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Are you a salesperson? An executive leader? Maybe a coach or a trainer? Do you want to connect with others more effectively? Author and trainer Mark Carpenter joins Greg Stephens on this episode to explore why storytelling can transform how you relate to others and build connections you didn’t know were possible. 

We’re often distracted by the barriers to telling great stories, whether it's rambling too much and losing our audience, not having interesting experiences to share, or focusing too much on data that we forget to tell a story at all. Don’t become discouraged, but follow specific guidelines that Mark and Greg lay out for becoming a master storyteller.     

Key Takeaways

• Intentional storytelling is key to connecting with others, whether professionally or in our personal relationships.
• Great stories aren’t always grand or exotic. Sometimes they’re simple experiences when we learn a valuable lesson.
• Sharing personal stories can make us feel vulnerable, which is scary, but it’s often that vulnerability that touches other people.  

Resources

Master Storytelling by Mark Carpenter

Alignment Resources website

Mark's LinkedIn

About 

Mark Carpenter is a certified master trainer at Mindset Strategic Leadership and Crucial Learning, and author of the book Master Storytelling. He is a coach and consultant with decades of experience, helping individuals and teams achieve their full potential. His background also includes adjunct professor at Brigham Young University and public relations/marketing. 

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It all started with Dan Morman and Greg Stephens’ golfing adventures. People would frequently tell them, “you guys need to record this stuff or write it down or something.” That’s when they decided that they needed to get these inspirational conversations and stories out to you. 

This is Dan’s first appearance on the show and he will hopefully be joining us more often as a host to interview some of the people he knows and their amazing stories. This episode is intended as an introduction to Dan. He comes from a large Catholic family and this has fueled his life of bringing pertinent, wholesome principles into others' lives and businesses through coaching, training, and education.

Do not miss Dan’s story! It’s full of laughs and great relationships. There may even be an incident with learning the wrong way to burn an old Christmas tree.

Resources
Praxis Leadership Development

Alignment Resources

A Shot of Inspiration

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Personal friend and life-long musician, Darden Smith, joins Greg Stephens on this episode of A Shot Of Inspiration. Their relationship began through many unplanned airport run-ins turned conversational. Which has flown into a friendship of mutual respect and admiration. Darden and Greg both have an uncanny, natural ability to connect with others quickly. Learn how they do it through asking simple questions and being genuinely curious about those they interact with.

50 years of being a musician has led Darden to leave his legacy by helping others write their stories through song. He lives his life in a manner that he can have high-impact moments with strangers every single day. Making it a habit to do things for other people knowing that you will never know the impact it will have on them, but doing it anyways.

Darden shares a story of his 90-year-old father that STILL works at a deli in Houston, who had an impact on 2 people just by living his life in a way that he could have those high-impact moments. 

Much of his adult life has been spent directing and guiding others to create those high-impact moments. With a big smile on his face, he skillfully does so through the long-lasting impact of song.

Resources

Swan Songs, Musical Last Wishes

Alignment Resources

A Shot of Inspiration

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Bailey continues her story about her battle with Alopecia and finding worth in herself despite her lack of hair as a woman. She explains to host Greg Mohr the emotions associated with a disease that insurance won’t pay to help despite her 80% hair loss, leaving her to make difficult financial decisions as an adult. 

Bailey also shares a story outlining the dating scene for someone with Alopecia–one experience in particular that “validated” her thoughts on staying away from boys. You may be surprised by her outlook, however: her self esteem and worth as a human is not defined by one aspect of her life. Avoiding pain is also avoiding growth. 

Get inspired by her journey and, above all, gain her advice to those who may be struggling with their own physical or mental battle and are just looking for a little bit of hope in part two of this Shot of Inspiration.

3 Key Takeaways

• Find your voice by associating your worth with the qualities you offer the world.
• Be grateful first. If you’ve experienced trauma, this provides hope that it can end.
• Look up to people instead of devaluing and envying them. Use them as inspiration.

About Bailey Blaies

A personal friend of Greg’s, Bailey is a lawyer in Dallas, Texas for patent litigation at Caldwell Cassady & Curry. Her dream to be a lawyer originated from her father and uncle’s long-term history in law. She went to Pepperdine Lawschool and is licensed in Texas and California. 

Bailey has battled alopecia most of her life. Yet, even when she was in high school and things seemed to shut down, she took on life with zest and hasn’t let her disease stop her from traveling and living her life to its fullest since.

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Bailey Blaies is living her dream life: she’s a lawyer with her dad, she has an adorable boyfriend, and she’s managing adulthood with a smile. 

But under the surface, Bailey’s battles with her self-esteem were bigger than most saw. Join her and host Greg Stephens to talk about her long-term battle with Alopecia where she endured middle school just as all her hair was falling out and later avoided the dating scene because of it. 

Despite all of the difficulty surrounding her diagnosis, Bailey counts herself grateful today for her experiences. Today, she shares what she’s learned about being cognizant of the types of people she surrounds herself with, from her 6th grade friend posse to her college community, ultimately concluding that “It’s just hair!”

3 Key Takeaways

• Whatever it is you struggle with, prematurely rejecting yourself out of fear will never foster a clear perception of your self worth. 
• Avoiding your pain also means avoiding your growth. There’s always something beautiful on the other side. 
• Surround yourself with the kind of people who will understand your struggles and uplift you. This may take a little selection. 

About Bailey Blaies

A personal friend of Greg’s, Bailey is a lawyer in Dallas, Texas for patent litigation at Caldwell Cassady & Curry. Her dream to be a lawyer originated from her father and uncle’s long-term history in law. She went to Pepperdine Lawschool and is licensed in Texas and California. 

Bailey has battled alopecia most of her life. Yet, even when she was in high school and things seemed to shut down, she took on life with zest and hasn’t let her disease stop her from traveling and living her life to its fullest since. 

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Enjoy this special Mother’s Day-themed episode on A Shot of Inspiration with the woman that changed host Greg Stephens’ life the most: his mother, Silvia Stephens. Take a look into her life as the preacher’s unconventional wife, doing her best to be a mom though she wasn’t around children growing up. 

Despite this, Greg tells you how his mom acted as resident seamstress, gardener, woodworker, plumber, granite worker, upholsterer, and more, many of these skills self taught from television programs until she was master, particularly of the three piece mens suit. 

In her 80s today, she shares her biggest insights about being a mother with adult children. Hear how this amazing woman used some of her most disappointing life experiences as a kid to become a better mother because of it. This wife, working nurse, and full time mom has many inspiring and unique experiences to share, including her conviction to “Never underestimate the power of Epson salts."

3 Key Takeaways

• The advice Greg remembers from his mom: your parents have raised you the best they could, so now it’s your job to make your own decisions. You can ask for advice, but the end choice is ultimately yours. 
• Sylvia was a woman who didn’t understand children, but she had kids and maintained love with them as babies. 
• Spend time teaching your children to be trustworthy. You do this by spending time with them and leading by example. 

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Get your Kleenexes ready, because when today’s topic is shared between guest Jeff Hunter and host Greg Stephens, they both shed tears. But rest assured, this episode on a Shot of Inspiration is one filled with miracles and hope. 

On 9/7/97, a regular sunny day in the garden, Jeff and his wife found their day taking a turn for the absolute worst when their 16-month-old son went missing by a two-acre pond. Tune in to hear how the following events unfolded to show the hand of God, from the instrumental role of an eight-year-old neighbor kid to a couple of puppies playing in the yard to a full congregation of people halting their worship services to offer a prayer and quite literally usher in a miracle. 

Now, despite the fact that the odds were stacked against his son that day including bacterial water, a seven to 10-minute timeline, and a location inconveniently out in the country, Jeff’s son is doing better than ever today. Gain hope with their belief that “There’s something out there that helps us along the way.” 

3 Key Takeaways

• Pay attention to the little events. Jeff has found God’s hand in a number of little miracles that lead up to one big one. 
• Don’t be surprised when good people rally together for your benefit in unexpected ways. 
• People are put in your path for a reason; let them assist you with gratitude. 

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Diana’s quest to help her daughter keep hope through her muscular dystrophy continues in part two on A Shot of Inspiration. She and host Greg Stephens resume their conversation about handling the early dark days for Diana following Sophia’s diagnosis by surrounding herself with only positivity, from watching Oprah to reading empowerment books.  

Consider with them what resigning actually means and understand that there’s a difference between surrendering and resigning. Diana relates her firsthand experience that once you allow yourself to surrender, God is in the details (For her, his presence came down to a recurrence of her daughter’s name in the people offering help). 

Discover the power of hope and the immeasurable effect of pursuing answers–despite others’ conviction to give up. As she and her husband decided to invest endless amounts of time, money, and sacrifice to get Sophia to Mexico for stem cell research and then on to Ukraine, Sophia’s life transformed from falling 30 times a day to walking 4 miles with her friends. 

The truth is: It takes a lot of sweat and tears to create miracles, but the impossible is absolutely possible. Find the faith you need to continue through the rest of Diana’s incredible family story.

3 Key Takeaways

• There’s a difference between surrendering and resigning; get yourself to a point where you can be okay with resigning. 
• Look inward for answers. This will likely require you to put yourself in the right frame of mind and vibration through trial and error. 
• Those things that you think are impossible are absolutely possible; Diana worked to change a “death sentence disease” into a sustainable lifestyle for her daughter and succeeded. 

Resources

Books by Joel Osteen

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“Your daughter can’t sit criss-cross like the other kids. What is wrong with her?”

Guest Diana Jones explains the despair behind this teacher’s harsh words and the complications surrounding her quest to find answers for her baby girl’s physical impediments. She began thinking that nothing was wrong, to hear their daughter just needed motivation, to hear “It’s just her tight heel cords.” When Diana finally got a real answer, she was devastated. 

After facing years of infertility and then visiting doctor after doctor, hearing 

her daughter had muscular dystrophy and would likely perish early was more than she could bear. “We had gone through so much just to get her here that we wouldn’t allow the thought that something could be wrong.”

Today on A Shot of Inspiration, Diana takes us along with host Greg Stephens on the first part of her inspiring journey to help her daughter and somehow save herself from darkness at the same time–all the while refusing to follow the notion to “Don’t try because there’s nothing you can do to help.” 

3 Key Takeaways

• Don’t discredit the power behind your gut feeling. Diana’s gut feeling was that something was wrong with her daughter, despite diagnoses, and she was right. 
• The best way to help someone in deep despair or grief is less complicated than you think; be willing to weep with them. 
• You don’t have to listen to the voices that tell you not to try because there’s nothing you can do. Trying held a greater power for Diana than was expected. 

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The discussion with Michael Ramos continues as he picks up the story of his incredible journey as a musician in episode two of A Shot of Inspiration. Hear how, despite the fact that he had never wanted to be a band manager, Michael is now managing director of an entire label. 

Join his and host Greg Stephens’ discussion on the hidden difficulties of “going on the road,” separated from family while watching others gather to hear his music, and how this supports Greg’s belief that artistry means loving deeply (and sometimes, painfully). Despite this, Michael shares his conviction for staying in the game and dealing with the moments where he wanted to turn back and quit it all.

Additionally, Michael talks about the musician that has inspired and uplifted him throughout his career, his semi-expensive but always fruitful trick for writer’s block, and his plans for the future in composition and recording, to retirement and beyond. 

3 Key Takeaways

• Success will come to you if you just keep doing what you love. Pursue your passion. 
• Understand and allow yourself to acknowledge that some of your success came from working harder than most people, even if there was luck involved. 
• You may be tempted to quit and turn back from the journey of your passion, but you will be infinitely happier if you wait it out. Usually, it’s the SITUATION, not the career choice, that motivates you.