Storytelling, Transparency and Relatability

I know what my story is.

Correction: I thought I knew what my story was until I got an email a couple of days ago.

Emails open eyes

Gary Vaynerchuck is the man. I loved his book Jab Jab Jab Right Hook and I took his Skillshare class about a week ago. During the class he told his students (me) to email a few others and ask them what they think our story is.

I’ve written that the best way to know what you’re great at is to ask people you’ve worked with what they think you’re great at. Same concept, but this time I’m asking about my story, not my skills. I sent four emails out and got one reply yesterday. Here it is.

What's My Story

TL;DR I might have the knowledge of a 30-year-old, but I don’t have the experience, and you must have the experience to have a story.

I love Tim. His bluntness is what I look for in people who I surround myself with. Just tell me how it is, be forward, that’s how I can best learn and process what my next move will be.

When I sent the email asking about my story, I was expecting positive responses, perhaps flat-out praise. I didn’t think it would turn out like this. I sat and talked to my girlfriend about it. Here. Listen. It starts with Briana asking me about my blog stats to try to make the point that my writing has gotten less relatable… fear not, my stats haven’t changed, but that’s not really a good thing either, is it?

The recording has been removed. It messed up the podcast RSS feed I have. Apologies. You can still find it here.

(Listening to this recording reminds me of the StartUp podcast, and how Alex Blumberg’s wife is the one with real wisdom. Women. They have an act for knowing when we’re wrong.)

I hope this post is transparent enough. It’s my life… doing these things that make me uncomfortable is how I’ve expanded my comfort zone as far as I have.

For those who are interested, the interview went smoothly because I walked in there knowing I have done all I could to get the job, it was comforting enough knowing that. It made things easier.

I still choked on my saliva, spoke too fast at moments, and sweated a lot – all inevitable.

I got the job. When you truly try your best, you’ll get what you want – that’s inevitable too.

 

Stay Positive & It Always Works Out (If You Work For It)

Showing Up

People are naturally inclined to show up, to listen or to read when doing so will teach them how to react in similar situations.

Why listen to music? To relate and be given answers on how to act or think when certain things occur. Why read blogs? The same. Why watch soap opera’s or How I Met Your Mother? The same.

But, also notice that more people watch HIMYM than the Soaps. Why? Because it provides more relatable answers and responses that one can use in real life.

The trick to connecting, to building a tribe or to getting followers isn’t really a trick at all. It’s about creating a program where if something turns up in their life, they would know what to do about it.

 

Stay Positive & Start Getting People To Show Up

Garth E. Beyer