pulled back to where you

14:34

are now feeling a lot of tension, right? So

14:36

for me, after discovering the world of online

14:38

business and getting excited about it, and

14:40

again, learning how to tell the story

14:42

about what that excitement is like, I

14:44

dreamt about making sales online, I had

14:46

that bug in my stomach that we

14:48

all feel when you're excited about something,

14:50

it's all I could think about, I

14:52

was reading, I was reading, I was

14:55

reading, to multiple podcast, and I built

14:57

my own website. But then the impostor

14:59

syndrome kept holding of me back. I

15:01

kept doubting whether or not I could

15:04

actually serve this audience of architects that

15:06

I wanted to serve with this exam website.

15:08

I didn't believe I was qualified.

15:10

In fact, I was finding proof that

15:12

I was not qualified to teach. I barely

15:15

passed. And I kept saying that to myself,

15:17

like, I'm a fraud. I can't teach this

15:19

stuff. I never went to business school.

15:21

I was looking for every excuse in

15:23

the book again. These things that

15:25

I'm saying now, I've learned

15:28

over time, are things that

15:30

can connect with an audience

15:33

because this self-doubt is relatable,

15:35

right? This is the most

15:37

important part, because the self-doubt,

15:40

the obstacles that are in

15:42

the way, or were in the

15:44

way for you, or whoever's

15:47

story that you're telling through.

15:49

So my self-doubt was

15:51

kicking in, for sure. And then

15:53

comes the transformation.

15:55

You get through something, you slay

15:58

a dragon metaphorically. And

16:00

something happens and Eureka, a

16:02

moment. And that moment for me was

16:04

when I launched my e-book and I

16:06

finally started to generate revenue. And

16:09

I've leaned into that moment,

16:11

right? You lean into it in

16:13

that transformational moment. What happened

16:16

exactly? Well, and again, in the

16:18

beginning, I was just like, yeah, I

16:20

launched the book and I started to

16:22

make money. Cool. But how impactful is to

16:24

tell a story in that way and

16:26

just get right to the end versus

16:29

describing. in detail what happened, how

16:31

you were feeling at the

16:33

time, and using relatable visuals,

16:35

even if you're just speaking

16:37

about this story, using relatable

16:39

visuals, right? Like when I

16:41

say that I got an

16:43

email, I opened my email

16:45

at 8 a.m. in the

16:47

morning, and I saw the email

16:49

subject line. You have just

16:51

got paid 18 dollars and 18

16:53

cents from PayPal. I opened the

16:55

email and I see the dollar

16:57

figure there. I couldn't believe it.

17:00

I log in. I forget my

17:02

password and as soon as I log

17:04

in, I see there is money there that

17:06

was not there the night before. I

17:08

did it. I couldn't believe it.

17:11

And then more sales started

17:13

pouring in and more and more

17:15

emails. You see what I'm talking about

17:18

here? There's pacing involved,

17:20

there's intonation, there's dynamics,

17:22

there's painting pictures and

17:24

visuals, and this is

17:26

all stuff that can only

17:28

come with practice. Practice, practice,

17:31

practice. And remember, I've gone

17:33

on hundreds of podcasts and

17:36

have told the story multiple

17:38

times. So I in a way know exactly

17:40

what words to say. Which parts

17:43

of this event can I pull

17:45

out and visualize for people? And...

17:47

Create that emotional connection because that's

17:49

what you want you want an

17:52

emotional response in some way shape or

17:54

form During the tension and the self-doubt

17:56

parts You want that tension to go. Oh

17:58

gosh. I feel that with because I felt

18:00

that too. And then when you get

18:03

into the transformation, you share what

18:05

life is now like after

18:07

slaying those metaphorical dragons or

18:09

getting over those obstacles and

18:12

self-doubt and giving people who

18:14

are now listening to this

18:16

story a beam of hope, something that

18:18

they can look forward to now.

18:20

And when you share this transformation in

18:22

this story, in this way, people want

18:24

to now go on the same journey

18:27

as you. And they'll use the same

18:29

tools. They'll want to learn from you.

18:31

They'll want to go to the same guide or

18:33

go through the same path. Now we're not quite

18:35

done yet. Because after the transformation,

18:37

you now have what I like to call

18:40

the ultimate test. Because it's one thing to

18:42

just have either a flash in the pan

18:44

or have a moment where, okay, cool,

18:46

I made a sale. But when you have a

18:48

test. that then defines that you are now

18:50

in a new place, a new world, that

18:52

there is a new normal coming, then that

18:55

kind of seals the deal. This is

18:57

like the climax of the story. The

18:59

climax of the story was not, in

19:02

fact, my first sale. It was the

19:04

fact that my boss called me back, and

19:06

this is a true story. My boss

19:08

called me back, I started making sales,

19:10

my boss who let me go, called

19:12

me back, and he said, Pat, I want

19:14

to offer you a job back. The

19:16

economy is coming back. I have an

19:19

office for you and I want

19:21

to pay one year's rent for

19:23

you and your fiance to come

19:25

to Irvine California and will set

19:27

you up so you can come

19:29

back and work for me. What do

19:31

you say? And I said no. I said

19:33

I now know, even though I've never

19:35

done this before, even though I

19:38

was doubtful, I now know that although

19:40

this offer is incredible,

19:42

that I am now an entrepreneur, I will

19:44

now be my own boss. And so I

19:46

got to tell my boss that I am now

19:48

a boss too. I didn't say that. I just

19:50

made that up. Again, the cool thing is

19:52

as you continue to tell the story, you

19:55

get comfortable with now being creative in the

19:57

ways that you tell it, right? I told the boss

19:59

that I was the boss. Who's the boss? I'm

20:01

the boss. I don't know. That's, see,

20:03

sometimes it doesn't come out well either. But

20:05

that's how you learn. You figure it out,

20:07

you find your style, and this is

20:09

the sort of sequence that you take

20:11

people through, right? Normal life, a

20:14

trigger moment, now a new place that

20:16

you're in that you've never been before,

20:18

the want, the desire, the urge to

20:20

want to get back or survive or

20:22

do something. Then a tension moment that

20:24

heightens that, that amplifies that, then a

20:26

discovery, an aha moment, but we're not

20:28

winning yet. There's self-doubt that creeps

20:31

and there's obstacles. There's

20:33

transformation that then happens, but then

20:35

an ultimate test, an ultimate call

20:37

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20:39

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21:02

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slash. smart passive. When I did this

22:02

workshop in the SPI community, somebody

22:04

had made a really smart comment

22:06

and they said, this mimics a

22:08

sales page, this mimics the journey

22:10

that you take an audience on.

22:12

When you meet them, you share

22:14

with them the things that you've

22:16

gone through that relate to them,

22:18

and you share the transformations that

22:20

they can go through, thanks to

22:22

your help, thanks to your product,

22:24

or whatever it might be. So

22:26

this sequence, yes, is the hero's

22:28

journey, but in a content creator

22:30

sort of style, right, pulling out

22:32

that trigger, what was that moment

22:34

like, pulling out the tension for

22:37

me again, remember, the moving back

22:39

in with my parents, that just

22:41

like plus one, how bad things

22:43

were going for me, the self-doubt,

22:45

the obstacles, you call those things

22:47

out, right? In your sales pages,

22:49

you should know what those obstacles

22:51

are, and then you rebuttal them,

22:53

you refute them, you have counters

22:55

to each of them. and

22:57

the transformation, the ultimate test, and boom.

22:59

We've got a new life now. And

23:02

we've taken this framework and put it

23:04

into the Pokemon space. If you've seen

23:06

any of my videos, the long form

23:09

videos on Deep Pocket Monster, you will

23:11

see, and if you follow along now,

23:13

this is what I love about this.

23:15

When you learn these frameworks, it's like,

23:18

you see a new shade of light.

23:20

And the reason why I say it

23:22

like that is I remember when I

23:24

went to architecture school, I remember sitting

23:27

in drawing class and people were drawing

23:29

things and the teacher told us like,

23:31

it's not what you draw, it's how

23:34

you place what you draw that makes

23:36

it come to life. And so he

23:38

would draw the shadows of the figures

23:40

that we drew. And in real time

23:43

we would see these things just like

23:45

pop out of the page because of

23:47

the shadows underneath. and the way the

23:49

light bounced off of these things. So

23:52

forever from that point forward, when I

23:54

look at something, like I'm looking around

23:56

my room right now, I'm seeing my

23:59

door, but not just the door, the

24:01

shaft. that the door frame makes that

24:03

outline it on one side because the

24:05

lights coming from the other side and

24:08

how the light gradients across it. And

24:10

so I'd be able to now recreate

24:12

this in a more drawing kind of

24:14

way. It's the same thing when you

24:17

learn how to tell story. When you

24:19

watch movies now, when you read books,

24:21

when you see TED Talks, when you

24:24

watch a Pokemon YouTube video from Deep

24:26

Pocket Monster, you will see these stories

24:28

come into play. How? Well. I'll give

24:30

you an example. We had a video

24:33

series called Collect Every Gangar Ever. Gangar

24:35

is a poison slash ghost type Pokemon

24:37

and it's really popular so we decided

24:40

okay we're gonna find all of them

24:42

and there are like 70 to 80

24:44

of them in English. The Japanese collection

24:46

challenges this year actually 2025. The 2024

24:49

one was just English only. And our

24:51

first video came out and it was

24:53

34 minutes long. And after four months,

24:55

it had 4.4 million views. Two months

24:58

later, we came out with the second

25:00

part where we finished it off, and

25:02

that was a one hour and 13-minute

25:05

video, which now has 4.5 million views.

25:07

They've accounted for over 70,000 subscribers total,

25:09

just from one arc, one series, one

25:11

story that we're telling. Now on the

25:14

surface, it might seem like, okay, well,

25:16

it's just a dude collecting Pokemon cards,

25:18

but no, it goes way deeper than

25:20

that. And I'll tell you why. Because

25:23

let's go through the framework again in

25:25

the world of Pokemon and collecting every

25:27

Gangar ever. And again, we put this

25:30

in this framework to make it sticky,

25:32

to make it relatable, and to bring

25:34

something more than just like, oh, a

25:36

dude's collecting Pokemon cards. How do we

25:39

make this relatable to anybody whether they

25:41

collect Pokemon or not? So here is

25:43

the normal life in this video series,

25:45

this two video series of collecting every

25:48

Gangar ever. The normal life was I

25:50

have a perfectly organized complete Pokemon collection.

25:52

So in the videos if you you'll

25:55

see that there are close-ups of my

25:57

shelves that have my binders perfectly aligned.

25:59

I get all the same binders for

26:01

all my complete collections. I have perfectly

26:04

dusted frames of cards. I have my

26:06

neatly organized sealed collection. Everything is perfect.

26:08

Everything is filled. And that's how we

26:11

set it up in the beginning. But

26:13

now there's a trigger. I purchase a

26:15

collection. And there is a gangar collection

26:17

that's incomplete. Now I have this collection

26:20

that I purchased with this awesome gangar

26:22

collection that is 20% finished. And it's

26:24

just like bothering me. It's like a

26:26

thorn in my side. To enhance that

26:29

in the visuals, it was placed in

26:31

the binder that it was purchased in,

26:33

which is kind of old, dilapidated, ugly,

26:36

peeling. If you open this binder, it's

26:38

like the pages are kind of like

26:40

orangey because it's like 20 years old.

26:42

and there are the gangards there, but

26:45

there's so many cards missing from this

26:47

collection that it just irks me. I

26:49

speak to a little bit of perfectionism

26:51

in here, something that we can all

26:54

relate to, things being complete, things being

26:56

perfect, right? Then the challenge, the watch,

26:58

of course, is this whole in my

27:01

collection that I now need to fill.

27:03

I must catch them all, and that's

27:05

the Pokemon phrase, gotta catch them all,

27:07

right? And now there's tension, because as

27:10

I go to try to try to

27:12

try to complete this collection, keeps growing

27:14

because I keep discovering that there's more

27:16

and this little board that I created

27:19

to organize them all neatly in a

27:21

perfect grid. I have to add more

27:23

slots which then remove the symmetry and

27:26

just make it all messy and I

27:28

have to battle internally with that. Yes,

27:30

these things are in fact a part

27:32

of the story, but it's done through

27:35

the actions that I take, the voiceovers

27:37

that I include. I'm not like telling

27:39

people during the story. Okay, now I'm

27:41

in the tension part. No, we show

27:44

it. We demonstrate it. and then I

27:46

have a discovery. The discovery being that

27:48

in order to progress, I have to

27:51

get a little messy. There is... literally

27:53

no way for me to finish a

27:55

perfect collection unless I get a little

27:57

messy. And then there's self-doubt. There's a

28:00

struggle with perfectionism. Me continuing to go

28:02

back to try to rearrange my binder

28:04

and to rearrange this board that I'm

28:07

using to organize and it's just taking

28:09

so much time and I'm saying so

28:11

much time and I'm saying no to

28:13

certain people just because their cards aren't

28:16

perfect and it's really me. There's a

28:18

point in a moment. where I start

28:20

to let go of the idea of

28:22

things having to be perfect. And I

28:25

start to embrace the fact that, yeah,

28:27

trying to be perfect was in fact

28:29

holding me back from collecting all these

28:32

amazing cards to help me get forward

28:34

in my collection goal. And then the

28:36

ultimate test was at the end when

28:38

I had all the cards. I had

28:41

this perfect binder sort of sitting since

28:43

the beginning that was ready to fit

28:45

into a slot in my binder shelf.

28:47

It was a purple binder. Pokemon is

28:50

purple. I had this binder ready for

28:52

it and at the very end when

28:54

I collected all of them, spoil alert,

28:57

I decided that you know what, I'm

28:59

not gonna put them perfectly into my

29:01

binder. I have this messy little board

29:03

that I collected them on with stickers

29:06

and other things that people included over

29:08

time in messy handwriting and stuff and

29:10

you know what, I'm gonna put that

29:12

in a frame instead. And I framed

29:15

it. I have a frame, it's like

29:17

a 48 by 30 board that is

29:19

now framed, messy, to in fact. the

29:22

imperfection and to celebrate the imbalance and

29:24

everything to celebrate how messy the journey

29:26

was but also remember all those moments

29:28

that happened to get to the point

29:31

of completion and how joyful that was

29:33

despite it not going the way that

29:35

I thought it was going to right

29:38

I've learned that it doesn't have to

29:40

be in perfect order for me to

29:42

be fulfilled and that is a new

29:44

life for me and so as you

29:47

can see we're getting deep in this

29:49

story but then you get comments like

29:51

this I'm gonna read a few of

29:53

them for you Why am I watching

29:56

this? I don't even play Pokemon or

29:58

collect like anything, L-O-L. This is a

30:00

comment on that series. Another comment, I

30:03

don't... I don't even collect Pokemon cards,

30:05

but this is so entertaining. I watched

30:07

the full one hour of it. And

30:09

here's one more I'll read for you.

30:12

This story about Hunting for Gangars had

30:14

me hooked from the very beginning, and

30:16

I don't even know much about Pokemon

30:18

cards. I really enjoyed how each trade,

30:21

success, and failures were portrayed. The searches

30:23

on eBay and the marketplace added so

30:25

much to the journey. I didn't realize

30:28

how much I enjoyed challenges of completing

30:30

collections until I watched these videos. Millions

30:32

of people have seen this story. Many,

30:34

and I would probably guess most of

30:37

them, don't really care for Gangar or

30:39

Pokemon even, yet we're glued to the

30:41

screen. This is why we have a

30:43

45-minute watch time, why we've generated tens

30:46

of thousands of dollars from this particular

30:48

series alone in ad revenue and have

30:50

collected many, many more new subscribers. It's

30:53

pretty incredible. Now to finish

30:55

up here, I want to tell you

30:57

about four types of stories that you

30:59

can think about right I want you

31:01

to really focus on your origin story

31:04

That's what I hope that you'll focus

31:06

on but I wanted to share some

31:08

other kinds of stories with you that

31:10

you can draw out and some sort

31:12

of quick tips about them Because there's

31:15

millions of stories you can tell but

31:17

as a creator in a creator trying

31:19

to connect with an audience and engage

31:21

with an audience I want to share

31:23

with you four types of stories and

31:26

I've already told you the first one

31:28

and I've In fact, they're exactly the

31:30

same. But the way that you approach

31:32

them and like how you tell the

31:34

parts of the story differ depending on

31:37

the type of story. So story number

31:39

one is the origin story. You have

31:41

to nail that. And if you do

31:43

believe that you don't have a great

31:45

transformational moment to tell these stories, like

31:48

I would actually argue against you for

31:50

that. Because the truth is we all

31:52

have stories. And it might be as

31:54

simple as just a little challenge during

31:56

the day while you were in traffic.

31:59

That could be a story. It doesn't

32:01

have to be something traumatic or dramatic.

32:03

However, you might have to go back

32:05

into your past to find something that

32:07

is relatable and useful for you and

32:10

your purpose of... showing up online. So,

32:12

origin stories, next let's talk about your

32:14

obstacle stories. So an obstacle story demonstrates

32:16

your resilience, right? This is the purpose

32:18

of this, your problem solving abilities while

32:21

creating trust through being vulnerable really, like

32:23

an obstacle that you've gone through, you're

32:25

sharing the insights and your emotions and

32:27

your thoughts behind it, which again, connect

32:29

with your audience, and it shows them

32:32

that you understand their challenges because you've

32:34

overcome similar ones yourself. So here's some

32:36

questions to guide you through the obstacle

32:38

stories. Number one, what is the biggest

32:40

challenge you've overcome professionally? Think about that.

32:43

What's the biggest challenge you've overcome professionally?

32:45

When did you face a seemingly impossible

32:47

situation and prevail? Again, it could be

32:49

a work thing, it could be an

32:51

at-home thing. These are just all things

32:54

to help you get ideas and start

32:56

writing things down for stories that you

32:58

can draw and go deeper with later.

33:00

What mistake taught you the most valuable

33:02

lesson? Oftentimes, our obstacles are our own

33:05

fault, which can be great to share

33:07

because we can show, hey, we're not

33:09

perfect, but we're able to figure our

33:11

way out of things. And when did

33:13

you have to pivot or change direction

33:16

dramatically? We've got obstacle stories, the things

33:18

that are in the way. and how

33:20

things once were before, the obstacle that

33:22

is now in its place. And again,

33:24

a lot of these things will overlap

33:27

with each other, right? Like my obstacle

33:29

of getting laid off. That is an

33:31

obstacle, but that also happens to be

33:33

my origin story. But there are obstacles

33:35

that I've overcome and have faced, like

33:38

my $15,000 software, horror story where I

33:40

tried to complete a software and it

33:42

didn't work out. That's an obstacle, and

33:44

I learned a lot from that. The

33:46

bigger lesson coming out of that. I

33:49

lost. And that is always rung true

33:51

with every project I've worked on if

33:53

it was just for the money alone.

33:55

And that's the primary reason for doing

33:57

something. It's always been something that hasn't

34:00

worked out. An obstacle story for me

34:02

getting on stage. frightened to death to

34:04

get on stage, but sharing that moment

34:06

at FinCon in Schaumburg, Illinois in 2011.

34:08

Fourteen years ago, my first talk on

34:11

stage, and now 300 some odd stages

34:13

later, I believe I'm a pretty good

34:15

world-class speaker. I've been paid mid-five figures

34:17

to speak and have gotten really good

34:19

results and good reviews, so I will

34:21

say that to be true. Next, vision

34:24

stories. are ones that inspire action by

34:26

planting a seed or a picture of

34:28

a better future, right? Inviting your audience

34:30

to join you on a journey of

34:32

dreaming, of possibility, of rather than just

34:35

simply like consuming your product, like what

34:37

does the future look like and then

34:39

how does your product, your story, your

34:41

blog, your podcast, your videos, how does

34:43

that fit into this bigger vision that

34:46

you have? So what future are you

34:48

working to create? The more you can

34:50

let people in on where you want

34:52

to go, the more likely people who

34:54

are all about that will want to

34:57

come along for the ride. What transformation

34:59

do you hope to bring to your

35:01

industry? How do you want things to

35:03

change? It is authoritative to say, hey,

35:05

things aren't the way they should be.

35:08

They should be like this, and this

35:10

is what we're working toward. What problem

35:12

are you uniquely positioned to solve? What

35:14

unique advantages do you have? Your unfair

35:16

advantage that you can bring into this

35:19

space and how this relates to the

35:21

vision that you are bringing people along

35:23

for the ride for? And how has

35:25

your vision evolved over time? And finally,

35:27

insight stories. So we had your origin

35:30

story, obstacle story, vision story, and now

35:32

insight stories. Insight stories. Transform your lessons

35:34

that you've learned into universal wisdom that

35:36

offers immediate value to your audience, right?

35:38

Positioning you as a guide rather than

35:41

just a success story. So this is

35:43

where you can step forward and say,

35:45

hey, this is what I've learned and

35:47

how I now see the world. I've

35:49

created my own version of a hero's

35:52

journey and added my own spin into

35:54

it for entrepreneurs, for creators. That's sharing

35:56

some insights. some lessons learned, curating all

35:58

the noise that's out there. And trust

36:00

me, there's so much noise. That is

36:03

of value to people, to curate all

36:05

the noise out there and say, hey,

36:07

this is how you can look at

36:09

this. This is a framework for you.

36:11

This is a structure on how you

36:14

can approach this thing. So here's some

36:16

questions to help you. What's a counterintuitive

36:18

lesson you've learned? And that's a great

36:20

one because it directly relates to my

36:22

book, coming out in June, lean learning.

36:25

But the truth is, you need to

36:27

learn less. That's why the subtitle is

36:29

How to Achieve More by Learning Less.

36:31

Pretty cool, right? It immediately positions me

36:33

as somebody who has something to say,

36:36

right? Not just like regurgitating what everybody

36:38

else is saying, but something counterintuitive that

36:40

I've learned over time that's helped me

36:42

get to where I'm at today. When

36:44

did you have an aha moment that

36:47

changed your perspective? that others might not

36:49

understand. So a lot of you have

36:51

heard me say, serve first, or your

36:53

earnings, or byproduct of how well you

36:55

serve your audience. These are all phrases

36:58

and quotes that I've created myself. I

37:00

remember sitting down and saying, here are

37:02

my values, okay, I can write paragraphs

37:04

about my values and what I believe

37:06

in, but how can I paraphrase this?

37:09

How can I turn it into something

37:11

memorable? How can I say what I

37:13

want to say in just a moment?

37:15

Instead of a few pages I didn't

37:17

have chat gPT back then, but you

37:20

could use chat gPT for something like

37:22

that I like to say all kinds

37:24

of things like you got to be

37:26

cringe before they binge That is a

37:28

response to people who are just afraid

37:31

to get up there and post their

37:33

videos or post their podcast episodes, and

37:35

I again that just was something I

37:37

sat down. I was like, I need

37:39

something clever for me to share these

37:42

values that I believe in as a

37:44

creator. And that is, you've got to

37:46

be, as John Lee Dumas says, a

37:48

disaster before you become the master. That's

37:50

his. I don't even know if that's

37:53

his. He's the one. shared it with

37:55

me, so I created my own and

37:57

in my own style and something I

37:59

have lived through and believe in. You

38:01

got to be cringe before they binge,

38:04

right? And so that's a phrase, but

38:06

diving into the story I could tell

38:08

of course a story about how cringe

38:10

my first pieces of content were and

38:12

if you've been on any of my

38:15

podcast webinars, you know this because I've

38:17

played my first episode for you. And

38:19

that is absolutely cringe. But then I've

38:21

shared some insight as a result of

38:23

that. Remember, transformation. Here was life before.

38:26

It was sucky. I was bad at

38:28

this and look at where we are

38:30

now. So that's how I transition into

38:32

the new world now, which is 80

38:34

plus million downloads, several podcast episodes, world-class

38:37

interviewer, etc. The last thing I want

38:39

to share with you is the idea

38:41

of building a story bank. And that

38:43

is I want you to start a

38:45

collection of stories that you may or

38:48

may not use. However you choose to

38:50

organize that, whether it's just your notepad

38:52

on your iPhone or Android, or maybe

38:54

it's a literal notepad that you keep

38:56

in your pocket, whatever. Things that happen

38:59

every day can be turned into a

39:01

story that you could share in any

39:03

way. And that rhymes. But whether it's

39:05

a 60-second short or real or tick-talk.

39:07

or a two hour long podcast episode

39:10

about an event that happened, or a

39:12

realization that you've had, whether it's an

39:14

origin story, a obstacle story, a vision

39:16

story, or an insight story. These are

39:18

things that, they're happening every day. And

39:21

like a dream, you have to write

39:23

them down, or else you're just gonna

39:25

forget them. So write these things down,

39:27

and whatever system you use to organize

39:29

that, do it. I learn that from

39:32

Ramit Seti. I've learned this from and

39:34

seen it in action from Stu McLaren.

39:36

I've also seen Ali Abdal do the

39:38

same thing and I do the same

39:40

thing too. So all that to say,

39:43

please story, learn it, live it, get

39:45

better at it, practice it. And if

39:47

there's one call to action, it's think

39:49

about your origin story today and start

39:51

to refine that. And the next time

39:54

you have a chance, record yourself or

39:56

record a video or go on a

39:58

podcast and tell that story and do

40:00

it in that framework. And I promise

40:02

you, and do it in that framework.

40:05

And I promise you, you're going to

40:07

make a bigger impact as a result

40:09

of that. Thank you so much for

40:11

listening and I appreciate you all the

40:13

best. If you're listening to this right

40:16

now, I know something about you. You

40:18

have a dream. A dream to start

40:20

a business, to make an impact, and

40:22

to finally take control of your future.

40:24

Maybe you felt stuck in your 9-5,

40:27

wondering if there's more to life than

40:29

clocking in and out. Or maybe you've

40:31

been blindsided, like I was years ago,

40:33

by losing a job and needing to

40:35

create something new from scratch. Or maybe

40:38

deep down, you just know it's time

40:40

to bet on yourself. You've got the

40:42

knowledge, you've got the passion, you've got

40:44

the passion, but turning that turning that,

40:46

you've got the passion. Maybe your mind

40:49

is spinning with ideas or maybe you

40:51

don't even know where to begin. Either

40:53

way, let me tell you something. You

40:55

don't have to do this alone. That's

40:57

why I created Smart from scratch. It's

41:00

more than just a course, it's a

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proven roadmap designed to take you from

41:04

what if to, to, wow, this is

41:06

actually the first course that I've completely

41:08

refreshed it. The whole purpose is to

41:11

help you take the millions of ideas

41:13

you have and narrow them down to

41:15

one. Or if you're feeling lost, it

41:17

will help you get started and find

41:19

an idea that works. That's what this

41:22

process is about. It will walk you

41:24

through step by step exactly how to

41:26

validate an idea. It's going to challenge

41:28

you. It'll push you to do things

41:30

you wouldn't normally do. And that's why

41:33

you haven't succeeded yet. No one has

41:35

told you exactly what you need to

41:37

do. Through this process, I promise you.

41:39

You'll gain a clear understanding of what

41:41

works, and what doesn't. And once you

41:44

understand what works, you'll gain confidence, and

41:46

that is exactly what you need. The

41:48

best part? This course used to cost

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41:55

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42:12

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42:14

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