Every great story has 3 main parts: 1) A Hero, 2) Struggle, and 3) A Resolution. I say that phrase over and over to remind myself what really matters when I write. To tell a compelling story, you have to identify WHO the hero is from the very beginning. Remember, the hero of a story doesn't have to be the central character. I've realized that a hero can take on any shape or size. It can be the author, the teller, the customer, the product, the service, the location, the en

Looking back on my hockey days, it's obvious that I always played my best hockey when I was having fun. If I wasn't enjoying what I was doing, who I was playing with, and where I was going, I played terrible. Once it became a chore, I no longer wanted to practice, hone my craft, or excel. In essence, the want to be great faded when I wasn't in love with what I was doing. When I was really enjoying myself, I played looser, more freely, and pushed myself harder. It was easi

Brains, Heart, and Courage Many years ago, I read an article (written by Shawn Farrell and Rob Culbertson) that explained how Dorothy really wasn't looking for a wizard in The Wizard of Oz. She was looking for the perfect man. Throughout her journey, she would come across men who were smart, but lacked heart (like the Tin Man), men who were sincere, but lacked brains (like the Scarecrow), and men who were strong, but lacked courage (like the Lion). It was only in her dream

Last week, we helped another client bring his story to life in a book AND helped him become a BESTSELLER! Congratulations, Jimmy you are BESTSELLING AUTHOR FOR LIFE! His book, Just Keep Breathing hit #1 on the Amazon charts. "Bestselling Author for Life" is such an awesome phrase. There isn't much in this world anymore that lasts forever, giving much more value to those things that will never die. 200 years from now, this book will exist somewhere (in print, on Amazon, or Go

"If the Lion doesn't tell its story, the hunter will". God, I love that saying. And it makes a lot of sense if you think about it. No matter who you are, where you come from, and what you've accomplished, someone will have a story about you. Most of the time they don't have the full and complete story. Only bits and pieces. When someone only has bits and pieces of the story, there's a great chance the story is told incorrectly. As an entrepreneur, author, and marketer, i

Saturday 3:30 pm - August 19, 2017 I stopped at the light in Moon Twp and looked over my shoulder to see a very scary sight - dark clouds rolling in fast and aggressively. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but at this particular moment, I was still about 45 minutes from home... and I was on the motorcycle. Riding in the rain is never fun. It's dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful. Since I was only wearing my new favorite T-Shirt, I knew I was in for the feeling of be

Instagram is by far my greatest lead generator. Last week, I surpassed 5K followers on my personal account and acquired an account that has 60K followers. That means my reach has expanded by 10X in one day. However, it's not the reach that matters as much as the strategy in place on how to position yourself so they see you, know you, and care about what you have to say. Coming from absolute ZERO connections, I figured out what works and began showing my clients. In additio

First, get your audience's attention with an unexpected event, question, or challenge. If you can shock their brain into thinking right out of the gate, you will be able to ignite their spark of attention. Next, tell a quick story of struggle. Invoke an emotional response by describing a moment of hardship, difficulty, and pain. Your goal is to humanize yourself as much as possible. All people have suffered in this world. For that reason, you should build a bridge of comm

Have you ever looked in the mirror and saw something that you wish you could change, but you can't? For me, it's my nose. My hockey days did a number on it. And it's one hockey scar that doesn't help my dating life too much. Regardless, it's my nose. I can't do anything about it. So, I own it all the way. (Ok, I could get surgery. But come on, I'm telling a cute story here alright? Just calm down and enjoy it.) Fortunately, besides a person's looks, a person can chang

On August 10th, 1984, I was born at Mcgee Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania weighing 7lbs,11ounces. I have no idea why I felt compelled to tell you my weight just now (and it still perplexes me to this day as to why everyone is intrigued by kids' weight when they are born), but bear with me, this story gets better. My name was going to be Richard until my grandfather convinced my mom to name me Michael. So, my mom made my middle name Richard to compromise, which in my op