The journey to becoming a masterful storyteller is often embarked upon as a New Year's resolution. However, this well-intentioned practice is riddled with pitfalls. Astonishingly, 92% of people who set New Year's resolutions fail to see them through. This begs the question: why set yourself up for...

92% of everyone who sets one fails, so why in the world would you set yourself up for failure?!
 
Don’t set New Year’s Resolutions; set specific daily habits that will lead to what you want.
 
Don’t focus on yearly goals; focus on daily habits.
 
YOU will WIN!
 
P.S. If you haven't already, I highly recom...

The Wright brothers spent four years researching and developing to pull off this historic moment.
 
For years, Wilbur and Orville were labeled “cranks” and “fools” for even trying to create an airplane.
 
Well, I'm very thankful that they never gave up. I use air travel all the time, and I’m incredibl...

Walt was the 4th child of Elias and Flora Disney. 

Elias was the carpenter, and Flora was the architect of their home. 

It cost Walt Disney’s parents $800 to build. 

Talk about humble beginnings?!  

You never know where the next great titan of industry will come from.

Happy Birthday Walt Disn...

Here are the 3 things that I learned...
 
 
1. The iconic picture of Parks you’ve seen in mass media does not show the seat where the protest started. In the picture you’ve seen, it’s a year after the boycott.
 
2. Rosa Parks did not sit in the front of the bus but in the upper middle, where whites and...

This is the spot where John F. Kennedy was assassinated. 
 
62 years ago today. 
 
Recently, I had the honor and privilege of speaking in Dallas. 
 
After I flew into DFW, I had to stop by the site of the JFK assassination. 
 
For years, I studied our 35th president. How could this man connect with his au...

I'll never forget our last conversation together.
 
He told me that every day I wake up, I need to remember that some things in life are worth fighting for.
 
“People, Matt; people are always worth fighting for.”
 
He died 2 weeks later.
 
My grandfather was the man who inspired me to get involved in politi...

SHOW NOTES:

In this insightful episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Morgan Adams, an insomnia and holistic sleep coach, to break down why so many high achievers are running on fumes and what to do about it.

Morgan shares practical tools, mindset shifts, and behavioral strategies for those struggling ...

There are sales reps who don’t have a story strategy! 

Instead of talking to your prospects, all scared, wanna crush your sales goals? 

You need to have story strategy. 

You can have the same group of stories that you're sharing again and again, because you're talking to different prospects. 

Mo...

SHOW NOTES:

In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with Daniel McMahon, Founder and Managing Partner of Integrated Growth Advisors, to discuss how leaders can transition into purpose-driven, sustainable roles beyond their primary career without losing their identity or impact...

During the Great Depression, when things looked grim, the “Wienermobile” was launched and soon became a national icon.
 
Six Wienermobiles operated throughout the United States. The driver was called “The Hotdogger.”
 
The Hotdogger's job was to "meat" and greet people nationwide.
 
But that wasn't the ...

 
📊 Charts impress…
 
📖 But stories?
 
Stories grab attention.
 
I flunked my public speaking class in college.
Now I get paid to speak, and I just released a book on the exact concept that changed everything for me:
 
👉 The StoryBank
 
Here’s the truth: in a world filled with distractions, pop-up notifications...

SHOW NOTES

In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with Gary Braun, Founder and Owner of Pivotal Advisors, to break down what most companies get wrong about sales and how to build a repeatable system that actually works.

He also unpacks the biggest myth in sales: “If I just h...

It was utterly repulsive. My co-workers and I found it nearly unbearable to be around him; he seemed to suck the oxygen out of the room. His behavior stemmed from a deep-seated inferiority complex...he felt the need to puff himself up, trying to project an image of greatness, all while being a small...

I have amazing friends.

Not just any friends; people that I could call at 2 a.m. (if I was in trouble), friends.

Tomorrow, one of those friends gets a little older.

This man helped me...

Launch my speaking business (a decade ago) and my podcast (4 years ago).

He's been there for me through th...

SHOW NOTES:

In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with business strategist and growth expert, Jessica Yarbrough, to discuss how high-achieving professionals (especially those from the C-suite) can escape hustle culture and build scalable, sustainable, and wildly profitable c...

Now I get paid to speak, and I recently released my book, The StoryBank.
 
After years of stop-and-go writing (thank you, pandemic + parenting + business ownership), The StoryBank is finally out in the world.
 
Why does this matter?
 
Because strategic storytelling is the most powerful tool we have to:

-...

At the time, it was a huge risk.
 
I decided while staring at El Capitan (in Yosemite) with my wife.
 
For those of you who aren't aware, a climber named Alex Honnold free-soloed the mountain, meaning he climbed without any ropes.
 
He was asked why in the world he would do such a thing, and he said tha...

He went from Superman to paralyzed.
But his greatest strength showed up after the cape came off.
 
At 26, Christopher Reeve became a global icon.
 
By 42, he couldn’t breathe, move, or even speak without assistance.
 
Most would’ve disappeared from the spotlight.
 
Not Reeve.
 
He leaned in, turning tragedy in...

I wanted to appear smart.
 
So, I wrote like I was writing to my professors. All academic.
 
My boss at the time told me, “Do you want to sound smart, or do you want to make sense?”
 
Great storytellers value clarity above complexity.  👇
 
 
If you were to take Ernest Hemingway’s work (a great Nobel Prize-wi...

On October 8, 1871, the Windy City experienced The Great Chicago Fire.
 
Nearly 1/3 of Chicago was left homeless.
 
But that’s not the wildest part…
 
For over a century, everyone blamed a cow.
 
That infamous story (of a lantern kicked over by Catherine O’Leary’s cow) was completely made up by a reporter. ...

SHOW NOTES:

In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun talks with Kristen Pucci, Founder and CEO of KRAE Creative & Talent, to explore why most leaders get marketing wrong and how to fix it through brand clarity, human connection, and strategic authenticity.

Kristen shares her journey as ...

After years of false starts, setbacks, and rewriting, my book The StoryBank is finally out in the world!

I first began writing it back in 2019. Between the pandemic, family responsibilities, and a growing business, it was a stop-and-go process. Most days, I doubted it would ever come to fruition. B...