Stories Mean Business - Nick Warren

Psychologists talk about two types of consciousness – spotlight and lantern.

I have a different chair for each.

Can you get what they are for? Check out the podcast to find out.

Show homepage at:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/705-Spotlights-and-lanterns

We can learn a lot from biology, not least the brutal reality of competition.

In nature, when two species compete for the same resources, one of them will either be driven extinct or be forced to adapt.

In other words, niching works well, as long as you have no direct competitors.

Ants, like humans, have proven to be flexible, adaptable and agile. They're everywhere except Antarctica, and are estimated to comprise up to 25% of the planets animal biomass.

There are over 20,000 species, and about 1,000,000 ants per human.

The insight: When you use story (rather than skills) to niche your business, you stay flexible.

Show notes at:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/704-Niche-like-an-Ant

See also:

I've talked a lot about the two stories that matter – the one the prospect tells about their life (if they buy what you are selling) ... and the one they tell themselves about you, and your ability to deliver on your promises.

Until now, these have been two overlapping circles in my head.

But this week, I got clearer about the relationship.

In his Storybrand structure, Donald Miller makes it clear that businesses should position themselves in the mentor role of the client story ... which makes sense ... essentially if we see the mentor as encompassing other methods or mechanisms that aid the Hero's Journey towards the 'treasure'.

In the end, this is the intention of every successful business ... they sell a product or service that eases the customer's journey to their goal.

So the way the stories fit together for founders is pretty simple.

The treasure we won in our story (insight, invention etc) becomes the mentor, method, mechanism for theirs.

Thus, our story sits above, and slightly back from their story, with a link that drops down from our treasure to their mentor stage.

As an idea, this is simple and powerful.

Show notes at:

Homeostasis is one of the key concepts in biology – the idea that organisms and ecosystems work to stay in balance.

(This is VERY similar to [[Robert Fritz]]'s idea that Tension Seeks Resolution.)

We're no different. When your body temperature drops, your Hypothalamus sends the muscles an instruction to shiver. That's homeostasis in action.

And it isn't just the unconscious, biological stuff. Despite our constant desire for change it's striking how little change there actually is. At least, not the big stuff.

I've said before that there's a lot of wisdom buried in The Hero's Journey. To grow and be rewarded we need to move out of the ordinary world (homeostasis), however much we might want to stay safe.

We need to strain against the narrowing circle of our comfort zone. That it will narrow to a single place, a single moment and a single breath is inevitable – but when that happens, is not.

Show notes at:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/702-Homeostasis-and-the-Ordinary-World

See also:

https://storiesmeanbusiness.com/696-create-and-relieve-tension/

This is about the 7th time that I've tried recording this podcast, and in the end I'm changing the subject completely.

I've had an insight this morning. You know the type of thing, when the difference between knowing something and REALLY GETTING IT, clicks in.

This is really going to help me with the upcoming course, so I'm sharing it here in case it helps you too.

Show notes at: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/701-The-Conflict-Loop

See also:https://storiesmeanbusiness.com/teaching/robert-mckees-story-structure/

A lovely treat for my 700th episode.

I get to brag about my daughter, Abbey, who absolutely smashed her exam results – despite awful Aspergers-related insomnia over the last 18 months.

Remember the last time you had less than three hours sleep. How did you feel?

What about if it happened every night?

As I've said before, it's a fantastic thing to be inspired by your kids. Abbey fought through and achieved:

Wendy and I are so proud of our wonderful girl, who will now go on to study a Bachelor of Art's degree in Creative Writing.

I guess that apple didn't fall far from the tree.

--

Show notes at:

Yesterday, I needed to clear up the studio where I worked. It was long overdue for an up and down vacuums ... especially the beams on the ceiling.

And that meant tackling the spiders!

My Dad always hated spiders, but that's not the problem I have. I hate hurting anything, to cleaning up is always a laborious job of carefully collecting the spiders and giving them new homes outside.

And this is all because of the power of story.

When I was a kid, my favourite author was Roald Dahl, and I have no doubt that my empathy for insects stems from the traumatic scene in James and the Giant Peach, when the evil aunt (was it Spiker or Sponge) vacuums up the spider.

And later – even worse – when Miss Spider talks about it from her point of view.

Show notes at: https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/698-Spider-stories

See also:

In her fantastic books on story, Lisa Cron, talks about misbeliefs – the psychological flaw in a character that stops them becoming the person they need to be.

For her – and for me – the subtext of the story... the way the protagonist changes is the part that really delivers.

One of my misbeliefs, for example, was that I didn't have the ability to keep-my-arse-in-the-chair and write a novel.

I fought and killed that misbelief in 2016, and CHANGED as a result.

What misbelief – although right now you'd call it a belief – is stopping you being the person you could be?

What's your hero's journey?

Show notes at:

https://StoriesMeanBusiness.com/podcast/697-What-are-your-misbeliefs?

In Episode 681, I talked about Robert Fritz's principles of Structural Dynamics.

But Fritz also said something else – which I learned from the guys at TinyLittleBusinesses.com ... ''Tension seeks resolution".

When I first had that, I knew that it reminded me of something, and yesterday I found it inside Seth Godin's This Is Marketing.

"At every step along the way, create and relieve tension as people progress in their journeys toward their goals."

So here's the lesson. When we tell stories we are making change, and our audience follows that change because of the constant creation and release of tension. This is as true of my website as it is of my 120,000 word thrillers.

Tension seeks resolution.

See the very last link on the page, for details.