Unthinkable With Jay Acunzo

Find and follow How Stories Happen in your favorite podcast player, or visit howstorieshappen.com to learn more about the show and find the appropriate link for you.Every episode of the show, we’re dissecting stories and drafts with incredible storytellers to understand how they found their ideas, how they developed their work, and how they’re using their stories to build their business and leave their legacy.You’ll walk away ready to differentiate on the impact of your ideas, not the volume of your content.It’s a show for business storytellers focused on standing out easier and resonating deeper through substance and stories, not hollow stunts.***You can also subscribe to my free newsletter,

Why do we constantly underestimate how long something will take in the short-term? In other words, we tend to over-estimate just how much we can achieve right now. Then, when we think long term, the reverse tends to happen: we actually UNDER-estimate what we're capable of achieving over time. Today, we want to know more about the promise of a popular trend, the creative streak, and whether they can help us overcome our constant battle with planning our time and achieving something greater.This week, Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of the world-wide phenomenon NaNoWriMo (aka National Novel Writing Month) gives us a peek into the power (and potential pitfalls) of creative writing streaks. Meanwhile, Giorgia Lupi, an information designer and partner at the firm Pentagram, reflects on her famous, collaborative creative streak, Dear Data, with Stefanie Posavec -- a year-long journey of sketching personal data-based postcards, which eventually led to exhibitions, book deals, critical acclaim, and internet fame. 

As Ira Glass said, "Great stories happen to those who can tell them." This idea says everything we need to know to develop stronger stories in our work, so we can stand out easier and resonate deeper.But we're asking the wrong questions and searching in the wrong places. Let's rethink some things together...For the full transcript of this episode, read the original article.***SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

The story of a surprisingly dynamic and captivating idea from a (sometimes) bland and boring space -- and what we can learn about crafting more resonant work.What does it look like when an organization, project, or individual’s work resonates so deeply that they have passionate fans and loyal followers who declare them a favorite? This week we start in the sometimes bland, boring space of team training software and follow the story of a surprisingly dynamic, brilliant and captivating idea from 360Learning -- an original series called Onboarding Joei. This short docuseries follows Joei Chan, a new employee, as she navigates her first 3 months on the job. The docuseries has become a phenomenon for the brand, earning Joei Chan devout fans and 360Learning followers, viewers, and customers that feel connected to the show and compamy. Highly personal and transparent, the show proves that when a company does something risky, sometimes the reward is more than they’d ever expect. The most important theme through it al

No matter your craft, when you develop an idea, a project, or a key moment within a piece, the power of what you're sharing tends to start with the same question:Can you be more honest with yourself?In this one-shot episode, a dense dose of a single idea that can help us become stronger storytellers and produce higher-impact content, so we can get off the hamster wheel and produce more work that actually works. Plus, the backstory of a high-stakes moment when this question was put to the test.***SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

We want to make things that matter. To our careers, companies, and communities. When THAT is our aim and THAT is our driving belief, and yet our work comes out feeling like THIS? The way it is right now? Oof, that can cause all kinds of existential crises or at least panic-induced researching and debating and analyzing and asking.It's time to get to the next rep. It's time to cross the gap.***SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

Have a wonderful holiday season and a beautiful start to your 2024! Back in the new year with more...UNTHINKABLE IS TAKING A BREAK -- BUT DON'T UNSUBSCRIBEWe're back with more soon. In the meantime...BECOME A STRONGER STORYTELLER:Subscribe to Jay Acunzo's free newsletter, Playing Favorites, and learn what it takes to stand out easier and resonate deeper by communicating with greater power, everywhere you show up. Join free at  jayacunzo.com.Join the Creator Kitchen, a mastermind of smart experts learning to become more influential voices -- NOT by relying on any cheap tricks, but by mastering their craft and creating higher-impact content. Community, masterclasses, 1:1 and 1:few coaching from Jay Acunzo, and more. Learn about membership and see what's inside the Kitchen at creatorkitchen.com.Keep making what matters!

Signature Stories is a miniseries where world-class business storytellers take us inside one important story and dissect it with us. It's like Song Exploder meets storytelling for our work! In our sixth and final episode of the series, bestselling author and Hall of Fame keynote speaker Jay Baer brings one of his oldest, most proven stories to the show -- and we learn the two habits most driving effective storytellers like Jay. And also Jay. Both Jays. (There are two Jays on this episode, is what I'm saying...)Collecting stories regularly, in the seemingly mundane moments of lifeDesigning stories so they arrive at an insightJay Baer is the author of the book The Time To Win and six other business books. He's a globally touring keynote speaker, brand advisor, and marketing and customer experience thought leader. Jay is among the more process-driven storytellers in the world, and he takes us inside that approach in this episode in a refreshingly transparent way.UNTHINKABLE IS TAKING A BREAK -- BUT DON'T UNSUBSC

Signature Stories is a miniseries where world-class business storytellers take us inside one important story and dissect it with us. It's like Song Exploder meets storytelling for our work! In our fifth episode of the series, a globetrotting, bestselling, keynote-giving, smart-opinion-having, big-idea-distributing author takes us inside what was ultimately a tiny moment in his life that sparked all that "big" stuff.  Simone Stolzoff is the author of The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work. He's written for the Atlantic and Wired, worked as a design lead for the innovation firm IDEO, and even got his creative start in school delivering spoken word poetry from the stage.Together, we dissect a signature story that's become "mythology" to him from his own life, and we talk about what makes it work -- and why he approaches it with such restraint. Then, we learn why and how effective storytellers imbue stories with meaning to ensure they matter to others.BECOME A STRONGER STORYTELLER:Subscribe to Jay's free

We interrupt the current series to bring you this message.Find and share this rant in essay form.Subscribe to Jay's free newsletter to become a stronger storyteller. (Sent every other Friday, these essays help you get off the content hamster wheel, escape social feeds, and get the perspective and frameworks you need to write and speak with greater impact, everywhere you show up).Recommended resources to help you do the work AI can't:The Idea Impact Matrix: how to craft more valuable, original workHow to create original work consistently (a visualization of Jay's process)The paradox of storytelling (how to ensure your work resonates emotionally with others)From telling stories to BEING storytellers (the first episode of our Signature Stories series)How to differentiate your ideas (the XY Premise Pitch)Super-Stories (how to shape the same story to teach anything and everything you need to say)JOIN THE CREATOR KITCHEN -- A MASTERMIND OF BUSINESS STORYTELLERS:Where smart experts become influential voices. Join fe

In this episode, we're joined by Amanda Natividad, the VP of marketing at SparkToro, who shares a story about the time she met her marketing hero: her now-boss, Rand Fishkin. Amanda is a former tech journalist and also a former test kitchen cook for the LA Times. She writes the newsletter The Menu which includes marketing advice and delicious recipes (for actual food, not marketing). And she takes us inside three different drafts for potential intros of this signature story, where we learn about the paradox in our storytelling: to connect deeper externally, we need to go deeper internally.But does our work and culture encourage that? Amanda and Jay wrestle with that.Throughout this series, we'll learn from how inspiring creators and experts craft their most valuable, most original stories that build connection and resonate deeply. We're putting on display the hidden details, tiny choices, and emotional moments, as we seek to go beyond telling stories to instead BECOME storytellers.BECOME A STRONGER STORYTELLE

Up next in Signature Stories, we're joined by Jenny Blake, author, speaker and podcaster. She's written three books and hosts the wildly popular podcasts "Free Time" and "Pivot." Jenny sits down with Jay to share a story about a walk with her dog. Jay and Jenny unpack how we can pull out moments of meaning from a small interaction, and how to reshape a story for an audio-only medium versus video. Throughout this series, we'll learn from how inspiring creators and experts craft their most valuable, most original stories that build connection and resonate deeply. We're putting on display the hidden details, tiny choices, and emotional moments, as we seek to go beyond telling stories to instead BECOME storytellers.BECOME A STRONGER STORYTELLER:Subscribe to my free newsletter. Every other week, get a new story/framework to help you stand out easier and resonate deeper with your work: jayacunzo.com/newsletterCRAFT A PODCAST YOU’RE PROUD TO CALL YOURS:Work with me one-on-one to develop or improve a show that stands

Up next in Signature Stories, we're joined by Michael Bungay Stanier, speaker, coach and author of the wildly popular book "The Coaching Habit" and the brand new book, "How to Work with (Almost) Anyone." Michael sits down with Jay to share a story about a very bad job. Jay and MBS dive into how to use open loops, comedy in storytelling, and crafting tiny stories to create a sense of safety for your audience -- plus, they add some seasoning to the main ingredients of Michael's story to make it tastier.Throughout this series, we'll learn from how inspiring creators and experts craft their most valuable, most original stories that build connection and resonate deeply. We're putting on display the hidden details, tiny choices, and emotional moments, as we seek to go beyond telling stories to instead BECOME storytellers.BECOME A STRONGER STORYTELLER:Subscribe to my free newsletter. Every other week, get a new story/framework to help you stand out easier and resonate deeper with your work: jayacunzo.com/newsletterC

Up first in this mini-series, Creator Kitchen co-founder and author Melanie Deziel sits down with Jay to share a story about her time as the first-ever editor of branded content at the New York Times. Jay and Mel dive into the messy reality of crafting resonant narratives -- and using them to serve an audience and build your business.Throughout this series, we'll learn from how inspiring creators and experts craft their most valuable, most original stories that build connection and resonate deeply. We're putting on display the hidden details, tiny choices, and emotional moments, as we seek to go beyond telling stories to instead BECOME storytellers.BECOME A STRONGER STORYTELLER:Subscribe to my free newsletter. Every other week, get a new story/framework to help you stand out easier and resonate deeper with your work: jayacunzo.com/newsletterCRAFT A PODCAST YOU’RE PROUD TO CALL YOURS:Work with me one-on-one to develop or improve a show that stands out easier and resonates deeper. Using your creativity, NOT you

What is taste? And once we understand it, how do we use our own taste? In this one-shot, Jay dives into they days before dating apps to find something unexpected - Bryan Cranston showing us just want the power of having taste can do. ***KEEP MAKING WHAT MATTERS:1.  Learn more about Jay's 1:1 coaching and collaboration: https://jayacunzo.com/accountability-group-for-b2b-marketers-creators2. Get a new story/framework from Jay every other week for making things that matter more to you and others: jayacunzo.com/newsletter3. Join the Creator Kitchen, a membership program for professional communicators to achieve their creative potential.Go inside the making of Unthinkable and all Jay's projects, immerse yourself in the work of inspiring creators, get personalized feedback from Jay, and join live sessions to do better work, more consistently and confidently.creatorkitchen.com(Use code UNTHINKABLE for $100 off membership.)***PRODUCTION CREDITS:- Creator, host, writer, editor, sound design: Jay Acunzo- Producer and r

Writing matters... a lot. You don't need us to tell you that. But what happens when you feel like you can't write? Yes, on this episode we're talking about writers' block - what it feels like, how it shows up, and how we can tackle it once and for all. SHARE THE SHOW:Help others find Unthinkable in their favorite podcast player by sharing this link: https://pod.link/jaySUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:https://jayacunzo.com/newsletterEvery Friday, I send a new idea, story, or framework for crafting more resonant work to thousands of subscribers, ranging from entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent creators, to marketers and leaders at brands like Adobe, Red Bull, Shopify, Salesforce, the BBC, Wistia, HubSpot, Drift, ProfitWell, a16z, and the New York Times.DEVELOP MORE INSPIRING IDEAS & STORIES:Jay's free newsletter, with a new idea for communicating in ways that connect shared every other Friday: jayacunzo.com/newsletterThe Creator Kitchen: Jay's membership for quality-obsessed creators, built in partnersh

In this episode of Unthinkable, why formats matter so much. If you want listeners to stay engaged, for readers to finish an article, for your whole experience to resonate deeply, then we need to go beyond grabbing attention to genuinely HOLD it.Today, we focus on why formats are mission critical to creative work, and how you can search them out for yourself and craft your own to hook an audience and get them to the end.We’re joined by the most format-obsessed person out there: Hugh Garry, co-founder of Storythings. Hugh and his team (and friends) write the newsletter, Formats Unpacked, diving each week into a format and why they love it so very much and why, maybe, you should too. DEVELOP MORE INSPIRING IDEAS & STORIES:Jay's free newsletter, with a new idea for communicating in ways that connect shared every other Friday: jayacunzo.com/newsletterThe Creator Kitchen: Jay's membership for quality-obsessed creators, built in partnership with Melanie Deziel (author, speaker, NY Times, TIME, HuffPost). Use cod

How you define quality is contextual, it's in the eyes of the beholder. In this one-shot, Jay breaks down the three questions we each need to ask to define quality - Who is it for? What is it for? How will I know if it's working? - and then shares the two habits that can help us to create quality content. ***KEEP MAKING WHAT MATTERS:1.  Learn more about Jay's 1:1 coaching and collaboration: https://jayacunzo.com/accountability-group-for-b2b-marketers-creators2. Get a new story/framework from Jay every other week for making things that matter more to you and others: jayacunzo.com/newsletter3. Join the Creator Kitchen, a membership program for professional communicators to achieve their creative potential.Go inside the making of Unthinkable and all Jay's projects, immerse yourself in the work of inspiring creators, get personalized feedback from Jay, and join live sessions to do better work, more consistently and confidently.creatorkitchen.com(Use code UNTHINKABLE for $100 off membership.)***PRODUCTION CREDITS:

In marketing today, there's the widely used, noisy way to market yourself and your business, but then, just maybe, there's a calmer, quieter, perhaps more effective way.Stories from one of the world's most surprising speakeasy lounges, based in London, as well as one of Jay's favorite marketers who doesn't show up much publicly -- least of all on social media -- yet has found a way to build a business which is in-demand and even overbooked. (Now that sounds pretty unthinkable.)In this episode: speakeasy business! Why going deeper instead of broader, emphasizing value instead of scale, and  prioritizing resonance over reach are all viable ways to build your business and leave your legacy.  DEVELOP MORE INSPIRING IDEAS & STORIES:Jay's free newsletter, with a new idea for communicating in ways that connect shared every other Friday: jayacunzo.com/newsletterThe Creator Kitchen: Jay's membership for quality-obsessed creators, built in partnership with Melanie Deziel (author, speaker, NY Times, TIME, HuffPost).

A list of steps isn't helpful if you're facing the wrong way. That's why in this one-shot, we try to pivot the right way... as it relates to story. Jay unpacks three common misconceptions about how we understand story and why it's actually more important to understand how to be storytellers than to understand story. ***KEEP MAKING WHAT MATTERS:1.  Learn more about Jay's 1:1 coaching and collaboration: https://jayacunzo.com/accountability-group-for-b2b-marketers-creators2. Get a new story/framework from Jay every other week for making things that matter more to you and others: jayacunzo.com/newsletter3. Join the Creator Kitchen, a membership program for professional communicators to achieve their creative potential.Go inside the making of Unthinkable and all Jay's projects, immerse yourself in the work of inspiring creators, get personalized feedback from Jay, and join live sessions to do better work, more consistently and confidently.creatorkitchen.com(Use code UNTHINKABLE for $100 off membership.)***PRODUCTI