Tag Archives: story

You Must Choose

This past week I was asked a very good…no…I was asked a transformational question, one which forced me to give considerable thought to a core belief.  Happily, the more I thought about it the more certain of this belief I became.  For those of you who are unaware, my work is helping individuals and organizations uncover and develop the stories which identify who they are at their very best.  Having worked through this process they are then able to become the very best versions of themselves – a goal to which each of us should aspire!

The question revolved around the topic of authenticity.  I have publicly stated that the language of commerce has changed.  It is no longer driven by discussions of features and benefits.  In this new commerce, the language is ‘authenticity.’  Today we are required to share who we are at a deeper level than we have known in decades.  It is my belief that the stories which illustrate us as professionals are the best tools we have to communicate our authentic selves.

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From twit to Twitter: a non-believer – transformed

1twit·ter 
Pronunciation: \ˈtwi-tər\
Function: verb
1: to utter successive chirping noises
2 a: to talk in a chattering fashion b: giggle, titter
3: to tremble with agitation : flutter

I LOVE WORDS! I love their ancestry. I love their power. And I love the way they taste when well spoken. Any word, when deeply considered, can launch a thousand stories (think “grass” or “dress”).  One word, at the perfect moment, can change a life (think “yes”). I love words.

Twitter is a word.  In fact, twitter is a great word! It’s onomatopoetic (I never get to use that!), meaning the word sounds like its sense. It evokes all sorts of images: small birds twitching on limbs; adolescent friends’ high-pitched and ceaseless chatter; an uncontrollable shaking brought on by nervousness.

But it is not a word that evokes the strength, scope and utility it has newly come to represent!

I was a non-believer. I am transformed. This is why…

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Storytelling at the Dawn of Civilization

A while back (say somewhere between 10,000 and 50,000 years ago) we humans started to get with it. Tired of sitting around the fire staring at the same faces night after night, our small clans began discussing the benefits of joining together with other small clans. If we gathered enough of us together (we figured) all sorts of opportunities might present themselves: large scale agriculture, a more efficient division of labor, discos. So that’s what we did. And civilization dawned.

Now the question is “Why then?”. We had been sitting around the fires with our semi-nomadic family units for a couple million years. Why the sudden interest in discos?

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