ONE TIP TO HELP GROW YOUR WEALTH 

LEARN TO BECOME A GOOD STORYTELLER

Has anyone else watched the new Taylor Swift doc on Netflix?

I watched it and am not ashamed to admit I thought it was great.

Two things struck me:

  1. Being famous is not all that (related: Tim Ferriss had a really good blog post on this topic last week here)
  2. Telling good stories has insane power. T-Swift says in the doc (I’m paraphrasing here)… “everyone in music has their thing that sets them apart from everyone else… storytelling is that thing for me.“

No knock on Taylor but it’s probably fair to say lots of people have the same or better technical skills as she does (i.e. playing guitar, singing). What sets Taylor apart and what has made her a wealthy mega-star (she’s reportedly worth $360 mil) is her storytelling.

WHY 🤷? Telling good stories is quite literally a life-changing super power. Think about it… in what parts of our lives is storytelling important? (hint: all of them)

  • Dating
  • Job interviews
  • Raising money from investors
  • Selling a product
  • Getting promoted

Quick story: In a past life I was an accountant 🥳. You might think the highest performing accountant among my peers was one that knew all the regs, could tear apart a P&L, and do other boring accountant stuff really well.

Want to know which number-crunching accountants rose up the ranks, got promoted, and received nice raises? The ones that could tell good stories.

Even in a profession as cut and dry as accounting, effectively storytelling was the key ingredient to professional success. This rare breed of accountant would bring boring spreadsheets to life. They’d create a narrative, tell you why you should care, and offer ideas on what to do next. In turn they’d get promoted and leave the rest of us in the dust. The ability to tell a story is crucial to success in life and business.

STORYTELLING IS HARD. HOW CAN WE TELL MORE EFFECTIVE STORIES?

  • Appeal to the self-interest of your audience: In my experience this is the #1 most important part of telling an effective story. Before you go into any situation it’s incredibly useful to think about what you’d want if you were in your audiences’ shoes. For example, if you’re pitching investors chances are they are looking to understand one thing: how can they make money. Show them via your story!
  • Be real: Do you feel anything when you hear someone talk in corporate speak? I don’t. Someone using overly fancy words and presenting a vanilla version of themselves generally puts people to sleep. Being real and relatable works.
  • Add your own flair: I love it when people show their quirks, their sense of humor, or a slice of their life. Bring your own unique piece of flair to your story.

Bottom Line: You don’t need to be a pop start to profit from telling better stories. Leveling up in business and life is greatly aided by the ability to form a compelling narrative and tell great stories.

SMART PERSON QUOTE

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.” – Steve Jobs

ONE NEW BUSINESS IDEA 

​MERCH BY AMAZON​

IDEA: Selling t-shirts, Pop-Sockets, and other gear via Merch By Amazon (i.e. Amazon’s Print on Demand business).

INSIGHT: Amazon is obviously a huge marketplace and I’ve seen many people who have crushed it via the Merch Program. Merch allows you to build a business without inventory or much capital. In short, you upload a design to Amazon, create a listing, and make money when your item sells. Amazon does all the printing, shipping, and everything else.

HOW? / RESOURCE: The process itself is simple but getting sales is the hard part. This Facebook Group solely focuses on Amazon Merch. If this biz sounds interesting to you wander down the rabbit hole and check it out.

ONE QUESTION FOR YOU 

How can you tell better stories?

If you tell any stories in the coming weeks or months that help you profit personally or professionally hit up and lemme know.

Until next week!
-Paul
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