What If It Did Work?
What If It Did Work?
Own Your Story, Grow Your Impact
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What if the thing you’ve been hiding is the key to your growth? We sit down with Bill Blankschaen, author of Your Story Advantage, to unpack how honest storytelling turns doubt into confidence, confusion into clarity, and experience into influence. Instead of copying gurus, Bill shows how to build credibility no one can steal by framing the lessons you’ve earned and telling them for the people who need them most.
Bill’s own leap—from leading a thriving school to a year with no income and six kids to support—reveals the mindset and method behind a story-driven life. We talk about the confidence trap that keeps talented people invisible, the connection power of imperfection, and the moment you hit the “I believe” button and act before the outcome is guaranteed. Along the way, Bill shares the Story Ecosystem Framework: define your meaningful message, multiply it into assets like a book or signature talk, and monetize through services, courses, and consulting that expand your impact.
We go deep on practicals: how to identify the one message you want remembered, why audience-first storytelling changes your tone and content, and the difference between a founder’s origin story and an organizational story that teams can carry. We also cover why a well-crafted book still opens doors—raising speaking fees, accelerating trust, and positioning you as the author-ity in your niche. If you’ve only got twenty minutes a day, you’ll learn exactly where to start and how to collaborate so you actually ship.
This conversation is for entrepreneurs, coaches, speakers, and leaders who want to turn scars into strategy and build brands that serve. Come for the mindset shift, stay for the step-by-step path to package your IP without the hype. If this sparks something, share it with a friend who needs a push, subscribe for more bold conversations, and leave a review to tell us your one message you’d want remembered.
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Why Your Story Is Your Edge
SPEAKER_00I never told no one that my whole life I've been holding back. Every time I load my gun up, so I can do for the stall. I hear a voice like you think you are.
Meet Bill Blankshain And His Mission
SPEAKER_03All right, everybody, another day, another dollar. Another one of my favorite episodes of my favorite podcast because I'm biased. What if it did work? But what if the thing you've been trying to hide is actually the thing that could make you unstoppable? Because let's be honest, most people don't struggle with skill, they struggle with confidence, clarity, and believing they're important enough to be heard. And today we're going to punch that lie right in the throat. Welcome to the show. I'm Omar Madrano. This is What If It Did Work, where we don't just talk mindset, we talk action. We don't just dream about the life, we build it. Now, listen, you can copy someone else's marketing, you can copy someone else's funnel, you can even copy someone else's brand colors, but there's one thing you can never copy your story, and that's why today's guest is dangerous in the best way possible. Bill Blankshain, the author of your story, advantage, or proven path to maximize your impact, influence and income. And he teaches entrepreneurs, speakers, coaches, and leaders how to use storytelling to build credibility, grow influence, and create income streams from a message that actually matters.
SPEAKER_01Welcome to the show, Bill. Omar, it's a pleasure to be here, and I couldn't agree with you more about you know your leaning into your story raises the possibilities of what's possible for all of us. So excited to talk about it.
SPEAKER_03Not only do they like repost the quote or repost his or hers posts, but then you know they try to dress like them, they try to act like them, and it's like, no, the world already has one of those. Yeah, why can't we come original and be the very best version of you?
SPEAKER_01Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Well, I mean, you know, when when I talk about story, I'm not just talking about what's happened to you, but that's certainly part of it. I'm talking about, you know, what you've learned from that, the lessons you've learned, the successes, the failures, almost that body of wisdom that that person you're trying to imitate doesn't have. They can't have because your experiences are unique and what has shaped them and what's made each person different. And what I think a lot of people miss is that the person they are admiring or trying to emulate, uh, other people don't connect with that person, but they would connect with the person who's trying to pretend to be somebody else if they were authentic in the first place.
SPEAKER_03Exactly. Exactly. And and I mean, I've used my story, uh, whether it was on stage doing my TEDx or whatnot. And you're right, uh it yes, whenever you do talk about the past, yeah, it's not because you're trying to get the cyber hugs, it's not because of anything, it's just because it's it's unique, it it's like this is what I overcame. And if I can overcome this, you can overcome whatever obstacle that's in your way.
Ditch The Imitation, Choose Originality
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Well, I I like to talk about the the these traps that hold people back, and and one of the big ones is the confidence trap. And the confidence trap says that we tend to deify others and diminish ourselves. We we tend to put other people on a pedestal and think our story, our experience, our it, it's not that good. And I think that's some of that's because it feels normal to us, you know. It it doesn't feel like it's anything special because we've lived it, we know it. What we what looks different to us looks more valuable many times. But that's only we got to remember that's only our perspective. That's not that's not reality. We're bringing that perspective to that. And so I think we many times, frankly, Omar, we just undercut ourselves before we even put it out there uh in that way. And and I think also, too, we when we do put it out there, sometimes if we don't get instant results or immediate results like we see other people have gotten, we think we must be doing it wrong. But we miss the fact that those other people, they've been doing that thing for years and years and years. They've been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes to build that up. And and it some of it just requires intentionality, consistency, and patience to do that.
SPEAKER_03Well, also confidence to me, that's the biggest vitamin C that we do need in our lives because that's what stopped me. I it I I didn't write a book, much my book until I was like my first one, till I was my mid to late 40s, because it was always I I had uh McFly. I was like George McFly. Marty McFly is father. Like what if nobody liked the book? What if right, what if it wasn't good enough? And and confidence is always I mean everybody to me has a story with them within them. They they can write a blog about their life, they can write a book. There's something that everybody's overcome, and everybody's superpower is themselves, man. That I mean, it'd be boring if we all had the same, you know, the same backstory, totally the same origin story.
SPEAKER_01Totally. I was having a conversation with my wife not long ago, and we have six kids, so she knows a few things about motherhood and families there, six kids within seven years, right? So she it's a pretty unique skill set that she's developed over the years. Yeah, definitely. But but it feels it feels normal to her. So something came up, and she was talking about uh another mom was asking about something. She said, Oh, the answer is this, this, and just gave it to her. And then and I said, You know, right there, that's your story advantage, right there. You just you just totally tapped into what felt normal to you, shared it without really thinking it was that big a deal. And the other person was like, Oh, that's amazing. I didn't realize that. I didn't realize that. And that that's what I think happens. We just don't value and and and see the worth in what we bring to the table. And so we think no one else is gonna want it until we until we do put it out there and have the courage to do that, and when then we see people are are benefited from it.
The Confidence Trap And Patience
SPEAKER_03But even that, that's such a great icebreaker, whether starting an interview or a podcast, or if she was up on stage and she's like, Yes, I have six kids, right? Right, all within seven years, right? And comma, yes, I'm LDS, yes, I'm Catholic, or no, no, I'm I'm not Catholic, no, I'm not LDS, and then everybody would laugh because and then right there, you that that's a hook, yes, because everybody's gonna lean in on it, yeah, because you know, we're so used to listening to the same, you know, carbon copy story. Uh, because everybody wants to be safe and just be like in between the lines, and especially selling something being so safe that it's the worst thing for you because then you have nobody as your audience, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, and and here's the key, I think, especially if you're in thinking, how am I gonna sell this? How am I gonna market it? How am I gonna monetize it? I think we have to realize that our story is about us, but it's not for us. And so when we tell that story, whatever components of it it might be that we tell are determined by who needs to hear it. You know, if if I'm telling you, uh, I don't know, let's say the the the story of World War II or some some big story, if I'm telling that to you or I'm telling it to a seven-year-old, I'm telling that two different ways, right? Oh, yeah, absolutely. And neither one's accurate or inaccurate or something. It's just it's that the audience is different, you know, as opposed to even a high school group, or if I'm telling it to World War II buffs or something. It's it's yeah, you have to know your audience. And so that's probably one of the biggest things that I talk about in the book is is being intentional about flipping it around from first of all, valuing your valuing your story, but then also who am I telling it to? Because I'm not just putting it out there in the world, I have to be intentional and strategic about who I'm telling it to, and that determines how I'm telling it and what I'm telling it, what I'm not telling.
SPEAKER_03You know what? For I forgot to ask you, Bill. I'm I'm big into comic books, way back. I'm not that much of a nerd now. I grew up a nerd. An origin story. But what was your what just your quick backstory? And what moment made you realize storytelling wasn't just nice, it was absolutely necessary.
Everyday Wisdom Is Valuable
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, I think for me, uh origin story goes back to I mean, even when I was a kid, I was such an avid reader. I just I sucked up books, uh, and I love stories and storytelling. I've my undergrad degrees were in English and history, right? History. What are the stories? How do we tell them? What do we do with that? But then um, I actually I I started helped start a private school and was leading that, leading that for a dozen years and doing good work, um, and getting hugs from kindergartners and guiding teenagers and all that fun stuff. But it felt like there was within me this this storytelling, this, this, this idea of being a writer and a storyteller. And I thought of myself as being that, but I realized I wasn't doing it. I was doing good stuff, but not that. And so eventually I had to reach the place of realizing, hey, I either have to let go of that and just focus on what's in front of me because I'm working with kids. I mean, you got to have your full focus, you got to bring it 100% to the to the table, um, or let it go. And so I decided, you know, I don't want to wake up years from now and regret not having lived out that dream, lived out that calling that I felt within me. So um, yeah, I decided to let go of the school, step away from that identity. And and this goes back to what you said. We had six kids at the time. They were all, I don't know, uh six or seven years old to 14 or whatever that range that was. And we stepped away from that. We went a year with no income. Um, as I dove in and really just became a student of the science and art of storytelling and and platform building and books and publishing and all that, talked to everybody I could, expert in the industry, uh, develop book proposals, all that. And and it really was, you know, I remember one day, Omar, I was sitting outside trying to write a book idea and develop it in the backyard. We lived in uh Ohio at the time. It was a spring day, beautiful day, sun's shining, the birds are singing, I'm there writing, doing what I love to do. On the outside, it looked incredible. On the inside, I gotta tell you, I was like, what if this doesn't work? Six kids, we could be living under a bridge in a cardboard box any day now. Exactly. Right. Um, it was scary, and yet I kept moving forward because I believed in the power of story. And as it turns out, that very book that I was developing then eventually got picked up by a publisher, wrote the book, realized I'm really good at this. Other people began asking me for help with their books and their stories, and one thing led to another. And before you know it, Story Builders, our company, came out of that. And now, almost 12 years later, we've worked with everybody from John Maxwell to Lewis Howes to Dean Graziosi to all these bigger names, and people who are growing those platforms and building those platforms, all of which I came to the conclusion, you know, your breakthrough begins when you start with your story, and that's where it has to begin. You got to be true to who you are and your story and see the value in it, and then develop something unique around it, and then share it with the world.
SPEAKER_03That goes to my next question. Why do you think so many talented people want to stay invisible, even when they know they're meant for more? That they they don't want to be unique, they don't want to be different.
Story For Audience, Not For Ego
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, aside from the confidence issue, if I can just be really direct here, I think it really is you're a comic book uh uh fan, right? And so this is something I remember from um, I think it was like one of the Batman movies or something, but I've heard it in different contexts. This idea that with great power comes great responsibility, right? And I think if we acknowledge the fact that we have this power, that means we're responsible to do something about it and do something with it and do something that matters. And I think many of us would frankly would much rather be like, I I don't I don't have any power, and therefore I don't have any responsibility.
SPEAKER_03Exactly. You know how many times I've heard that from people? But what what exactly do you tell that person that's listening right now who thinks I don't even have a story, Bill?
SPEAKER_01I what am I gonna say? Yeah, yeah. Well, the first thing they need to do is get my book, Your Story Advantage, because that's why I walk them through a process of figuring out what is your what I call your meaningful message. What is that that message that you are uniquely positioned to share with the world in a powerful way? Everybody is, everybody is positioned to do that. Now, that doesn't mean everybody needs to start a business. That doesn't mean that everybody should write a book, even a lot of people should who aren't. Um, but there are a lot of people out there who are writing, have written, who maybe they shouldn't. I uh you know, uh there is no path that everybody has to fit in. It really depends. But everybody has a story, everybody has that advantage that they can play. And so if somebody's like, uh, I don't even know, I I start I start leaning into to this question. And this is a this is a variation of a the first question we ask in a book project. Uh, we have a whole uh six book starter questions that I unpack in the book. But this is a little bit of a variation for somebody in that situation. I would say this, I'd like, hey, if you were to eventually we're all gonna be done with our time here on this earth, and when that day comes and they they lower your body in the ground and you're no longer able to contribute or say anything or do anything else in the world, and people forget 99% of everything you said, everything you did, it's it's gone. What's the one thing that you would want them to remember? What's the one thing that if you forget all that, just remember this one thing. And if you if something comes to mind, it's incredible with authors and aspiring authors when I ask this how often that message comes to mind that that often is something they're very passionate about and something that connects with their story, something that has been fueled by their experiences, shaped by all the things that have happened to them, their failures, their successes, all those kind of things. And I think you could put that with a need in the world, somebody who needs to hear that. And you have the makings of something that, you know what? Could you devote your life to helping people understand that? Helping and what would be the benefit? What would happen when they did? How would the world be a better place because of that? I think then the gears start aligning and you start making some sense of, hmm, I guess I could do that, and that would be great if this could happen. But I think it begins with identifying kind of that that one thing.
SPEAKER_03Well, also what I love about the book with the story traps, because this is something everybody falls into. Yeah, thinking we all need a perfect pass to have that powerful message. And it's like well, being imperfect is perfect.
Bill’s Leap: From School To Story
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Because people don't want perfect, they don't connect with perfect. Um, you know, in the book I talk about the the connection continuum. How do people connect with somebody? And the reality is it it's not something fresh and new and amazing. I've never heard that before. That's awesome. It it can be some of that, but it's it it's not, it's also not just the familiar. It's I've heard that story before, I've heard it 25 different ways. It's all the same story. It's somewhere in between, right? So it's if it's all new and all fresh and all perfect, as we say, then I can't connect to that because I'm not perfect. And I know that, right? And and and I'm actually more drawn in by the struggles someone has had and gone through and the failures that they've had. I was just talking about this the other day. Like, you know, if there's somebody who's who's run a business and they've they've done everything perfectly and and I'm listening to them, I'm thinking, all right, that's great, but that doesn't really help me because I haven't done it perfectly. Right. So we we want to see imperfection, but we want to connect with people, and this comes back to how you tell your story, who have who have who have met the challenge and figured out a way to overcome or go through it and come out on the other side. That's what we're looking for. And so that's also why coach people don't run from that tension, don't run from those failures, don't run from those challenges. They're actually your key to a greater connection.
SPEAKER_03For sure. Imagine if I this is this is a true statement. It's in my book. I I know what it's like to be at the brink of failure. I was one of our stores, retail establishment, had two toddlers, wife, and it was doing like$200 days in retail, any retail establishment, and this is South Florida. I could care less if it's in Topeka, Kansas. There's nowhere in this country where you can survive off$200. And yeah, there was a moment, moment that you know, my wife was an ex-pharmaceutical sales rep, my ex-wife and myself, I was a financial advisor, and we didn't want to go back to corporate America, but it was just that being right at the brink, having the wall back against the wall. Yeah, I remember her telling me, you better make it happen. And that for a little while, I would tell people, just make it happen. And yeah, if I'm talking about someone going, you know, starting a business, I think they'd rather hear, okay, this guy survived it than you know, you know what? One day we decided to start a business, and before you know it, we had like five locations, and you know, it was easy street. Yeah, one that's boring, two, uh you're setting people up for failure because then everybody's like, oh shit. Well, if that goofy guy can do it, then I can do it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, actually, yeah, totally, totally. And and then they start thinking, well, I must be doing it wrong, because that's that hasn't been my experience.
SPEAKER_03So so well, yeah, because that's why when you you spoke about you're like, oh my gosh, you know, because everybody looks at you right now, Bill. Yeah, you know, the finished product. Sure. My girlfriend's like, oh, wow, he's got Lewis House. You know, he did the flower wrong. Sure. You didn't start out like, you know, being in this room, like, hey Lewis, can you can you just do me this favor? And sure. That that everybody looks at the X, Y, and Z. Sure. The the the real growth comes the A, B, C when you're in the dark.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, I got a good friend who I was uh running the school with back in the day, and he's former military, so he liked to use a lot of military metaphors and so forth. And he said, you know, everyone, everyone likes to look at the outcome and and want to be part of that when it all turns out well, but no one sees all the blood on the floor, right? Like, and that could be you know, craftsmen or tradesmen, the the the no one sees the blisters, no one sees the the pain that went into behind the scenes to make all that happen. And and frankly, they don't they in that in that setting, they don't want to be part of that. But if someone does and legitimately, hey, I want that outcome, and and they and they and they see this is gonna be hard, this is gonna be difficult, but we're not talking about it, you know, you've got to put in the time, you got to do those things behind the scenes to make that happen. I I think that's what you're getting at is your story has those blisters, your stories has those cut hands, you know, your story has those things, and and people people realize that and they want to hear about that authentically, and and not just not just a um, I want to watch a train wreck or a car wreck or you know, that kind of thing, but what'd you learn from it? What what what can I learn from you so I can minimize those challenges? Exactly.
SPEAKER_03And everybody loves the David and Goliath story. I mean, look, look at our favorite movies Rocky, yeah, uh Star Wars. Yeah, it it's all about overcoming major adversity because a lot of times we love to see that because we don't picture ourselves to be the hero. That's why a lot of people love fiction. Sure. It's like, wow, you know, look at that. Yeah, instead of realizing it's it's a lot closer to reality, yeah, to becoming the hero in your own story.
Power, Responsibility, And Hiding
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, and that's why I love even the title of your podcast, right? What if it did work? I mean, and that that's what I think we need to get people to switch and think, you know, what if my story did matter? What if what if I did have a story worth telling? What if I could make the world a better place by sharing my story and my and and building something out from that? A good example, I was just working with someone today. They've had a long track record of success, very successful business, sold it for a ton of money, served in politics, just a great record of service. And um, but she's struggling to figure out how do I turn that into something that I can share? How do I package it in a way? And that's what we really excel at is helping people figure out their their intellectual property, their IP. How do you turn your story into something that is can be Packaged and sold and served and all that kind of stuff. And that's really what we were getting at. And in the process, we were kind of mining into her story of all right, what lessons did you learn here? What value did you get here? What was the and as we did, I could see the light bulbs coming on in her head as she was like, Oh, wow, I hadn't even thought of it from that perspective. And now she's making connections, we're building things out, we're building out uh a whole model of things of how to get done the certain things she's trying to accomplish. So um, but but it begins with believing that it's possible. And then how what would it be possible? You know, good example. Um, Gino Wickman wrote Attraction, right? Uh, this book for business. You know, imagine uh think of the good that he has done and the businesses that he has helped from that, from taking his story, figuring out the systems behind it, packaging it in a good way, and then sharing it in a way that can be sticky, rememberable, remember memorable, repeatable, all those kind of things, to be able to do that, that that begins to really change the world and change businesses around the world. So it truly does make the world a better place.
SPEAKER_03Well, what I what you said best was when somebody has that message that's out there if you change one person's life, if you create some a new legacy, a new trajectory for one person, two people, three people, yeah, that becomes a movement. And and that that's that's something to me that's that's priceless because people would always ask me, What's what's the the point in the podcast, what's the point in the book? And I I always told people, well, you know, I don't want to be on Oprah's couch because I'm I'm an intro I'm an introvert extrovert, but you know, I can be socially awkward, so I wouldn't want to do that. It it's just to make positive change. Yeah, and whenever it's funny because God, when you know, whenever I'm feeling sorry for myself, or uh, you know, I I I haven't had Ed Milette or Andy Frisola or you know, somebody like that. Oh well, what's what's the point? I would always I'll always get a message, like a a random DM saying, Hey, you know what? Uh I listened to your uh one was from like a trucker. I I listened to your message and it it really hits, it really resonates. I just want to say that and I'm like, oh my gosh, then I'm like, man, I would be selfish if I'm telling people to go for it. Yeah, yeah, and then I quit because yeah, because I'm like, oh I'm taking my ball home.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, they're there's success, but I quantify successes if I don't have like such and such, then screw you guys.
SPEAKER_01I'm going home right, right, right, exactly, exactly. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03I couldn't imagine like you know, they're signing out on that, you know. Well, I'm just full of crap, I'm just a spoiled, rotten guy, and I I didn't get my way.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, what if it did work? I don't know, guys. You handle it, I'm out.
SPEAKER_01Well, I I you're you're so right, because because you know, you get into why are we doing what we're doing? And I think your question is exposes it, right? If people are like, hey, I just want to be known as a bestseller, or I would just want to be known as this or that. Um, if if that's your motivation behind that, um, you know, I think eventually you're gonna find it's it's an unfulfilling road. And you're you're gonna you're gonna look back and be like, oh, well, that was pointless, and I didn't really have the impact I wanted to make. I made a splash maybe, but not true impact. And so that's how we always talk about telling stories that make the world a better place. Exactly. That's really what what makes it worthwhile. That did we improve that? And and to your point, is it one person of impact that that's worth it? Is it two? Is it three? You know, uh, because you never know the impact that's gonna have and how it's gonna dramatically alter someone's life and and the whole story.
Find Your One Message
SPEAKER_03Exactly, exactly. It was funny because at the time I I just smirked. Uh it was like an exit interview for the um the TEDx people in Houston. They they finally got me approved to be worthy enough to do one. Sure. And he's like, Well, uh, what if in your life you might do one more of these or another? You write a couple more books, and you go another four, five, six, seven years, you grow your podcasts, but uh you're not that's it. And I'm like, what do you mean by that's it? And he's like, Well, you know, uh, you're not world famous, you're you just you're there, and and but you've done all that. I'm like, well, if I've done all that, that means I've I've really done a major impact because it never was like what I've never told anybody. I I mean, I grew up like a single parent, uh only child, you know, it was never the you know, I'm I'm not the one that you know I couldn't imagine like when I see those TMZ videos of somebody just like right when my first book came out, just some random person's like, Oh, I read your book and it was at the gym. And I'm like, yeah, and then she knew like my girlfriend, and she's like, Oh, that guy's such an asshole. I'm like, Well, you know, it's a stranger coming up to me, right? Right, right. I didn't know what to say, so yeah, it's never everybody has different, you know. If someone says, I just want to write books or I want to do this because I want to be Stephen King, then that like what you said, that's that's pretty shallow. That yeah, at the end of the day, uh, how about if you don't get uh to be uh Stephen King, but you you come, you know, you write one or two books that everybody knows. Does that mean uh you're not Stephen King? So yeah, that that's that's big, and and you're right, you're you're set. That's like for the person uh that well, because I know this person was me. Well, maybe if I do this, it was always like if I hit this goal, then I said this is what happiness is. That's maybe if I get that, maybe all these accomplishments and all these gurus, and it it took personal and business development, and I realized, man, that's very tiring. There the only way that uh just declare you're uh happy, it's infinite, and it's a it's a deck, you decide every day, and it's simple like that. It's just like success. It's like uh to me at the end of the day. Um you know, if the day comes I have to meet St. Peter and all that, and he's like, Well, you did so much being, you know, with your talent or whatever, I'd be like, Yeah, thank you. That that's it. I'm I find myself successful.
Imperfection Builds Connection
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, I think I I talked about this uh near the end of the book, too. Um, you know, Mark Twain said something. He he talked about um his opinion was that we all live what he calls soap bubble lives. That we are all these little bubbles that are shiny in the sunshine, we float around for a little bit and then we pop and we're gone. And that's it. That was life. And I, you know, my thought is well, thanks, Mark. I'm not gonna invite you to the next party. I'm I'm happy with that. I mean, talk about a downer, right? But I think a lot of people tend to live soap bubble lives, uh it rather than something that's intentional, story driven. This is the impact I'm gonna make, right? So soap bubble lives to me are you kind of drift wherever life takes you. You kind of aren't intentional about stewarding your story. You just you you're kind of just going through the motions. And what I'm talking about, a story-driven life is really about being intentional about the message you want to share, being intentional about the impact you want to make. How am I telling it? How what am I what am I trying to accomplish here? What good am I trying to do in the world? Um, and at the end of the day, I think it it does require it, even as I think about your podcast, it requires faith to do that. You know, when you think about what if it did work, what we're really asking is what if I believed that that was possible for me? What would I do differently? And when our belief changes, you know, I've got a friend who's uh former Blue Angel pilot, uh, and we were watching the the uh trailer for the Blue Angels special on uh Amazon Prime, I think it is right now. And you see one of the pilots in there talking about he's like, when you when you turn on those those back burners and you you know you punch the throttle, he's like, you have to hit the I believe button. When you you have to you that you have to hit that button, and man, you better believe or you're in trouble. Uh and I think that's what we all have to do. We have to hit the I believe button. We have to hit the uh I I what if what if it did work? I believe it could. What if my story is valuable? I believe it is. What then? What what do we do next? And and that that's something that each one of us can control. Each one of us can hit that button. It's there, it's it's within each one of us. Uh, we just have to choose to to to hit it and go, right? And and say, where does that belief take me? Because belief, when I talk about faith, I mean I define faith as doing what you believe to be true, often in spite of what you see, sense, or feel, right? So faith to me is doing. If you're not doing something, then I don't know what you believe, right? You just you may say some words, but that doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean you believe actually believe anything. But when you have to back it up with action, you know, like when I when I left the school with six kids and stepped out on my own, I I believed that I had this calling to be a writer and storyteller. And so I as I that was really my my situation was hey, if if that's true, then I need to I need to do something about it, I need to act on it.
SPEAKER_03And you believed without a doubt, because I'm sure you had a lot of blowback from family and friends that were like, Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, yeah. We had we had yeah, we had we had a lot of people who were like, okay, I don't know what you're doing.
SPEAKER_03But this isn't Disney World, this isn't fantasy world.
SPEAKER_01But you know, Omar, I actually had another interesting thing, and that is a lot of people would come up to me and say, Oh, I'm glad you're doing what you're doing. I'm so so happy for you. And that was though, those are their words they were saying, but their faces, the look on their faces was a was a sense of dread. Like, I'm so glad that's you and not me. Oh, that's stopping out.
SPEAKER_03But but what's crazy is yeah, they pivot when you finally broke through, then people start hating and they're like, Well, Bill had the it's not wow, that's amazing. Bill had the courage to do that. Sure. Instead, it's like, oh what the hell but the who does Bill think he is doing that? Yeah, yeah. Because it's anger that it's they don't have it within themselves to believe in themselves enough to have the courage to take the first step. Sure, sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think I think it yeah, it that's our tendency for sure. And we we tend to be so fearful, right? We're afraid of the worst case scenario, and that that's a good point. I think that's what stops people from trying, is there if they imagine the worst case scenario, like what if that happens? I mean, uh again, that's I we had those. What if what if I end up, you know, the kids in a cardboard box under a bridge? Of course, here's here's what I realized is that almost without exception, the people who are living in those situations didn't end up there because they stepped out and chased their dreams and were trying to do something like this, that that's not why they're there. Um, and what I've also learned is that when you do step out and you hit the believe button and you say, Yes, I'm in, I'm you begin to see things differently. You know, where wherever someone is right now, whoever's listening right now, if they're thinking, well, when I look at my life, I don't think this is possible. If you choose to believe and step forward and begin to take action, it's almost like it's almost like you're you're walking down a path in in some dense woods. And from the beginning of the path, you can't really see a whole lot in those forests. But as you move forward, your perspective changes and you begin to see, oh, there is something behind that tree over there, and there's something over there I didn't even know that was there. And that was this, that was what it was for me when I left the school to step out. I didn't step out thinking, I'm gonna start a business and we're gonna do this. Right. I set out to do what I love to do, and one thing led to another, and I learned and I grew and I see I saw it was possible, and relationships and all these things. I didn't set out, you know, Lewis is a good example. I didn't set out to like, oh, someday I'm gonna write a book, and Lewis will write the Ford, and Dean Graziosi will write it. That wasn't it on my radar. Um, and just like even now, you know, the story isn't over yet. Wherever I am right now, the story is still unfolding. Wherever you are right now, the story is still unfolding. And if we're willing to believe and see the power of our story and step into that, then who knows what's gonna come next.
SPEAKER_03Well, Bill, too. We all just we we try to complicate things because then we we don't have the courage to to do it because I need more information, or or this is so and this is what I love about you the story, the ecosystem framework. Yeah, you break it down, the signature model uh in in those three steps that it's like here it's not like because most people like oh, this is this has to be like calculus, or or this has to be like something so out there, sure. It it's so easy to break it down that when you look at it, you're like, Yeah, yeah, that's it. And what it is, we we have all the answers inside us, we just pretend we don't.
Blood On The Floor: The Work
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. And what you're talking about is the story ecosystem framework, right? So when you talk about, first of all, you got to get clear on your message, which we talked about, and I talked about that in chapter three, I think, how to develop your brand story and so forth, but then your message multiplier, how to turn that into a book, chapters four and five, right? Break it down, just pulling back the curtain, sharing all my experience in very simple, practical terms that anybody can act on. And then, you know, how do you monetize that message that you kind of your influence is expanding as you go? How do you turn that into other things that you can monetize and have even more impact? Because that's what money is, right? Money is a measure of value. And so to me, it's not about making money, it's about having impact. And one of the easiest uh friction-free ways for someone to show that you have delivered value to them is to give you money, right? And it's just a placeholder for value. So the more people you impact, the more money you can make. And it that's where the story ecosystem drives all of that.
SPEAKER_03Not only that, but income's the result of impact and clarity at the starting point. That's what I got out of your book, too.
SPEAKER_01Totally, totally. I mean, in income's going to be the natural result of that. Now, now that doesn't mean you know, we work with some people in the nonprofit space. We've done books with uh a group called MedSend, and we've we've written a couple books with them now, telling the stories of people who are embedded in the medical field as missionaries, like doing good work around the world, helping people. Those people are not doing it for the money, they're doing it for the impact, they're doing it for that uh um uh influence, like the changing the world from that point of view. But at the same time, even those people have the option to them. It it depends on your values, depends on your life situation. Everybody's gonna be in a different season as to what they want to pursue. It just depends.
SPEAKER_03Uh and also what I love about it is when stories, I mean, they're way more impactful than any achievement, any title, and even testimonials. Everybody believes in the testimonial, sure, but but stories, right? Stories is like to me, the because I mean, what a wake way to connect.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is. Uh you know, I was just thinking about um story of I'd actually been working with Lewis, uh Lewis House for uh a couple years. We'd done a number of things, we'd gotten clear on some branding issues, we'd developed a digital course, we developed other resources and just developed a friendship with him and his team and phenomenal people. And I remember one point he was we were talking and and and he said something about oh, he's he's starting to talk to trying to find a writer to help him with his books. And we were talking for a few minutes about I said, you know, that is what I do. He's like, What? Oh, yeah, I guess it is. I haven't even thought of that because we've done other stuff together building out his story. Um, and I said, Yeah, let's we should we should probably talk more about what that looks like. And now, uh several books later, it's just been such a privilege to walk alongside him. But it it came from a place of just serving, right? I didn't even go into the conversation or relationship thinking, oh, how can I get something out of Lewis or how can I same thing with the John Maxwell or Dean, any of these people that we've worked with. Um, you know, it's it's it's it's about a posture of service. How can I serve you? I'm not looking for anything. I just want to be of service and trust that, again, the story isn't over here, that when I do that, that will lead to good things happening, right? So I think that's a that's a big piece of how people need to adjust their approach to it rather than thinking at the outset, well, what if I try this? I've got to have this outcome. Well, what if I do this with the right heart, with the right service, be of service, try to be intentional about why I'm doing it and direction I'm going, but not try to control the outcome because I think that's where our fears come in. We we get fixated on I gotta have that outcome. And if I don't get it, I guess that's failure, like you said before, of that impact may look different than what you expect, but in many ways it could be better.
What If It Did Work Mindset
SPEAKER_03Exactly. I I remember when we were much younger, we're similar age, when that movie Mr. Holland's Opus with Richard Dreyfus. You know, when it came out, like, oh, this is hokey. We the message hits the older you get. To him, he felt he wasn't uh successful because he wanted to be, you know, this big star. He wanted to be a musician, uh and it wasn't until the very end when he realized uh all the lives that he touched. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And and that's what that's why you know it it's different. Maybe maybe what you're seeking, yeah, if it's something else, but if it's something grander, and when you talk about being in service, uh we've been hearing about it from like all the way back to Zig Ziglar. If you want to find success, help others find their success. I mean, we hear it, but a lot of times people have this scarcity. Oh, nobody helped me, so I'm not gonna help. It's like okay, okay, Ebony, sir.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, I had I had such a privilege working with Zig's family and Kevin Harrington on a project or two. In fact, I wrote a couple chapters for Secrets of Closing the Sale with Kevin. And um, you know, Zig used to always say, You can get anything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want, right? Exactly. And again, putting that service first. And that that it really is where it comes in. Um and I and I think we we often think that if I can just get something, what I want, if I can get what I want first, then I'll serve. And what I've realized is, you know, I had had lunch with somebody once in New York City who, if I said their name, everybody in America would recognize their name. Uh, it's not President Trump, by the way. Um, but if if it's that kind of that level of person, and and I was talking to them and we were talking about doing a project together, and they shared with me, they said, you know, I get paid a lot of money to come into boardrooms, come into rooms, and give my opinion on things. And they said, sometimes candidly, I don't know if anybody really cares what I have to say, or if they just want my last name in the room. Like, and I thought, well, here's someone who everyone would say, Oh, they've made it. They've got what they want. They're it and they're still struggling with the same issues. All of us are struggling. Does my message, does my message matter? Does anybody actually care about what I say? Am I having an impact? Right. And so wherever we are in that journey, whatever that, there's always someone who we could look to and say, oh, they've made it more than I have. Um, to me, it's all about, hey, that's great, but who, who, who needs my help to go forward? Who who can I help to lift up and bring with me? Because that's the kind of impact um that really makes the world a better place.
SPEAKER_03What's the number one mistake entrepreneurs make when they tell their story?
SPEAKER_01Uh, I think I think easily it's about them. Right? When they tell their story, it's about this. This is my story. They don't do that flip. They think it my story is about me. So that's pretty much it. It's about me. It's about my business, it's about my company. I'll just talk about me, me, me. Instead of being intentional, stepping back and reimagining that, hey, who is this really for? My story should be told in service of others, my wisdom should be shared in service of others. Who am I serving? And you know, going back to the audience. So I think it's getting clear on that audience and just going through that process of brand story. I literally was in the room yesterday with a young man who's built a successful company in just four or five years. And he, but he's kind of hit a lid. He's reached that place of he's done all he can on his own, and he's really needs to expand and grow. And he's trying to break into the market and stand out. And what quickly became evident was his he has a great story, personally, his origin story, but he hasn't converted it into an original. organizational story that's bigger than him. And we were talking about us possibly helping him do that. How do you take that story and turn it into something that your salespeople can know and share, your management can know and share, that everybody, when they think of your business, they think of the story. You know, think of Chick-fil-A, for example. You walk in Chick-fil-A, the the story's on the wall, like all the different places. It's always there. I was at a college campus and it was there, it was there too, right? The story's everywhere. And so they what they did was they took the individual story and they converted it into an organizational story that they tell and retell and tell and retell and they tell it consistently, which then builds trust, removes friction, all those kind of things. But I think I think that is the number one thing is especially entrepreneurs, they're so busy doing whatever it is they're doing to to get the next uh project, to pay the bills, to get things done, that they don't pause and step back and say, uh, what story am I telling? And is it the story I want to be telling that aligns with where I want to go? Because if they tell the right story in the right way, it accelerates the curve and produces greater results than they would have if they just kept their head down.
Packaging IP And Models
SPEAKER_03Now everybody has limited time or so they say they still have time to watch three, four hours a day Netflix and other stuff. But if someone really only has like 20 minutes a day, what would you have them do to start building their story ecosystem?
SPEAKER_0120 minutes a day um well again first thing that they do is go to your storyadvantage.com get a copy of the book or Amazon or wherever their good books are sold get a copy of that because and then take 20 minutes a day working through working through that'll be the first step. And there is a there is a cool course that they can get through that also that gives some guided direction on that process too. Because the first thing you have to do is again is get clear on your meaningful message. And then I would work through the brand story process to understand your story and how you're sharing it with the world. And then and then if they if if it's a fit the how do I multiply that message in a book you can take a 20 minute a day approach what I would personally do is I would partner with some people to really lay the blueprint for that book get it get clear on what that is and this is the value by the way most people don't realize they think if I'm going to write a book I got to do it all myself. And that's simply not true. That's what we do as story builders all day every day is help people bring those brand stories, bring those books to life. How do we how do we turn that into something coaching, writing whatever the case may be whatever someone's needs to be able to do that. But I but I think your question's a good one because most people think to get whatever that is done it's going to take a massive chunk of time and they don't realize no I can break it down componentize it into smaller pieces that are actually doable and I can bring in these people to do this and I can collaborate with them to do this. And before you know it you you can actually get it done. Exactly when there's a will there's a way I mean my my story my first book was during uh the pandemic so Uncle Sam gave us something yeah but I I'm one of the few that actually used my used my time wisely yeah yeah we had we had a number of people who who are in business in various different ways and they thought well if I can't do what I usually do let me get this book done so that when we emerge from this it'll be done and ready to go.
SPEAKER_03So yeah now Bill Wise book writing a book is still the power move for influence today.
Service Over Fame
SPEAKER_01Yeah well I you know writing a book is it establishes you as the authority literally the author the authority in your industry because when you've written a book you've literally written a book on the topic right and people assume you know a lot about that and especially today with the advent of AI expertise and strategy and that that kind of knowledge has become e is going to become even more important uh you know so people are going to be looking to people who can guide them start consult with them guide their strategy of how they're doing what they're doing. So establishing yourself as an author, as an expert of just talking to a gentleman a few minutes ago today um he was talking about he had made uh let me think the 12 12 million dollars in speaking fees from his book right so and that's what a book a book is a door opener. It opens doors to get higher speaking fees to get speaking fees at all to get coaching, consulting it elevates your brand to the point that you can be charging twice as much what you're charging now when you are the author of this book. Right. So it it it establishes that in that way um and it just elevates everything right and and I think especially now in addition to all the other good stuff that goes with it it just elevates everything and it positions you as that key that key voice that key thought leader in your space whether you're in the financial advisory or an attorney or uh we we work with people all over the place all different sorts of industries from nonprofit to consultants to coaches to um speakers to everybody like it it posits it allows you to elevate everything that you're doing. And I like to say um if you want to elevate you have to collaborate. You can't do it all on your own. You've got to collaborate with other people who can bring wisdom to the table to help you lift that tide to to raise the boat I gotta say here's a testimonial if I would have had your book yeah it would have been a lot easier building my brand so this is where do people buy the book by Bell Blank shine your story advantage a proven path to maximize your impact influence and income well what I recommend you do is go to your storyadvantage.com and I say that because we've got some really cool bonuses there. So you can buy the book at Amazon, Barnes Noble, Books a Million wherever good books are sold, get your book wherever and go there and claim your bonuses. So do make your storyadvantage dot com the first stop. You can buy it all from there.
SPEAKER_03And then once you get that if you're like hey I want to talk I want to you know get your input on my story feel free to book a call with us we'd love to talk to you no pressure we just we love stories and you can do that at my storybuilders.com forward slash story so just my storybuilders dot com forward slash story and we'd love to chat well then what you're saying Bill is somebody even like me who is just like well I'm I'm tired of going on people's podcasts why aren't and calling and doing this that's somebody like me I I can just sure book an appointment with you guys and just come up with a plan on and work together.
The Biggest Story Mistake
SPEAKER_01Well even if we don't work together like I said we we love hearing from people we love talking to people hearing their stories we often say if we can help you great if not we want to get out of your way so you can keep doing what you're doing and try to add some value on the call if nothing else but absolutely you know someone's like hey how do I build my brand for my personal brand my organization my story we do that all the time how do I turn it into a book we do that all the time uh all the different ways publishing promoting and then how if I want to monetize that message we do that all day every day as well for everybody from John Maxwell, Lewis Howes to people you haven't heard of yet because they are building something valuable and maybe have an impact in ways that you don't even realize. So for example one of the gentlemen we work with working on his third book now you probably have never heard of him is Greg Kagel and he's got three incredible books and from that we developed other ways to monetize it other workshops uh digital courses all that kind of stuff but he works with some of the biggest companies in the country uh from Planet Fitness to Fortune 50 companies to steel companies all over the world and and he's had a tremendous impact sold hundreds of thousands of copies of books but he his aim was not to be a bestseller it was to have an impact in a B2B business model and that's exactly what he's done and the books have really opened the door for that to happen. Well and I gotta say just speaking with you reading the book social media stalking social uh stalking the website you you're you're not like a guru you're you're not like all these gurus that are like join our platform one day you'll be on who knows what podcast then you'll be on what if it did work with Omar and then before you know it hey Lewis house Ed Milette Anthony Robbins the sky's the limit you know just join yeah and I I know you're gonna laugh that that's that's the pitch that they they will always and trust me I'm I'm an alum for sure a couple of those and then they would send me people and you're like yeah I'm so glad to be and I I heard you were you know you you were a member and this and that and I'm so happy I'm like okay well this is the biggest podcast you'll get on they told whomever they quit sending me people well I I I think I think what you're I hope what you're getting at Omar is um again I think it begins your breakthrough begins when you start with your story and I think you have to be authentic for that to happen right and so that's what I've always I've always strove to to be striven to be authentic um and be real in that regard and it just boggles my mind the the artificialness that's out there the fakeness of people who set themselves as experts and and maybe even have expertise frankly and have a have a track record of success but then they they just don't deliver the results that they promise and I see it all the time and it just it I just tell my team today it just blows me away that they seem to be okay with that. Many people seem to be okay with overpromising under delivering and that's all right and uh that's not how we do things if we're gonna if we're gonna do something we're gonna do it exceptionally well or not do it at all.
SPEAKER_03No and I I completely mean that you'll you'll definitely hear you'll you'll get a call from me on all that because it was the aha when I saw all that just in the sense everything about you you didn't send me a digital copy you sent me a physical copy of your book. I mean I I had a CEO of a publicly traded corporation that I had on and he couldn't even send me a digital copy and this guy's and I'll right before we got on I'm like well you know I never received that digital copy you know I was I was about to purchase your book you know and he's like well do you want us to postpone it so you can buy it and give you time to read it I'm like oh my gosh this guy's insane I'm like no dude that it's it's okay I've my my superpower is I've got it I'm like you uh my degrees are in history and communication yes very similar introverted person like me to communicate yeah god only knows yeah man thank you for the time sure and just one last question usually it's like oh why well I don't have a store I'm not gonna have that it it would be a a fun one just because it would be something different overall I loved hearing your origin story loved hearing about the children the missus the school but overall if your story was a movie what genre would it be uh it would be an epic adventure not not not quite you know lord of the rings type of thing um you know it would need to have a good deal of comedy and enjoyment on the journey camaraderie friends you know the fellowship would be I would picture like uh I don't know why Richard Dreyfus has been like two big movie references like what about Bob like a wholesome fun loving movie with plenty of growth in it yeah if I if I could merge what about Bob with Lord of the Rings and Mr.
SPEAKER_04Holland's opus we'd probably be honest you you weren't thinking there there was going to be the the late 80s to early 90s exactly exactly that's ultra references that's when that's when my story would be set right there.
Build An Organizational Story
SPEAKER_03Yeah absolutely thank you for everything brother this was incredible for everyone listening your story it's your story it's not a liability it's an asset it's not your scar it's not your shame it's not it's not something to be humiliated or have humiliation on we spoke for an hour it's your advantage if you tell it with purpose structure courage it can become the bridge between who you were and who you're becoming Bill love it love the book don't buy it on Amazon trust me buy it off his website there's all those bonuses man brother thank you for your time and thank the missus because now I mean I that that was an hour that you that I took away from whatever you're supposed to be doing right now. So thank you for the time oh you're very welcome