A Good Reputation
When you become a better storyteller, you become memorable. Every week, get one story and one actionable insight on how to use storytelling to build your reputation, connect with your ideal audience, attract opportunities, and get buy-in for your business or big ideas.
I'm ditching the persona
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut· Novelist Welcome to Issue 68 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about telling better business stories. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) Hello Reader, While disheartened, I wasn’t entirely surprised to learn the real reason so many young people are not having kids. It’s not, as studies have suggested, the cost of living, climate anxiety, career...
Your story needs a witness
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it." Hannah Arendt· Author, Men in Dark Times Welcome to Issue 66 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to tell a better story to build better brands. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) Hello Reader, In a book I’ve been reading about how our lives and identities are shaped by the stories we tell, the author pointed to a study that found we humans spend between 30 to 40% of...
Is this what purpose feels like?
"Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakes." Carl Jung· Analytical Psychoanalyst Welcome to Issue 66 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to tell a better story to build better brands. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) Hello Reader, There I am, eyes closed, arms by my side with my palms facing out toward this group I’ve been leading and learning from all week, waiting for my body to “tell me” how it wants me to move. I’ve been...
What do you actually want to grow?
"You can only optimize so much, but you can care forever. Efficiency has limits, devotion doesn't." Shane Parrish · Author & Founder of The Knowledge Project Welcome to Issue 65 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to tell a better story to build better brands. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) Hello Reader, Every spring, I trick myself into believing that I can be the type of person who gardens. The sun’s out, the flowers are blooming, and...
The capacity to care
"The fundamental message of marketing must change from 'we want your money' to 'we share your interests'." Christopher Locke · Gonzo Marketing Welcome to Issue 64 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to tell a better story to build better brands. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) Hello Reader, Of all the people I expected to have a philosophical conversation with this week, my hot tub guy wasn’t one of them. I hate admitting that I have a hot...
What I learned from the CIA's head of storytelling
“The secret of being boring is to say everything.” Voltaire · Writer Welcome to Issue 63 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to tell a better story to build better brands. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) And huge apologies: This newsletter is coming out a week late. A weekend ER visit (everything's fine) and a client conference that took my life force delayed the writing process. Hello Reader, It was supposed to be a harmless Tweet thread...
The ugliest thing I've ever seen
"Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without." Confucious Welcome to Issue 62 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to tell a better story to build better brands. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) Hello Reader, “Oh wow. This is… ghastly,” I said, abandoning any attempt to be nice as I plucked what appeared to be a self-portrait of my boyfriend, Tyler, and his mother circa 1992. “Hideous, isn’t it?” Tyler replied. “I hate it more than...
Where do we go next?
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci · Artist Welcome to Issue 62 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to tell a better story to build better brands. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) Hello Reader, After 30 years in the same house—a record for both my mom and stepdad, who’ve bounced around from country to country and home to home since they were babies—my parents have made up their minds that it’s time to move. While...
You are not your online persona (or are you?)
"I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." Groucho Marx · Comedian Welcome to Issue 61 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to tell a better story to build better brands. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) Hello Reader, The first time I truly felt the sting of the old “never meet your heroes” adage was when I attended my first influencer conference. I was fresh out of culinary school, having left journalism and dipping my toes...
The beginning of the beginning
"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning." T.S. Elliot · Poet & Playwrite Welcome to Issue 60 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to tell a better story to build better brands. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.) (Miss past issues? Read those here.) Hello Reader, I rang in the New Year alongside someone trying to convince me that everything—and I mean everything—is about to drastically change. Her name is Narayana, and she’s the wife...