In this episode of Becoming Bridge Builders, host Rev. Dr. Keith Haney talks with Bill Blankschaen, founder of Story Builders, about the transformative power of storytelling. They explore how each person has a unique story that can give a competitive edge in leadership and influence. Bill shares insights on overcoming self-doubt, the importance of structuring messages effectively, and how storytelling helps build trust in today's skeptical world. The conversation also covers the vision behind Story Builders and future goals to help others tell their stories.

Takeaways

• Everyone has a story worth telling.
• Your story gives you a unique advantage.
• Overcoming the normalcy trap is crucial.
• Confidence traps can hinder storytelling.
• The storytelling structure is essential for effective communication.
• Attention, tension, connection, solution, and action are key steps.
• Intentional storytelling builds trust.
• Your message should serve others, not just yourself.
• The first step in writing a book is clarity on the main message.
• Legacy is about living a story worth telling.

Links referenced in this episode:

• mystorybuilders.com
• yourstoryadvantage.com

Welcome to Becoming Bridge Builders, the podcast where we explore how to connect people, ideas and opportunities to create lasting impact.

I am your host, Keith Haney.

Today we're talking about something that affects every leader, entrepreneur and influencer.

The power of your story.

Today, our guest, Bill Blankshane, founder and chief story architect for Story Builders.

Bill and his team have worked with some of the most influential voices and leadership, business and culture names like John C. Maxwell, Michael Hyatt, Zig Ziglar's family, and even Shark Tank's Kevin Harrington.

Bill is also New York Times best selling writer and author of youf Story A Proven Pathway to maximize your impact, influence and income.

We welcome Bill to the podcast.

How you doing today, Bill?

Oh, Keith, thank you for that kind intro.

Such a pleasure to be here with you.

Always love talking story and looking forward to diving in.

Yeah, yeah, I love talking stories too.

Looking forward to it.

It should be fun.

But I'm gonna ask you my favorite question as we jump in here.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

Boy, that's a tough one, Keith.

Cause I feel like I've been the beneficiary of so much good advice over the years from so many people who know more than me.

I think, you know, I think some of the best advice I ever heard was, you know, it actually didn't come from a person, like an in person.

And this is, I think that this is important.

I got it through a book and so I got it from somebody capturing their story and sharing it.

But it's.

I think it was Davy Crockett, actually, or one of those Daniel Boone, somebody like Davy Crockett.

But he said this.

I don't, I don't know about other people, but I sometimes I find myself, you know, facing indecision when I need to make a decision.

I could do this, I could do that.

I see the value of this, value of that.

And his advice was really simple.

It was be sure you're right, then go ahead.

And I just found that to be clarifying for me.

Hey, if, if I'm, if I'm right about this, then just go.

And what I learned through that process was that as you move forward, even if that decision wasn't maybe completely, a hundred percent the best decision, as you move forward with that mindset, things become clearer.

You can alter, you can pivot, you can adjust.

And you, you see things you didn't see before because you had the courage to step out and take that action.

I've done that just many times in life.

And always look back and appreciated the fact that I was all right.

I'm pretty sure I'm right, so I'm going in.

I like that.

It's good.

So let's talk about the title of your book, your story Advantage.

What does that phrase mean to you and why is it so important for leaders today?

Well, that phrase is so important to me because story is important to me.

And, And I think.

Here's what I believe, Keith.

I believe everybody has a story worth telling, and I think that story gives them a unique advantage.

And I don't just mean story like what has happened to you in your life, the events of your life, but what did you learn from it?

What are the lessons you've accumulated over the years, the expertise you've acquired, that body of wisdom, if you will, that you've grown along the way?

And I think so many people undervalue that because it feels normal to them.

They.

They don't feel like it's something special.

And, And I'm really on a mission to help people understand every story matters and that they have this distinct advantage to grow their business, to grow their influence, their impact in powerful ways if they're willing to lean into it.

And, and, and, and do that because I.

That's where breakthrough happens.

Breakthrough begins when you start with your story.

And I, I could go into, you know, my own story of, of how that was true for me.

I love that.

If you don't mind, let me just, Let me just dive into.

As I'm thinking about it, because I'm like.

Because I, I used to be.

I used to not do what I do now.

I used to be.

Helped start a private school, was leading that for, oh, my, almost a dozen years.

And we grew it from the ground up.

At K4 through 12 was a really great college prep school, got awesome hugs from kindergarteners every morning, helped teenagers navigate life, work with families in the trenches of.

Of tough stuff.

And I was doing good things.

But at the same time, I felt within me there was this sense of almost a calling to be a writer, to be a storyteller.

And I always thought of myself as that.

But I realized I'm not actually writing.

I'm not actually storytelling.

I'm not doing the things that I think I'm put here to do, even though I'm doing something good.

And so eventually I had to reach the place of.

I didn't want to look back on my life and regret not having leaned into my story, leaned into who I was meant to be.

So I stepped away from that school, stepped out into the unknown.

And just like you, we had six kids and going through that process and, and.

And I never worked harder in my life through.

Through that entire year.

You know, learning, publishing, the whole industry, the ins and outs, interviewing publishers, meeting with publishers, developing book proposals, writers, everything in the space, like, understanding all of it, really becoming a student of kind of the science and the art of storytelling.

But it wasn't easy, as you can imagine, you know, stepping out from that into the unknown.

I remember one time I was sitting in the backyard, and this was in Northeast Ohio.

Sitting in the backyard, beautiful spring day.

And I had my pen and paper out, and I was kind of writing ideas for this book that I wanted to write.

And on the outside, it was a beautiful day.

The winds, you know, whiff wafting through the trees, the sun shining, the birds are chirping.

But on the inside, I felt that fear of man, what if this doesn't work?

Six kids, no income.

How is this going to turn out?

Are we all going to be living in a cardboard box under a freeway somewhere?

How is this going to happen?

But I just kept moving forward and I kept doing it.

And curiously enough, as it turned out, that very book that I was working on that day ended up getting picked up by a publisher, ended up publishing that book, writing that, and realizing I was actually really good at this and really good at the storytelling and the writing.

And other people began to ask me, hey, can you help me with my book?

Can we help do.

And out of that came story builders, right?

So.

So since then, you know, like, we've been working with people like John Maxwell, Dean Graziosi, and all sorts of people like that.

But to me, it.

It.

One of the things that I'm really empowered by is the people who are building something.

Maybe you haven't heard of them yet, but they have a valuable message that they want to share with the world.

And helping them create, create that and build that and multiply that message really is about making the world a better place.

How can we help amplify those voices?

By seeing the value of their story, their ideas, their message, and then actually helping them create things, whether their brand story, their book, or a lot of other ways to monetize a message as well.

But all of it comes back to that core idea of your breakthrough begins when you have that courage to really start with your story, embrace it, and live it out.

It's so funny you mentioned.

I did my doctoral dissertation, and I wanted to turn that dissertation, all those numbers and research into Something that was digestible by normal folks who weren't into the numbers.

So I wrote.

My last book was about telling a story of organizational change.

By telling a story, having a young pastor go to a congregation and learn the pains of trying to navigate change and the lessons he learned.

And you're right, telling a story is so powerful.

And I think most people feel like you just said that we don't have anything worth telling.

So how do you get people to overcome the sense that my story isn't all that special?

Yeah, well, I think there's two traps that are related here.

One is the normalcy trap, which I just mentioned, that your story feels normal to you and so you don't value it.

And it's only when we actually have the courage to share what we've learned that other people, you see it a light bulb, come on in somebody else's eyes, right?

They're like, oh, that's actually really helpful.

Thank you.

And we walk away thinking, that was helpful.

I didn't think that was that big a deal.

It feels normal to me.

But the normalcy trap is also related to what I call the confidence trap.

The confidence trap says that we tend to deify others and diminish ourselves.

We tend to put other people on a pedestal.

Their story, their message, they are amazing.

But I'm not really that special.

I don't really have that much to contribute.

And it's almost like this false sense of pride, really, that that gets in our own way and we stumble over it.

I remember some years ago, I had lunch in.

In New York City with someone who, if I shared their last name, everybody would know the last name, guaranteed.

And I had lunch with this person.

We were talking about helping them create a digital course and monetize their message in some ways.

And.

And this person just confided in me and said, you know, I get invited to some pretty powerful rooms, and they pay me a lot of money to come in and share my opinion.

But I gotta tell you, a lot of times I'm not confident they actually care about my opinion.

I just think they want my last name in the room.

And I thought, well, here's this person who most people would say has made it, and everybody cares what they think, and they've arrived.

They're the ones on the most people's pedestal.

And here they're diminishing themselves still, right?

Like, well, if they're doing it.

And I've seen the same thing from New York to la, everywhere in between.

It's this human tendency.

And so Recognizing that everybody has the same problem, I think gives us the courage to say, all right, then I just need to get clear on my message, my what I call our meaningful message, and then follow a proven process to bring that to life and share it.

So let's talk about that proven process because I know people are dying to know.

Okay, tell me, what are the secret in my work, I always just heard you say, tell me the secret sauce to reach lost people.

Give me the magic bullet.

But tell us a little bit about what your strategy is to maximize impact, influence and income.

Yeah, well, and that's why I put it all in the book, right?

Your story advantage, that's the whole purpose of the book, is let's pull the curtain back and share it with everybody.

I want to dump a dozen years of learning on people in simplified, actionable ways.

And I think it begins with getting clear on that meaningful message, really given some thought to what is it that you are passionate about and that is meaningful and that has an impact.

And I give a process for how to do that in the book.

But that leads to what I call the storytelling structure, which is a.

It's a five part process that people can use to tell anything, any message you want to make, any message matter.

It's like, it's like taking the magic of storytelling and laying it over the message that you want to tell.

But I got, I think, one of the biggest ahas about using that storytelling structure.

And I'm happy to walk through each step if that works for you.

But one of the biggest ahas is the realization that your story is about you, but your story is not for you.

And I think a lot of people, a lot of pastors make that mistake, right?

They're like, hey, I get up in the pulpit and I've got this great message to share and everybody's going to love it because I think it's awesome and I'm going to put it.

And then they haven't given thought to who is this actually for?

I mean, ultimately, of course, for the pastor.

I'm doing this for God, but I'm serving the people by doing this.

And so that's one of the biggest flips.

And if we can make that flip, then we understand that my story that I'm sharing, the wisdom that I'm sharing, the message I'm sharing is in service for others.

I'm doing this to make the world a better place.

Not for me.

And so with that in mind, then you can approach that five part storytelling structure and work through that to really create any message, frankly.

It could be a blog post.

It could be a sermon.

It could be an example.

It could be a book.

It could be your brand story.

Whatever you're doing, you can use this as your.

As your guideline, your template to create something really powerful.

I want to dig into that a little bit more, because when I do a sermon, when I got better at this than when I first started out, my wife gave me a piece of advice that always stuck with me as I prepare a sermon or a message.

And that is, what does the hearer need to understand that they don't now?

And so instead of.

Like you said, instead of me preaching a message that I think is really cool, my focus is always on what about what I'm about to say may confuse someone or they may not understand.

And so I'm answering the questions that I think people out in the audience are asking in my message more than just preaching to myself.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

Well, you're doing what I just said.

You're putting yourself in the place of the audience, right?

Of what are they thinking and feeling?

And this is where the storytelling structure starts.

It starts with the first step in the storytelling structure is attention.

You have to get people's attention.

We often assume that because I care about what I'm saying, everybody else must care about what I'm saying.

And you know better than that.

As you watch people fall asleep in the congregation, not everybody's there fully present.

So you have to get their attention.

To do that, you have to ask, what is it that they want?

What is it that they really want?

And then the second part of that, once you get clarity on that, and that takes a little digging, not just on the surface, but really deep down, what do they want beneath the surface?

But then the second part is closely connected, which I call tension.

So attention getting their attention, and then tension, which is what you were just saying.

What are the problems that they have?

What are the challenge?

What's keeping them from getting what they want?

What's holding them back in this space?

What are the barriers that exist?

And in there, you can really drill down into thinking about tangible barriers and intangible barriers.

Tangible barriers.

Stuff they can touch, taste, feel.

You know, that could be, I don't have money.

I don't have time.

I don't have these resources.

I don't know, whatever that might be.

But the intangible ones, that.

That goes to what we talked about a minute ago with my friend in.

In New York of.

You know, I have.

I have fears that I'M wrestling with.

Or I, I don't think I'm good enough, or I don't think I'm capable of that.

Or what if I fail?

And what, what if people laugh when I fail?

You know, all the, that's the stuff that's really behind a lot of that.

And then once you give thought to that, then you can.

Then and only then do you make what I call the connection point three, the connection connecting your story with their need and what they.

And what they need.

So if you're talking about your brand, that's when you, that's when you can talk about you, but only in the context of what do they want, what do they need?

Because that's where their, that's where their zone of concern is.

That's where their focus is.

That's what, that's what matters to them.

On the other hand, if you're, if you're, if this is about messaging something, let's say a leader to an organization or a team, then it's about, all right, what story can I pull in from my experience or the organization's experience?

Again, thinking about what do they want?

What are the problems they have?

How can I bring that story together to set up the fourth step, which is the solution.

So, attention, tension, connection, solution.

And the solution is where most pastors, most leaders, most people with a message, that's usually where they start at step four.

They skip the first three, jump right to step four, and say, this is what I have to say, and assume everyone's going to listen.

And it is an important piece.

The solution is a very important piece because that's where you create your intellectual property.

That's where you create your core message.

That's where you really refine that.

It's the key to monetizing a message in a lot of different ways and multiplying that impact.

But we can't start there, right?

And so when you get to that, then you can really, here's the solution to your problem.

Here's what I have brought to the table.

And this is where, you know, we, we do such, I think, phenomenal work at story builders, helping people to build that out and develop it to create that intellectual property which people can then figure out.

How do, how do I monetize that into different ways depending on the situation?

We can talk through scenarios, but.

But all that leads to the fifth step, which is action, action.

What do you want people to do based on the solution you're presenting?

What do you want them to do?

Keeping in mind your expertise?

You know what they should do.

And as a pastor, this is always part of that, Right?

You're thinking, how can I call them to live differently, do something differently, act differently?

You know, what.

What does that look like?

But in business or leadership of any kind of.

We can't just assume people know what the next logical step is, that they can put all the pieces together.

And so providing that path of the next logical step is to do this, or here's.

And here's how to do it.

And I give a whole action matrix building.

And in the book, I have a couple chapters devoted to how do you do this in a book?

And what does it mean in a book?

And all the questions to ask.

And so there's a lot more depth to all of this.

But just that storytelling structure can be so helpful to create just a sticky.

Whatever message you're trying to share, lay this on top of it, and it can really help bring it to life.

As I look how your book is laid out, I look at it and I notice chapter five is how to structure your book.

And I'm curious.

What you just said is because as most people want to start right there.

Okay, let me just.

Tell me how to lay out the book first.

What do you say is probably the most important thing to figure out before you get to how do I lay out this book?

Is it developing and honing the story that you're trying to tell before you try and lay out the how you're going to tell the story?

Yeah.

Well, we have six bookstarter questions, and I lay all these out in the book, so they're certainly there for everybody to see.

The first one, the very first one, is what we call the story focus question.

And that gets to what you're talking about here.

And the question is this.

If someone were to read your book, let's imagine the book is done.

It's in their hands.

They read it, they close it, they set it on the bedside table, and they walk away.

And they forget 99% of what they just read.

It's wiped clean.

They only remember one thing.

What do you want that one thing to be?

What's that one thing that you want, man?

If they forget everything else, don't forget this.

And I have found that question to be just a very powerful question for people to help clarify for themselves.

Yeah.

What is that one thing that I want to stick with?

And what's the one thing that really matters if you forget everything else?

There's a lot of good stuff I can say, a lot of great wisdom I can say, but what's the one thing?

And if you get clear on that, that becomes kind of the tip of the arrow for the whole book project.

Of.

Of the book then gets built around communicating that one thing.

And as that becomes so powerful, because as if you've written books or, you know, people who've worked on books, a book is not a short thing.

I mean, a book can be 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90,000 words.

You know, it's a lot of words, a lot of ideas, and there's a lot of good stuff and a lot of book drafts that should get cut because it doesn't support the main idea.

Maybe it's great for another book or another message or so forth, but so many people just have the idea that I just got to dump everything I know into a book and call it a book, and people will think it's great.

But again, it's not about you.

It's a.

It's for them, right?

It is about you, but it's for them.

So that first question is critical.

That story, focus, question.

It begins with getting clear on what's.

What is that one thing to ask?

Because that is going to be so critical to lay the foundation for truly a book that really resonates with people.

So you've spent your whole career helping people develop and tell their stories.

What was the defining moment for you to say, this is what I want to invest my life in?

Boy, that's a great question.

I think it's hard to find a defining moment because even as a boy, as a young boy, I loved stories.

I sucked up books.

I didn't read them, absorb them, right.

I mean, I was the kid who sat at the breakfast table and.

And kept spinning the cereal box, reading it endlessly, as I hate.

Right?

I just.

I just always had that and always thought of myself as a student of story.

You know, I.

My.

Even in my college work, I did.

I majored in English and history.

Like, what.

What are the stories that took place and how do I communicate them in a powerful way?

So I think that's always been part of it.

I've always loved it.

But I think it.

I think the pivotal thing came when.

When I helped or when I wrote that first book and realized, you know, this is actually really good.

And as I began to help other people and having them show, oh, that's so appreciate that.

Or people would tell me, I never could have done this without you, those kind of things.

And.

And I.

And I felt like I had actually contributed something.

Not just helpful, but Transformative, Right.

Because that's really what I love to do, is we take ideas that are really good ideas and make them exceptionally great ideas.

Right?

So we take what, what's good and turn it into great or what's okay and turn it into something great in that process.

It's a collaborative process.

And that, that's why one of the things I say is, is if you want to elevate, you have to collaborate.

You've got to be willing to work with other people.

If you try to do it all on your own, you can only get so high.

You know, John Maxwell talks about the law of the lid.

You run into that lid and you can't lift that lid without help from others to help you do that lifting and leverage their expertise.

So from my experience, I think it's always been there, but I think the light bulb really came on when it began to actually do it and see how powerful it was.

So tell us the vision behind Story Builders.

Yeah, well, I mean, the vision is every story matters.

We believe that at a very deep level.

And we're a Christian company, by the way.

I mean, that that's what's undergirds our values, right?

So that's where we're coming from and why we believe every story matters.

And so as we're working with people, you know, we often tell people, you don't have to share the details of our faith to enjoy the benefits of our beliefs because we're very values driven in how we do things.

And so that's all part of our vision.

Our vision is not just to make more money.

That, that isn't our vision.

Our vision is to help people tell their stories well, to make the world a better place.

And that's what drives us, what fuels us.

So, you know, that's the vision is to be.

Is to help people who have valuable messages but don't know how to multiply them, don't know how to share them well, don't know how to package them and make them into something that will truly resonate and get out there.

And because of that, I don't want them to be like where I thought I might be at the end of my life, looking back and regretting.

If only I had done a better job of communicating this.

If only I had done something.

I don't want those regrets to be there.

You know, I want people to be able to tell their story in a way that resonates.

So at the end of this journey, they look back and say, you know, I contributed a verse to humanity's.

Song.

And it was a meaningful verse and I made a difference and I made an impact.

So if I walked into StoryBuilders, how would you help me to figure out my brand, develop my story?

Well, how would you work with me?

Sure, absolutely.

Well, first of all, you wouldn't be able to walk in because we have a virtual team.

So you could, you could virtually walk in.

You were in Orlando, I'd be happy to sit down with you, we grab coffee or something.

Absolutely.

But yeah, so it depends on what you need.

I mean, that's really what we do is we don't come in with an agenda.

We come in, let's get to know you, let's figure out what your story is.

And sometimes, candidly, Keith, sometimes we're not the right fit to help people with where, whenever they are, where they're at, or with what the project is.

Sometimes we can send them to other people that we know who can help them with certain things.

But, but if we are, you know, for instance, I talk about our story ecosystem and, or your story ecosystem.

And the first part of that ecosystem at the core is the brand story.

And so some people we work with, individuals or organizations, need to get clarity on the story they're telling and sharing with the world.

And that's where we can help them.

But if they do have clarity on that, the next step in that ecosystem is that message multiplier.

Once you make your message, you got to multiply it.

And that comes in the form of a book.

And that tool, we can do everything from writing it for you in your voice, writing it with you, coaching you through that process, taking what you've already written, bringing it to life, and then bringing it out into the world.

Actually, publishing, we have several different publishing imprints.

We work with a lot of traditional publishers as well.

Anything that's needed to bring a book to life again, that's a brand defining storytelling.

And then finally that, that third part of that ecosystem is how do you monetize your message?

Because the book is not how you monetize your message.

A lot of people think, I'll write a book, I'll be rich in a week like that.

That's how it'll work.

But the book is really a door opener.

It's a business builder, it's an opportunity creator.

I literally just got off a call a few minutes ago about my book, your Story Advantage.

And out of that came an opportunity to speak to a group of speakers.

Right.

And so I'll go and I'll serve them and if there's some people there that we can serve and help in some way.

Great.

It builds our business.

Right, so.

But that never would have happened without the book.

The book cause creates that opportunity.

But there's so many ways to monetize the message.

I unpack a lot of them in your story advantage.

From courses to workshops to trainings to programs, there's just so many ways to do that, and we can help them with that, too.

But all of it begins with that first conversation of, let's just hear your story and see if we can be of help.

I think story is so important, especially in today's culture, where I think so many people feel as though you can't really trust relationships that we have.

We can't trust our culture.

We can't trust each other.

You emphasize high trust relationships in your work.

How does story building help build trust in a world that's, let's be honest, it's very skeptical.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, especially in.

Not just skeptical, but with AI entering the picture as well.

You know, people are wondering, is what I'm even seeing real?

You know, all that?

And I think here's the thing we have to realize is we are all always telling ourselves stories.

You know, when we get a piece of information or something, we immediately try to fit it into a larger story.

How does that fit in with my story of how I perceive our nation or how my community or the situation or whatever the case may be?

We're immediately plugging it into a story.

And so when people are interacting with you or your brand or your business, they're already plugging you into a story that you know.

And the truth is, you are already putting a story out there.

Whether you're intentional about it or not is the question.

You know, people are already perceiving you.

They're.

You're already.

You already have a story that's being shared.

And so what we're telling people is, let's be intentional about your story, let's be intentional about your message.

Let's give some thought to elevating that.

It would really cause you to stand out, to be different.

And when you tell that story, especially consistently, when you tell it well and consistently, you build trust.

You know, people have a perception of you.

Keith of hey, we've listened to your podcast.

We've heard you talk about this.

We talk about that.

We heard your brain.

You know, we.

We have an assessment of that now.

If you were to come out tomorrow and do something radically different and opposite of that, that would create that this disconnect and, and they would have trouble understanding, well, what is.

What is Keith doing?

I thought he was this, but now he's doing.

But when you do that consistently over time, people begin to get a sense of, I, I can.

I can trust Keith to always be this.

Whether they agree with you or not.

That's.

That's a whole nother matter.

But they.

It's.

Except it's really about trust.

And as you said, trust is so hard to come by these days.

It's so easily broken.

And so you.

To be intentional about that story is just what.

What brings that to life and really creates a.

A shared sense of trust with.

As people grow about that, Right.

So as they, as they get to know someone more and hear that story, it builds that trust.

And then they start telling other people about the message that they heard because.

Because of that trust, and it begins to multiply.

I love it.

So you've created resources that have impacted millions.

I'm curious, what's next for you and what's next for story builders?

What's next for me and what's next for story builders?

Boy, if I knew that our passion, you know, just being candid, Keith, our passion is to make an impact and make the world a better place.

And so every day we wake up praying that God will bring us people who are out there making an impact, want to make the impact, want to multiply that message, because that's what drives us.

That's what fuels us.

And so, you know, we're always excited to connect with people who are like, hey, I have a message.

And because of that, we're not a fit for everybody.

There are people with messages that we just say, you know what?

God bless you.

We don't support that message.

That's not a fit for us.

You want to have alignment.

You want to have alignment with the people you're working with.

And the truth is, if you actually have a message, you're taking a position on something, it's not going to be a fit for everybody.

So you want people who are picky about who they work with and their message.

So I think that's the key for us.

What we're trying to do is let's continue to reach people, let's continue to speak to them, let's continue to get in front of them and share this message that every story matters.

Your story does give you a unique advantage if you have the courage to lean into it.

I love it.

I love to ask my guest this question, Bill, what do you want your legacy to be?

You know, I Want people to look back at my time on the earth.

Well, first of all, as a, as a husband and a father, that's a given, right?

And in terms of my faith, you know, today that he was a man of great faith and lived consistently with that.

But all of it really comes down to, you know, living a story worth telling.

You know, that's, that's where it comes down to.

And there's, there's a prayer from the book of Psalms.

I think it's Psalm 90.

Might have been a psalm of Moses, actually.

I don't remember the details, but it ends with this prayer of that God would establish the work of his hands.

And I view that if I were to put that in my vernacular, it's, it's to make my story worth telling, you know, that God would, that I could live a life that people would say, let me tell you about, Bill.

Let me, let me tell you a story.

Let me tell you what he did.

And not just because I matter, but so then they will be inspired to live a story.

Right?

So it has this multiplication effect that to me is.

Is how it really matters to make the world a better place.

I love it.

So on this season, we have a new thing now, a surprise question.

Pick a number between 1 and 10.

For your surprise question, I will go with 7.

So I love this.

What book belongs on everyone's bookshelf as well as produce so many books?

Oh, wow, that's cool.

That's cool.

Well, of course, I have to your story advantage, first of all.

That means on everybody's books, though, beyond that, beyond the Bible.

Right.

Beyond those obvious types of recommendations.

But on everyone's bookshelf, that's the challenge.

You know, I'm going to go with an interesting one here.

One of my top five for sure, always has been.

But it applies to everybody.

And it's a book called Up From Slavery, Booker T. Washington Autobiography.

And I read that as a young man, and it completely transformed how I was living as a young man.

Like, it really took me to another level.

And he was a great, such a great American, great man.

And I would highly recommend.

It's not a long read, but it is an inspiring read and stirring read.

So I would recommend Up From Slavery.

I think it's in the public domain now as well, so it's readily available in so many different venues.

But that's a book I would recommend everyone read.

Awesome.

So, Bill, thank you for sharing your wisdom and your incredible work that you're doing to help people live stories worth telling for our listeners.

If they want to learn more about Bill and your books, stay at Story Advantage or explore resources from Story Builders.

Where can they best find you and connect with you?

Well, easiest way to connect with us is at our website, mystorybuilders.

Mystorybuilders.com they can get the book@yourstoryadvantage.com I say yourstoryadvantage.com because there's a whole lot of bonuses there that they get for free.

So I highly recommend that.

Or they can get the book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble Books, and wherever good books are sold, they can get it at any of those spots as well.

And then if they just want to talk and chat, you know, and let us hear their story, we'd love to do that.

No obligation.

They can just go to my storybuilders.com story mystorybuilders.com story and just schedule time to chat with us and run ideas past us and their story.

And if we can be of help, great.

If not, we'll get out of their way and let them keep doing what they're doing.

Awesome.

So to my listen, if you enjoyed this today's episode, please subscribe to Becoming Bridge Builders on your favorite podcast platform.

Leave us a review and share this conversation with someone who needs to hear it.

Someone whose story needs to be told.

Together we can build bridges that can lead to understanding, influence, and lasting impact.

I am your host, Keith Haney.

Bill, thanks so much for being an awesome guest on the podcast.

Oh, my pleasure.

From one builder to another, Keith, it's been been great to be here.

My pleasure.

Thank you so.

Much.