The Storytellers Network Dan Moyle

Welcome, Storytellers. It’s me, Dan. I’ve been your host, your tour guide, your librarian for 125 episodes. That’s 125 legendary storytellers from all walks of life (two repeat guests, but one episode with three guests – do the math). Writers, video creators (including a television show creator), podcasters, social media storytellers, poets, songwriters, business storytellers… what a journey it’s been.

This… this is the finale. I’m taking a hiatus from the act of creating new episodes to work on something else. Being that this is a hobby I do in my spare time, and I have a family and other activities—including the motorcycle I’m absolutely itching to ride—it’s time to allocate my time somewhere else for a bit.

Storytelling from Entrepreneurs to Politicians

Most of us are tricked into believing that success means fitting in. Following trends. Accepting bad habits. Making people happy. That goes for life, for business and for our storytelling.

That’s where Christopher Lochhead comes in. Christopher has been an advisor to over 50 venture-backed startups, is a venture capital limited partner and a former three-time Silicon Valley public company CMO, entrepreneur, and co-author of two bestsellers: Niche Down and Play Bigger.

He’s also creator and host of two juggernaut podcasts, Follow Your Different and Lochhead On Marketing. He’s a master storyteller, even if he doesn’t admit to it.

“Your success in life and in business will be constrained in part, or enabled greatly, by your ability to tell stories.” - Christopher Lochhead on the importance of storytelling

How Story Fuels Content-Based Networking

James Carbary is the founder of Sweet Fish Media, a done-for-you service that guarantees new relationships between B2B companies and their ideal clients. He’s also an author and a TEDx speaker. His book Content-Based Networking: How to Instantly Connect with Anyone You Want to Know, is great for anyone looking to grow in their career, especially storytellers.

“I absolutely don’t think that there’s just one platform. It’s smart to video and audio. The more ‘ands’ that you can put on there… the better.” - James Carbary on storytelling platforms

Bella Vasta lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her daughter Olivia and rescue mix, Rocco the Rockstar. In 2002 she began a pet sitting company which went on to be nationally and locally award winning until she successfully sold it in 2016.

In 2007 Bella began Jump Consulting, a consulting company focusing on helping dog walking and pet sitting businesses start or expand and has grown that into a popular blog, podcast, YouTube channel, and speaking career.

Her motto is, "Always Keep Jumping.” And she’s a fantastic, energetic and compassionate storyteller.

“I don’t want my audience to leave the same way they came in. The reason [they are] there… is a connection element.” - Bella Vasta on connecting with an audience

Dan Smolen has enjoyed a truly meaningful career journey and he wants to take you along the path to finding your own. He is a nationally recognized author, podcaster, serial entrepreneur, workforce thought-leader, and heartfelt advocate for people who dream big dreams of doing meaningful work.

Dan talks about the universal themes that drive storytelling, how to find meaningful work and more in this episode.

“At the end of the day people question whether or not they feel loved. That’s a universal theme. Fear, hope, hopefulness… these are all universal themes.” - Dan Smolen

On this episode Dan welcomes a previous guest back – only the second guest to return. Joe Pulizzi first joined The Storytellers Network to close out season 5, Inspirational Storytellers. He’s a business storyteller and a “from the stage” weaver of tales. But now he’s added another bullet point to his story: novelist.

“I listened to Joe’s book when he released it via podcasting and was blown away,” Dan says. “I couldn’t stop.”

The Will to Die is a suspenseful mystery based on an everyday person solving the murder of his own dad. It’s now available in print as well (or digital download), in addition to the audio version.

For Joe, it makes sense to make the jump from business books to novels. At the core, it’s all story.

“The stories that we tell bind us together. It’s probably the most important thing we do that separates us from any other animal on Earth.” - Joe Pulizzi on the power of story.