Ever read an “About Us” page that made you want to work with the business, or just grab a coffee with the owner? Didn’t think so. Most About pages read like they were written by someone trying to impress a bank manager. Buzzwords. Bullet points. Boring. But that’s not your story. You built something real. Maybe from your kitchen table. Maybe from pure grit. Either way, people don’t want your mission statement. They want your why. They want to feel…
You will die someday. Not a warm and fuzzy opener, I know. But stick with me. Because when you remember that truth, something strange happens. You stop performing. You stop pretending. And you start asking better questions. Like this one: What exactly do I lose by being fully, wildly, unapologetically myself? Back in 2007, a man named Randy Pausch asked that question without ever saying the words. He was dying of terminal cancer. Months to live. And he walked onto…
Sprinkle a little on the website.Add a pinch to the pitch deck.Maybe toss it in the onboarding slideshow. But here’s the truth:Story isn’t seasoning. It is the system. If your story only lives in your marketing, you’re missing 90% of its power. Because story is how humans understand the world.It is how we decide what matters.Who we trust.What we believe.And why we act. That is why your story has to show up everywhere: Great companies do not just tell stories.They…
I was around six the first time I played it. Two paddles. One dot. No story, except the one you created as you played. By twelve, I had my first Atari computer. At thirteen, I launched a BBS from my bedroom and dropped $400 on a 10MB hard drive (and I got a deal). It felt like I was holding the future in my hands. Looking back, Nolan Bushnell didn’t just build Pong. He planted the seed that would grow…
It’s the spark, not the system.The amplifier, not the engine.The bow, not the gift. A great story can capture attention.It can stir emotion.It can linger in the mind long after the words are gone. But if the beliefs behind the business are shaky,if the system is broken,if the strategy is vague or misaligned,then the story becomes a trap, not a tool. Because storytelling doesn’t fix misalignment.It amplifies it.It spreads the wrong message faster.It’s lipstick on a pretty pig.It’s narrative masking…
We don’t buy shoes.We buy the feeling of stepping into something that matters. We don’t buy books.We buy belief in who we could become. We don’t buy brands.We buy belonging. What do the logos or brands you wear stand for? And no one understood that better than Blake. He didn’t start with a product.He started with a moment that punched him in the chest.Kids in Argentina. Barefoot. No shoes. No safety. Most people would have donated and walked away.Blake didn’t.…
You know what’s underrated? Belief. Not “hope.” Not “manifestation.” Not even “confidence.” I’m talking about conviction. The kind that gets you moving when you’ve got no traction, no approval, and no real roadmap. David J. Schwartz nailed it: “Believe you can succeed and you will.” It’s not just a nice quote – it’s a demand. Because belief changes what you attempt. And the minute you attempt, you create momentum. Action breeds confidence. Not the other way around. Most people are…
Have you ever met someone and thought, “How do they manage to do it all and still care so deeply?” That’s what I felt after sitting down with Deana Cavanaugh for an episode of Rock Solid: The Round Rock Business Leaders Podcast. Deana’s journey didn’t follow a neat line. It zigged from government contracting into construction and then zagged into fundraising. That jump wasn’t random. It was intentional, driven by a need to make a difference. She wasn’t chasing a…