Stories Mean Business - Nick Warren

In 2015, Johan Berger wrote a piece in the New York Times about phrases that were more likely to last and spread through time. 

What do these have in common?

Has it suddenly dawned on you what's happening here?

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/896:-This-Podcast-Stinks

A client of mine has been advised to share more personal content online, but that's an issue because so much personal content seems fake or shallow.

How do we do this right?

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/895:-Getting-Personal

Sometime in my childhood, I watched a movie that burned a particular image into my brain. The image is this – an old man taking out a gun and shooting his elderly wife in the head.

It was a pure storytelling moment, because it required my young brain to put myself into the old man's head, fast forward into his future, and understand why he killed his wife.

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/893:-A-Pure-Storytelling-Moment

Having finally put my Relationship Build Series live (Sprint 7),  this week I'll be creating the link between the podcast and the website.

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/892:-Sprint-8-is-Audio-Ad-Design

It's about 2.30pm on a Friday afternoon as I record this, and I'm done.

Looking back at the calendar, it's been over a month since I last had a complete day off ... and the last three weeks in particular have been really really busy.

I'm not complaining – I love my work – but occasionally you get a signal that it's time to rest.

I've had that signal this afternoon, so I'm downing tools without guilt.

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/891:-A-Bit-Blowy

Sometime in around 2004, my eyes got opened.

By then, I’d had my own business for almost 8 years … or at least, that’s what other people thought.

In reality though, I owned a job, and the jobs of a couple of other people.

It wasn’t what I think of as a business., because if I didn’t go to work at 7am each day, the business would fail.

Not immediately, but soon.

Then I read the Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki. His Rich Dad Poor Dad series has been criticised as bad advice wrapped in story – well I guess we could dig into that sometime – but Cashflow Quadrant had a huge impact on me.

It sowed the seeds that sprouted slowly – over the next 7 or 8 years – that would lead me to a state where I owned a real business… one that worked better and better without me.

There’s nothing wrong with owning a job that you love – that’s what I have right now – but I’m also thinking about the future and how I can again build something that scales without me.

In the end, that’s what gives you options, flexibility and freedom. And if you’re anything like me, they are prizes worth having.

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/890:-The-Critical-Distinction

When Toy Story hit the UK in 1996, I went to see it with a bunch of friends from work. 

One of them was an animator.

By the time we left the theatre, he was barely able to speak.

In just 81 minutes, the skill he'd built his career around had been both validated and brutally challenged. The movie had shown him - and everyone else - just how far he had to go.

I feel like that with when it comes to storytelling.

Every time I have a handle on it, some new insight opens up dark continents of ignorance.

And that's good.

When you find the work of your life, you have two choices. You can become a local expert - relying on the fact that you know more than those around you.

Or you can go deep, exposing your 'expertise' to doubt and the relentless effort of getting better at your craft.

Both strategies can work, but it’s best to make your choice with your eyes wide open.

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/889:-Two-Strategies

Customer support isn't the bottom of the barrel it's the early warning system.

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/888:-The-Sharp-End

A special thought recorded on Valentine's day.

Episode home:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/886:-Love-Matters