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Who is that?! Feb 25, 2024

14 years ago, I was at an event and met Terence Farrell for the first time.

I saw people circling around him, shaking his hand, laughing, and sharing stories.

Naturally, my immediate thought was, "who is that?!"

I watched in amazement as I saw Terence "work the room" and shake every single hand in...

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Leader of Leaders | Stories With Traction Podcast Feb 23, 2024

SHOW NOTES:

SUMMARY: In this episode, Dr. Anthony Lee and Matt Zaun discuss what makes someone a leader of leaders.

DR. ANTHONY LEE BIO: Dr. Lee is the President and CEO of Westcliff University and has led the institution through incredible growth for the last 16 years. Under his leadership, each...

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Iโ€™ve learned so much from the stories and insights of my guests. Check out the episodes this monthโ€ฆ Feb 23, 2024

Feb 2nd - FAQ Episode with Claire M. Davis

Feb 9th - Executive Search with Evan Sparks

Feb 16th - Beating Burnout with Matt Zinman 

Feb 23rd - Leader of Leaders with Dr. Anthony Lee

Episode number 117 with Claire M. Davis launches on Mar 1st, and I can’t think of a better way to...

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The worst President in U.S. History wasโ€ฆ Feb 20, 2024

...James Buchanan.

That's according to many historians.

What's interesting is Buchanan was one of the most prepared presidents in history.

He was:

A soldier
A prominent lawyer
U.S. Congressman
U.S. Senator
Secretary of State
Minister to Russia
Minister to the U.K.

However, he was not:

good at seeking...

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Speaking of Presidents' Day... Feb 19, 2024

...I'm obsessed with going to Presidential museums, and I’ll be going to every single one before I die. So far, I've been to...


-Thomas Jefferson
-Abraham Lincoln 
-Rutherford Hayes
-Warren Harding
-Franklin Roosevelt
-Lyndon Johnson
-Richard Nixon
-Jimmy Carter
-Ronald Reagan
-George H....

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Beating Burnout | Stories With Traction Podcast Feb 16, 2024

SHOW NOTES:

SUMMARY: In this episode, Matt Zinman and Matt Zaun talk about how to retain top talent by focusing on beating burnout in an organization.

MATT ZINMAN BIO: Matt is the founder and CEO of ZU Publishing, INC., author of Z-isms (Insights to Live By), and a speaker who focuses on beating...

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Growing up, my mother taught me that when you do something you love, you wonโ€™t even consider it work. ๐Ÿ‘‡ Feb 16, 2024

Growing up, my mother taught me that when you do something you love, you won’t even consider it work.

Well, this week, I was in heaven.

Conducted strategic storytelling workshops in Chicagoland.

I love doing these sessions and could do one every single day and not get bored.

Hey,...

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Walt Disney is an idiot! Feb 13, 2024

At least, that’s what hundreds of people said early on. 

Countless bankers rejected the Mickey Mouse concept!

But guess what? Walt Disney is hailed a genius today.

In fact, this year is the 101st anniversary of Walt Disney Studios!


Just because some people don’t understand your...

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๐Ÿพ Today is my 1,583rd consecutive day posting on LinkedIn! Here are the top 5 things I learnedโ€ฆ Feb 12, 2024

1 ๐’๐ž๐ฅ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ (*especially ones with Abraham Lincoln ) Every time I post a selfie, I get 3x the reach of a normal post.

2 ๐’๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐›๐ข๐  ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž

Sharing an authentic story where you position someone else as the hero will get you lots of traction.

3 ๐‡๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ

The first few lines of text are extremely...

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Up at the crack of dawnโœ”๏ธ Packedโœ”๏ธ Ready to fly? โœ”๏ธ This time, I'm going back toโ€ฆ Feb 12, 2024

…Chicagoland!

Excited to speak at Creeden & Associates tomorrow.

We’ll be talking about how to…

-boost sales
-enhance internal communication
-and create a vibrant company culture

…all through the power of strategic storytelling.

The next few days will be awesome!


Have...

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Just hours from kickoff, reality set in. Feb 11, 2024

Super Bowl XLI wasn't going to be played in the rain. It was going to be played in a monsoon. 
 
...and while pro football players deal with the elements all season, rock stars do not. They have provisions in their contracts to avoid such calamities. 
 
Electricity and...
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Two years ago, I spoke in L.A. and stopped by SoFi Stadium during the Super Bowl festivities. Feb 11, 2024

It got me thinking about what separates winning organizations.

How do some crush their sales goals and create a vibrant company culture?

Business teams that go the distance know how to utilize storytelling.

Wanna score major wins? Get good at sharing stories…

Talk about your failures...

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Lessen your chance of heart disease through shopping? Feb 11, 2024

Years ago, Meyer Friedman (a cardiologist) recommended something to his highly stressed patients who were at greater risk of developing heart disease.

He told them to take the longest line at the grocery store to practice inner peace.

Sounds simple, huh?

A peaceful mindset comes with practice.

...

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Executive Search | Stories With Traction Podcast Feb 09, 2024

SHOW NOTES:

SUMMARY:
In this episode, Evan Sparks and Matt Zaun talk about CRG, executive search, and the future of work.

EVAN SPARKS: Evan is the Director of National Search at CRG.

For more info: Website and LinkedIn

MATT ZAUN BIO: Matt is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers...

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๐Ÿ˜” I made a big mistake! I should have listened to her... Feb 09, 2024

In 2016, a good friend told me to be more active on LinkedIn.

I laughed at her since I always viewed this platform as a glorified resume site.

I was wrong.

By using LI with a specific strategy, my business grew more in the last few years than I ever thought possible.

Don’t make the same...

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Wanna learn tips on how to be a masterful storyteller? Feb 07, 2024

In this post, I share methods for crafting a robust and impactful story and how to use your real-life stories by considering your story's intention, timing, relatability, and structure

 

Intention 

Consider your intention when telling a story and recounting your life...

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3 years ago, I showed up at Jeff Bezosโ€™s house. Feb 07, 2024

No, not his 200,000,000 house in Beverly Hills.

The house he started Amazon in.

I was speaking at a company in Bellevue, and his old house was literally down the street, so I had to see it for myself.

This garage is where Amazon was launched.

Today, it’s the 5th most valuable company on the...

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When I entered politics, I obsessively studied Ronald Reagan, also known as the great communicator. ๐Ÿ‘‡ Feb 06, 2024

President Reagan possessed a fascinating capability...the ability to command the attention of his audience.

I used to spend countless hours studying how Reagan was able to be the orator he was. 

Whether you loved or hated him, there is no denying that his public speaking skills were off the...

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Here are my LI numbers that led to cash... Feb 05, 2024

...my content produces 2 million+ impressions each year. Has for the last four years. This isn’t bad, but it’s not great either. Meaning anyone can do it.

This led to tens of thousands of people checking out my profile.

Profile views lead to inbound messages inquiring about services.

...

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Joe Rogan was recently on my podcast. Feb 02, 2024

It took me 2 years to book him, and I spent weeks preparing.

20 mins into our virtual interview, everything was going great.

Then, my 5-year-old barged in.

I muted my mic and waved my hands, trying to tell him to leave my office!

Nope.

He started throwing legos and got louder and louder.

I couldn't...

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A couple of years ago, I made a goal of going to every presidential museum... Jan 30, 2024

So far, I've been to:

-Thomas Jefferson
-Rutherford B. Hayes
-Warren G. Harding
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Richard Nixon
-Jimmy Carter
-Ronald Reagan
-George H. W. Bush
-George W. Bush

...museums.

Each one fascinates me because they’re all steeped in interesting stories and history....

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5th workshop of 2024! This time, I'm going back toโ€ฆ Jan 29, 2024


…Chicagoland!

Excited to speak at Normandy Remodeling tomorrow.

We’ll be talking about how to…

-boost sales
-enhance internal communication
-and create a vibrant company culture

…all through the power of strategic storytelling.

The next couple of days will be awesome!


...

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This is it. Today, are the NFL conference championships, and weโ€™ll know who makes the Super Bowl... Jan 28, 2024

Blood, sweat, maybe some tears...

I love learning about the player's stories and how they got to where they are.

So much work. So much consistency.


When it comes to great stories, we need a foe.

People love struggle/victory stories.


In business, we want it to be easy, but that doesn't give us a...

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