#50: You Don't Have to Be the Hero to Change the World

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com   Every brand has a story, but not every brand knows how to tell it well. We often skip over the hard parts, thinking they make us look weak. But those moments are what make us human and help people connect. The truth is, your most powerful message isn't the perfect version of your story. It's the honest one. When you reframe your story to show what you've been through and how it changed you, you build trust. You help people see themselves in your journey. So how do you tell your story in a way that actually connects and makes an impact?   In this episode, host Kyle Reed talks to John O'Leary, a speaker, author, and the real-life inspiration behind the new movie Soul On Fire. John shares how surviving a fire as a child shaped his life and how he learned to stop hiding his story and start using it to help others. You'll hear how telling your story honestly can grow your impact, connect with your audience, and even become your strongest marketing tool. Listen in to learn how to build the kind of trust that makes people want to connect and do business with you.   Watch Soul On Fire on Amazon Prime HERE, check out John's website HERE, or buy one of his books HERE.   --     Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com   A confused team can't sell a clear product. Period. If your executive team can't clearly articulate your mission, you're already losing ground. You think you've cast a vision, but no one's catching it. Instead, you're running a business with a fractured identity where every department is chasing a different goal, and your customers are left scratching their heads. Misalignment is more than just a leadership issue. It's a revenue problem. So before you fix your marketing, fix your mission. But how do you align your people around one clear idea?   In this episode, Donald and Kyle welcome StoryBrand Certified Guide Kenny Jahng for a powerful conversation on how businesses lose clarity and how to get it back. Kenny shares a practical leadership exercise that reveals whether your team is truly aligned and reveals the secret to reigniting passion across your organization. You'll also hear real-life examples of how clarity in messaging has cut sales cycles in half and restored direction for struggling teams. Tune in and learn how to stop diluting your message and start winning with clarity.   Hire Kenny to perfect your nonprofit's messaging at Big Click Syndicate.   --     Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach like Kris to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com     Running a marketing consulting business is never simple. In uncertain times, it's even harder. Clients are cautious, timelines stretch, and budgets shrink. You know your services create real results, but closing new business feels tougher than ever. If you're not clear and confident in your message, potential clients will hesitate or move on. And the longer you stay vague or unfocused, the more you're stuck in survival mode instead of scaling. So how do you position yourself as the obvious choice, especially when the market feels shaky?     In this episode, host Kyle Reed is joined by veteran StoryBrand Certified Guide Kris Jones and StoryBrand's Director of Certification Luke Pastina to explore how to thrive as a messaging expert in a season of economic unpredictability. Kris shares how she's adapted her business, adjusted her rates, and built systems that support both clarity and connection. You'll learn how to uncover your client's real problem, what story actually moves the needle, and why collaboration is key to building a thriving consulting business. If you're trying to grow your marketing practice in uncertain times, listen in to get the blueprint.     Hire Kris to get you effective messaging at Red Door Stories and access the free PDF mentioned in this episode.     --     Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach like Kris to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com   Leadership success often hinges on a trait many people misunderstand: self-awareness. In today's fast-paced world, leaders are surrounded by noise: social media flattery, AI-generated validation, and constant feedback loops that create more confusion than clarity. And while confidence is essential, when it crosses into narcissism, the fallout can be devastating. Think Enron, Lehman Brothers, or any organization led by someone blind to their own flaws. Narcissistic leaders may get results, but the cost is often burnout, chaos, and shattered trust. So how do you know if you're headed down that path? And what does true, effective leadership actually look like in a world addicted to ego boosting?   This week, Don and Kyle sit down with leadership advisor and former White House speechwriter Les Corba to unpack the nuances between healthy confidence and dangerous self-absorption. You'll learn how to spot narcissistic messaging, build trust, foster honest feedback, and create a culture of self-awareness, starting with yourself. Listen in to discover how to lead with the kind of self-awareness that earns real trust and has a lasting impact.   Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event.   Buy Les' book "Aware: The Power of Seeing Yourself Clearly" on Amazon HERE.     --     Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com   Most entrepreneurs eventually feel the pull to pivot, but that shift can come with real risk. You've worked hard to build trust, grow your audience, and establish your expertise in one lane. So when it's time to evolve, how do you shift your messaging without confusing your audience or breaking what's already working? This is the tension: stay in your lane too long and you stagnate. Jump too fast and you lose everything. So how do you navigate that transition with clarity and confidence?   In this week's episode, Kyle Reed sits down with Amy Porterfield, who's redefining her business after 16 years and over $120 million in course sales. Amy unpacks the subtle strategy behind a graceful pivot, how she knew it was time, how she tested new messaging, and why she's choosing coaching over courses in this next chapter. If you're craving a new direction but fear the fallout, this conversation will give you the roadmap.   Click HERE to sign up for Amy's weekly newsletter.     --     Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com   Most businesses struggle to explain what they do in a way that actually gets people interested. You tweak your website copy, add more content, and keep pitching your product, but the reaction is lukewarm at best. Why? Because you're missing the most critical part of a messaging strategy, what Donald Miller calls the "5 front steps." Think of your brand as a house. Without these front steps, you're essentially asking customers to leap onto your front porch with no ladder in sight. It's a recipe for lost sales. So how do you fix this messaging gap?   In this episode, Donald Miller and Kyle Reed walk through the 5 essential soundbites every business must use to spark curiosity and drive growth. You'll learn how to position your brand as the guide, write words that people actually remember, and create marketing that doesn't just get seen, it gets repeated. Tune in to learn the exact messaging framework that top brands are using right now to grow at lightning speed.     --     Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com   If you're offering your services to everyone, chances are nobody's listening. Most businesses, especially coaches and consultants, waste valuable resources trying to speak to a crowd instead of their community. The result is confused messaging, unqualified leads, and no growth. If your marketing feels scattered or your offer is getting lost in the noise, it might be time to stop casting a wide net and start speaking directly to the people who truly need what you provide. What would happen if you focused your message so clearly that your ideal customer knew you were talking to them?   In this week's episode, Don and Kyle talk with Josh Taylor, CMO of OptSpot, about how his agency transformed by niching down to serve only car wash owners. Josh shares how narrowing their audience helped them go from charging $50/month to $2,500/month, built a 99% client retention rate, and created a repeatable, strategic playbook for success. Listen in to learn how to scale your business without burning out.     Click HERE to check out Opt Spot, and click HERE to transform your marketing business into a StoryBrand Certified Agency.     --   Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com   Most taglines don't work. They sound clever, but when customers see them, nothing happens. No interest, no sales, just crickets. That's because most taglines are vague, confusing, or forgettable. And when people have to burn mental calories trying to figure out what your business actually does, they'll just move on to the next option. If your tagline isn't clearly offering something your customer wants, it's not helping you. It's costing you. So how do you make sure your tagline actually drives results?   This week, Donald Miller and Kyle Reed break down why most taglines fail and reveal the simple formula that makes a tagline work. You'll hear real-time critiques of famous (and not-so-famous) taglines, learn how to avoid common mistakes, and get insider tips on crafting a line that actually grows your business. If you're reworking your own tagline or helping clients with theirs, this episode will give you a practical filter for turning words into revenue.   --   Click HERE to attend the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com     Businesses are burning cash on Facebook ads that just don't work, and it's not because of the algorithm. The real problem? Most companies are leading with clever headlines and flashy visuals instead of clear, curiosity-driven messaging. When your potential customer sees your ad, they're not thinking about your brand, they're thinking about their own survival. If your ad doesn't speak to that in the first two seconds, you've already lost them. With ad costs going up and results going down, the stakes have never been higher. So what do you actually say in your ads to make people stop scrolling, click, and buy?   In this episode, hosts Donald Miller and Kyle Reed sit down with Mehrab Reza, Facebook ads expert and longtime StoryBrand agency partner. You'll learn the real reason most Facebook ads flop and the 3-part framework that scrappy brands are using to beat out massive companies with million-dollar budgets. Mehrab shares how to build "survival soundbites" that grab attention, use AI to scale creative output fast, and avoid the biggest trap in attribution tracking. Whether your ad budget is $1K or $1M, tune in to learn how to get better results with fewer resources.   --   Download Mehrab's AI Prompts PDF HERE or hire his company, Adlantica, to run your ads HERE. You can also follow them on LinkedIn HERE.   Click HERE to attend the upcoming StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

Get free marketing videos from Don every week at WeeklySoundbite.com   So many entrepreneurs struggle to stand out because they sound like everyone else. They bury their message in jargon, chase every shiny object, or spread themselves too thin across platforms. The result? People tune out, engagement stalls, and the business that should be thriving ends up stuck. Attention is the currency of today's economy. And without a sharp, repeatable message, you won't earn it. So how do you cut through the noise and become the go-to voice your audience can't ignore?   In today's episode, Donald Miller and Kyle Reed talk with Codie Sanchez, the investor and entrepreneur behind Contrarian Thinking, who built a massive following by saying bold things clearly and consistently. Codie reveals how she frames problems in ways that demand attention, why repeating simple soundbites scales faster than constant novelty, and how her approach has made her a leading voice in business and investing. Listen in to learn how to sharpen your voice and build influence that actually drives results.   --   Click HERE to attend the upcoming StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event!   Click HERE to find a StoryBrand certified marketing coach to help you grow your business!   Unlock the power of a framework that works—the StoryBrand Framework at StoryBrand.ai. It's like having the world's best copywriter create high-converting marketing whenever you need it. Start your free 7-day trial at StoryBrand.ai.   Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!   Click HERE to check out Codie's website and HERE for Contrarian Thinking.