You object to telling stories because…
My story doesn’t matter
Nobody cares about that
or
My story is not big enough.
Well… I’ve written about this, but here’s more proof directly from my 3 viral reels that all tell a story and neither of them are about a BIG moment or anything particularly special.
I’ll share them and break them down, but first think about impactful stories by considering your favorite movie.
Let’s use Remember the Titans.
If you haven’t seen it, here’s a summary:
In Virginia, high school football is a way of life, an institution revered, each game celebrated more lavishly than Christmas, each playoff distinguished more grandly than any national holiday. And with such recognition, comes powerful emotions. In 1971 high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the local school board was forced to integrate an all black school with an all white school, the very foundation of football’s great tradition was put to the test.
Based on the objections I hear (my story isn’t big enough), all that should matter in this movie is whether the Titans win the State Championship this season or not.
That is the big moment at the end, isn’t it?
That is what every high school athlete (and their parents and the town that’s obsessed with football) wants, right?
But honestly… who gives a shit about some high school team from Virginia winning the state champs.
As the description denotes, this is about racism.
And the only reason we actually care if the Titans win the championship is because we see the tension between these two races.
And best of all, we see racism turn into brotherhood.
There’s the scene where they are in the locker room making momma jokes at each other and then end up singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” together. As one.
Then at the end of the movie when Riggins (white) is in the hospital and Williams (black) comes to visit him and the nurse says, only family is allowed.
Riggins says, “Can’t you see… this is my brother.”
Fuck…. I’m crying just writing this.
I have no idea what racism is like.
I’ve never experience anything like that in my life.
So why am I sitting here crying?
Because, to me, watching people overcome their differences and find love for each other is one of the most beautiful things in this world.
I have friends that are brothers to me.
I know what that bond is like.
I know how important it is.
I know what it’s like to be afraid to not belong and then be accepted with deep and true love.
State Champs? I honestly can’t remember if they win or lose. I’d have to Google it because I’m confusing too many football movies in my head.
But you know what scenes I didn’t have to Google?
Exactly.
It’s these little moments that make us human that create great stories and characters we fall in love with because we can see ourselves in them.
We feel seen and we feel like we belong.
And boy, does that feel good!
Here are my 3 viral reels.
1. The little boy who grew up…
1.39M views with 79,038 likes
Not necessarily a traditional story, but a story nonetheless.
As Hemingway proved, a story can be as simple as, “For Sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.”
A story just needs to provoke emotion.
That’s what this reel did.
The people who loved this leave comments and say they feel so seen. They never had someone be able to name their experience so precisely.
I wasn’t sharing their experience, all I did was share the truth of mine.
There’s no big moment.
I didn’t die trying to save my country and I didn’t slay any dragon.
I just shared these small moments of my life where I can tell I am not healed from my childhood.
We are truly not that different.
What gift it is to share and allow other people a space to feel seen.
2. The Bear
2.62M views with 248,497 likes
Once again, nothing big here.
I was watching The Bear, noticed how hard he was working, I know that he’s a Michelin star chef, and thought to myself, “Could I be working harder.”
I didn’t talk about how I work less and made a million dollars.
I didn’t talk about how I worked more and made a million dollars.
I didn’t even talk about hitting rock bottom.
There’s no BIG moment here.
Simply a reflection of a moment in time.
Lots of people love it and agree, lots of people got very upset and triggered and projected onto me (which means I made them feel something)..
All I thought was that I could work a little harder and maybe I am using spirituality as an excuse to not work hard.
I didn’t say anything about working 16 hour days.
I didn’t say I want to be like the character of the show (who does have some serious issues).
Just a simple moment in a time that allowed people to identify with their values with and say, “YES” or identify with their values by saying “NO!”
(also here’s a hack I’ve been thinking about. I called my penne, spaghetti and that really sent people off the edge. hahahahaha. So man comments telling me that is NOT spaghetti. It was an accident, but could be an interesting engagement hack. However, you know I’m not one for hacks. They don’t feel aligned so I haven’t done this intentionally in any other reels. But if it excites you, go for it.)
3. I won’t say “I saw this already”
2.81M views with 255,314 likes
Once again a simple moment in time.
I hated that someone would send me a reel and, if I already saw it, I would reply with, “haha I saw that yesterday.”
A very REAL thought that I was having for months.
I am highly self aware of how my actions effect people and this is one of those moments that I decided to share. Clearly I was not alone in this.
Some people love it and totally agree because they were having the same thoughts.
Some people tell me it’s not that deep and maybe never considered it before.
All well and good.
This is my truth.
No big life changing moment. Just a regular ass human moment.
Bonus Note
Out of all the reels I make with all the b-roll and editing, notice how simple these edits are.
1 is insanely simple, short and just a few shots.
2 and 3 are just a shot of me, the back to the screen, then me and back to the screen. So simple.
Copy Me!
I encourage you to tell stories like this.
When you “steal like an artist” just make content EXACTLY like mine but tell your own story. By that I mean you can do exactly what I did shot for shot for #1, but use your own truth.
For #2 and #3, tell a story and film one angle of you observing something, then another angle of the thing you’re observing. Then go back and forth between the two as your story develops.
The only thing you change is to tell your own story.
When you tell your own story, all you have to do is take your audience from a disempowered belief to an empowered one.
Summary
There you have it.
I couldn’t provide more concrete proof than that.
Also, it’s not to say the big moments don’t matter.
I think if you want to be a leader, you should be doing great stuff and accomplishing your goals.
Still important to do and share.
BUT
To build a deep connection with your audience, it’s not ALL about that.
Do both.
If you don’t have the big moments to share yet, go get some and share the journey.
Just like Pixar #1 rule of storytelling, “we admire a character for trying more than for their success.”
📚 If you liked this, you may like the breakdown of my 13 favorite storytelling rules from Pixar that will change the way you create content. Read it here.
Also, I only open my membership a few times per year. I am opening it in about 2 weeks ONLY to people on the waitlist. If you want to create stories like this that build your brand so you change more lives, join the waitlist by clicking here.
With Love,
Matt
P.S. A client just left my membership last month and on his final call he said, “Thank you content is now so fun again.” He came in plateaued at 9,000 followers for over a year and left around 14,000. In the last month since he left, he blew up and recently just surpassed 50,000 followers. I hope I get a chance to make content incredibly energizing for you too. Get on the waitlist by clicking here.
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