Tag: storytelling

  • This Dog Ate My Brain

    2:34pm
    Saint Paul

    When I was 12 the neighbor’s dog bit my brother.

    We never had a dog of our own.

    Goldfish, yes. A cat. A parakeet. A skink. A snake. Even a “grow a frog” that escaped its water tank… and a week later, hopped across the kitchen floor.

    So I was never much of a dog person.

    In fact I told myself I was afraid of them. The dog bite and all, you understand.

    And any time I saw a dog, this fear consumed my brain.

    But years ago I decided that was silly.

    So I simply reprogrammed my brain.

    (more…)
  • Want happiness? Build more relationships

    1:24pm
    Saint Paul

    “Ah yes! My Dale Carnegie feedback!” I said, picking up the notecards from the floor.

    As I read them, each made me smile.

    Maybe you know this, but years ago, I took the Dale Carnegie communications course.

    Carnegie wrote the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People.

    And the Carnegie course helped my relationships, my confidence, and my public speaking (like my recent gig at B2B Forum in Boston).

    But none of that had the impact that these cards have.

    Let me explain.

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  • My Mega-Church Sunday Visit

    9:02am
    Saint Paul

    “Can you drive?”

    It’s a Sunday morning and I’m just arriving at my cousin’s house.

    “Yeah,” I say. “Hop in!”

    See, my cousin had come over the previous Friday to watch the Olympics opening ceremony.

    And she invited me to join her at a church service where she and her daughters had been attending.

    All I could think is: Religions know how to persuade. Market Research!

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  • I know 2 ways to beat Writer’s Block

    10:16am Friday
    Saint Paul, Minnesota

    “What’s the hardest part about writing?” I ask Ruby.

    “I don’t know…”

    She’s eleven. And this morning, she’s picking up a short story that she’s been writing, on and off, for a few months.

    (more…)