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You took time to set a New Yearโ€™s resolution in January, and now itโ€™s July Jul 03, 2023

Are you on track to hit your goals for 2023? If so, congrats, keep up the outstanding work!  If not, why?  Have you kept the same habits?

In one of my favorite books, The Power of Habit, the author, Charles Duhigg, says, “Habits exist so we can get the rewards we want.”

...

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Halfway through the year with the Stories With Traction Podcast! Jun 30, 2023

Check out the episodes so far…

 

๐—๐—ฎ๐—ป

Jan 6 - Part 1 | Six Figure Sales Secrets with Marcus Chan

Jan 13 - Part 2 | Six Figure Sales Secrets with Marcus Chan

Jan 20 - Be Intentional With Your Giving with Dan Koval

Jan 27 - Part 1 | Company Culture: Definition, Benefits, and Strategies...

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How to Get Involved in Politics | Stories With Traction Podcast Jun 30, 2023

 

SHOW NOTES:

PODCAST EPISODE MENTIONED: Stories of Leadership.

SUMMARY: In this episode, Terence Farrell and Matt Zaun talk about how you can get involved politically.

TERENCE FARRELL BIO: Terence served as a Chester County Commissioner for 12 years, and before that, he was the Recorder of...

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My youngest son helped me launch the Stories With Traction movement. ๐Ÿ‘‡ Jun 28, 2023

From January - July 2019, I set up a mock workshop in my house.

My only audience members: my son and his stuffed bear.

I'd give my workshop to the two of them for hours every day.

Thinking to myself, one day it won't just be to my boy and his bear but to audiences all over the world.

For 7...

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Whatโ€™s the craziest thing youโ€™ve ever done to get attention for your business or career? Jun 27, 2023

 ๐—ช๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜€๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€?

That’s what Bob Parsons did in 2011.

He killed it, caught it on video, and then tweeted about it. 

He got tons of hate mail for it, and this is what he said, “When the only argument critics have is to...

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People want to be uplifted and inspired; they donโ€™t want to be used! Jun 27, 2023

Instead of trying to manipulate people, I challenge you to inspire those around you instead!

Here are some thoughts to help you motivate others to buy into your ideas:
 
1. Honesty is the best policy. You do NOT need to make-up situations and lie to #communicate persuasively. By being...

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Post regularly! Jun 27, 2023

Amazon spends billions of dollars a year on advertising, and some people wonder if posting on LinkedIn every day is overdoing it!  Do you want to get above the noise or not?! 

If so, focus on consistently sharing your #stories, offering #value, and building trust with your connections...

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Have you embraced what your area is obsessed with? Jun 27, 2023

One of my favorite things about speaking all over the country is I get to see cultural obsessions. Love how passionate Skamania County is with Bigfoot. Plus, it’s been a huge boon to the economy there. They literally sell anything and everything with Bigfoot on it.

Have you embraced what...

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The importance of being a โ€œgreat watcher? Jun 27, 2023

We often hear that it’s wise to be a “good listener,” which is sound advice, but why do we talk so much about the importance of listening?

Why don’t we talk about the importance of being a “great watcher?”

Communication is 80% body language.

If we learn how to...

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The Power of Collaboration | Stories With Traction Podcast Jun 25, 2023

SHOW NOTES:

SUMMARY: In this episode, Linda Goldstein and Matt Zaun talk about Linda’s time as Mayor of Clayton, MO, and what she learned about getting things done through collaboration.

LINDA GOLDSTEIN BIO: Linda is the Founder and CEO of Linda Goldstein Consulting; she is the former Mayor...

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The CEO sets the tone! Jun 20, 2023

One of my Grandmothers used to tell me, ”when I tell you to jump, you ask how high! When I tell you to do something, you do it, period!” She forced me to listen to her out of FEAR!

My other Grandmother, on the other hand, would tell me why she wanted me to do certain things.

She showed...

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Hope you like your hit of dopamine.๐Ÿ‘‡ Jun 20, 2023

So many content creators on here want “likes.”

No strategy.  Just fluff. 

I know someone that has 1,000,000+ Linkedin followers, and their business is struggling. 

I also know someone with a 10,000 followers, and their business is thriving. 

The difference? ...

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How Opinion Surveys Are Hurting Your Business | Stories With Traction Podcast Jun 20, 2023

SHOW NOTES:

SUMMARY: In this episode, Craig Andrews and Matt Zaun talk about building trust through a First Time Offer (FTO), how to strategically position the buying process, and why opinion surveys are hurting your business.

CRAIG ANDREWS BIO: Craig is the Principle Ally and Founder of Allies4me,...

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Have you ever noticed how great musicians dominate a stage and hold the audience in the palm of their hand? Jun 13, 2023

Artists like…

Beyoncé Knowles

Freddie Mercury

Taylor Swift

 

Have/had intentional, choreographed movements on stage.  Walk this way, hold the mic like this, look out at the audience in this way.  

 

It's planned.  All timed.  And mastered.  

 ...

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This quote is absolute B.S... Jun 12, 2023

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

Really?! 

Fuji imitated Kodak, and it worked out for them. 

Facebook (in the early years) imitated MySpace, and it worked out for them.

Honda imitated Toyota, and it worked out for them. 

All of the...

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The Importance of Learning Tours | Stories With Traction Podcast Jun 09, 2023

 

SHOW NOTES:

SUMMARY: In this episode, Kirsten Yurich and Matt Zaun talk about the importance of “learning tours” and how it enhances company culture.

KIRSTEN YURICH BIO: Kirsten went from clinical director at the Vista School to CEO. Due to her leadership, she increased revenue...

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It's a reminder to give more... Jun 08, 2023

She donated her entire 51 million fortune to charity when she died in 2007…



Even though Anita Roddick was one of the richest women in the UK in the 90s, she never hoarded her wealth.

The more money she made through her company, The Body Shop, the more she pumped money into causes she cared...

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Principles Jun 08, 2023

If you tie your identity up in your work, and then you lose business, or you lose your job, you'll be devastated. Many people learn this the hard way.

Your work doesn't define you as a human being; your principles do. 

Our work changes, but our principles should remain the same.

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โ€œ๐˜ผ๐™ข๐™–๐™ฏ๐™ค๐™ฃ ๐™๐™–๐™จ ๐™– ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง๐™ง๐™ž๐™—๐™ก๐™š ๐™—๐™ช๐™จ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™š๐™จ๐™จ ๐™ข๐™ค๐™™๐™š๐™ก.โ€œ Jun 06, 2023

Back in 2008, I was a conference where a “thought leader” gave a presentation on how “Amazon will be out of business soon.”

If I would have invested $10,000 in Amazon stock right after that talk, today I would have $626,668.80. 

Just because some people don’t...

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โ€œInsanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.โ€ Jun 06, 2023

Context people. 

When Einstein gave his famous quote about “...expecting different results,” he was referring to a mathematical equation, not business. 

If you want to grow your company, you have to do stuff over and over and over again, even when it doesn’t seem to be...

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Google is a failure! Jun 05, 2023


Google+
Google Glass
Google Dodgeball

...are just a few of their many failures. 

But guess what?! No one views Google as a company that's a failure in the marketplace! Why? They had to go through failures to reach the level of success they have today. 

People only think about...

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June Schedule... Jun 05, 2023

Last year, while my speaking calendar for this year was booking up, I made a change...


I decided I would only speak at events that I could easily drive to in the month of June.

This way, I could still focus on my passion: showing people how to persuade with power through storytelling...

...but by...

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355,289 vs. 221 Jun 04, 2023

8 days ago, I wrote a LinkedIn post that took me 20 mins to write, and it got 221 impressions, which ended up being my worst LinkedIn post since being on the platform.  

The very next day, I wrote a post that took me 2 mins to write, and it ended up being my most-viewed post with 355,289...

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