Last week I wrote a reivew of the book Tell To Win by Peter Guber. It was a book that I enjoyed completely, start to finish. I had a very hard time putting it down. I’ve told many of my friends about the book and have shared it with some of my immediate family. However, I now have a chance to share the book with you. This book is about the stories that you tell an retell in order to move something in someone else. So, here is your chance to move me with your story.
To enter:
Please tell me a story. It can be a funny story, a sad story, an inspiring story or a tragic story. The story can be in text form, as in a comment below or in the form of a video, leave a link to the video below. I’ll read and watch all of the stories and then choose one that I feel most moved by. I could be moved to laughter, tears or any number of emotions. The best story is going to be the one that connects with me.
What do you win.
A copy of Tell to Win before it is available in stores
A Tell to Win Branded Padfoilo so that you can write down future stories.
A Tell to Win Branded Monthly Planner
Contest open to US residents only. Contest ends on Friday February 25, 2011 at 8:00pm EST.
Before I read this book I did not know who Peter Guber was. In case you are not familiar here is a quick bio on Peter:
Peter Guber, Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group, has been a force in the entertainment industry for over thirty years. He has told memorable stories in the films he personally produced or executive produced, including Rain Man, Batman, The Color Purple, Gorillas In The Mist, and Flashdance which have resonated with audiences all over the world, earning over three billion dollars worldwide and garnering more than 50 Academy Award nominations. Guber oversees one of the largest combinations of professional baseball teams and venues nationwide and is the owner and co-executive chairman of the Golden State Warriors.
In Peter’s new book “Tell To Win,” he provides individuals with an invaluable skill set – the power to tell emotionally resonant stories to persuade, motivate, excite and incite others. Telling purposeful stories has been the secret to Guber’s success and his aspiration behind the book is to empower others to use telling stories as the game-changer in their lives.
To validate the power of telling purposeful stories, Guber includes in this book a remarkably diverse number of “voices” – master tellers with whom he’s shared experiences including Bill Clinton, Tony Robbins, Steven Denning, Larry King and Mark Victor Hansen of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series.
“In ‘Tell To Win,’ Peter Guber demonstrates that telling purposeful stories is the best way to persuade, motivate and convince who you want to do what you need.” – President Bill Clinton
To purchase your copy of “Tell To Win,” visit www.TellToWin.com
 |
 |
 |
Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of Tell to Win for free. The opinions about the book are my own including my highest physical praise with was no to fall asleep while reading it as I do with nearly every book I read. I enjoyed the book from start to finish.
It was our second night in the hospital when We had our first child. It was probably around 3 am. I had a C-section and was unable to stand up so I had to rely on my husband to wake up to hand me the baby. All of the sudden the baby started streaming. I mean really really crying. Of course I woke up right away, but my husband on the other hand slept though it all. I was starting to panic because I didn’t want my baby to have to cry for very long. So I started yelling and Screaming at my husband to wake up…Still no movement from my husband. Then I had a new Idea. I would start Throwing things at him. I threw my water bottle, All of my pillows, basically everything I could reach but still he would not wake up. At that moment I realized this is how it was going to be for the next 6 months of my life. Reality set in on what a new born was going to be like. My husband never did wake up and the nurse finally come in and handed my son to me.
Just thought it was a funny start to our new little family. Our son is now a healthy 15 month old boy. He started sleeping though the night at 10 weeks old. 🙂
Tanya,
Oh man I was so worries that “my husband never did wake up” meant that he died. That was something I was dreading reading. Glad to hear that he is just a heavy sleeper.
What is an impression? One way to look at an impression can be a mental picture, a clear and telling mental image or, it can be a feeling one gets. A impression can mean something different to everyone.
When I saw Andrews Bennett’s post about, “please tell me a story, and win” he spiked my curiosity. Andrew said, “It can be a funny story, a sad story, an inspiring story or a tragic story”. I hope this story is inspiring.
Not so many years ago I was a Boy Scout leader in my home community. As leaders there are many young men that you help along their trail in scouting. There are also many other adult volunteer leaders you work with in this endeavor. There are many events, camp-outs, activities, award ceremonies, board of reviews and advancements to name a few.
Going way back to the cub scout years there was one mom that volunteered as committee member. Her son was also in the cub scout pack. They had a nice young family with all of the hopes and dreams for their son.
As I remember dad took on a new job and had to move the family from our community. They were going to be missed.
During a Blue and Gold ceremony banquet for our cub scout pack I awarded this young man awards he earned for advancement. His cub scout den also gave him a gift to remember his scouting friends by and memories of the scouting program.
Our committee thought it would be appropriate to also give mom a gift of appreciation for her volunteer service and leadership.
At the time the cub scout pack was approximately 85 boys strong. For this Blue and Gold ceremony we filled the hall with close to 200 people counting moms, dads, siblings and invited guests.
As part of the ceremony I called her to the stage to make the presentation and thank her for all her hard work and service, letting our guests know what she has done for the boys and program over the years.
All of sudden she did something that was not planed. In the middle of the presentation, on the stage, in front of our 200 guest she asked if she could give me a kiss on the cheek and a hug. What could I do after all it’s a relatively quick jester of affection between friends. I said OK, and she did.
Then she got me. She gave me the kiss on the cheek and during the hug, a strong hug she whispered something in my ear that I have only shared with a few people over the years.
She said, “you will never know the impact you made on my sons life”. I didn’t expect that at all.
I thanked her as the hair on my arm stood strait up. No one ever said anything like that to me before and its not how I look at myself. I was just a volunteer scout leader myself trying to do my part in the community.
I never saw them again after that day but I will always remember her words whispered in my ear.
The interesting thing is she will never know the impact she had on my life and the impression she left me with.
Get involved in something. The best gift you can give someone is the gift of sharing knowledge. It only cost you time and the rewards are priceless.
Thanks for listening.
– Bruce
In 1982, my uncle Joe took me to my first Yankees game. I was so excited, a 10 year old going to his first game with his favorite uncle. We got to Yankee stadium a little late and the game had already started. We walked over to our section and the usher approached us and asked to see our tickets. My uncle began to chat with him a little and I scanned the field…there was Bucky Dent my favorite Yankee. I noticed some kids on the field (bat boys) and I heard with one ear the words “go ahead down” come out of the usher’s mouth. For whatever reason, I thought he was speaking to me and was telling me to go ahead down onto the field. As my uncle continued to chat (he is quit a talker) I walked down, jumped over the wall and onto the field towards Bucky Dent (this is during the game mind you)…Out of nowhere a NYC Police Officer swoops me up and says “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” Being 10 and afraid of the law, I yell out “that man over there said to come down on the field”…I can see my uncle’s face in total horror and the poor usher sees me pointing at him and must be wondering what’s wrong with this kid. The cop brings me over to my uncle and the usher by the wall I just jumped and a small crowd forms (the game continues). The manager of the Cleveland Indians (his name was Donny Summers I think) must had saw what happen. He walks over to us (I am crying more like a 2 year old at this point)…Donny takes me by the hand and brings me to the Indians dugout, hands me a ball and team members begin to sign it. He then walks me back (I am wearing a Yankees hat) and says something “You’re a good kid, even for a Yankee fan”. I still have the ball packed away someplace, and I am still Yankee fan (sorry Donny) but I will never forget that special day, my first ball game. BTW – Yankees won 2-0.
I have a story that I would refer to as a journey. There are so many elements involved with this journey- I certainly could use direction on how to “Tell this story.” The ability to convey to others my emotions and thoughts related to every turn, detour or mountain is so important to me. You could say this journey, as difficult, frightening and almost surreal as it was, ultimately led me to ME.
It began with cruel intentions toward me by others. This was an attempt to “eliminate” me by any means possible. Greed, insecurities and misperceptions led other individuals to decide how MY life should unfold. Although this journey originated with scheming and plotting by others, it wasn’t long before I realized the only way I would survive is to go within myself. I knew this would be a battle like no other I’d experienced or even heard of. The truth is, I could not have fathomed how my will to survive and quest for the truth would test every fiber of my being.
I was faced with psycholical, emotional and physical warfare. Everything in my world was manipulated. My “attackers” had resources to “create” a world where my intentions, my mental and emotional stability, my whole existance would be questioned by those around me… and would have me question it also.
Their determination to break me was intense. There were moments, very dark moments, where I felt there was no hope. Ultimately I had to block the sense of hopelessness- It was NOT an option to let them win. I had to be more determined than my foes. I had to believe in myself. I had to learn to love me- perhpas for the first time in my life.
There were many times I would refer to the situation as a nightmare. It has been a journey with many stumbles and cuts not only physically, but in my soul. Perhaps I will even have some scars- but I’ve recently realized this: I believe this was a gift. I became very mindful of who I am. I was able to define what inspires me, what I value most, what has negative impacts on my existance.. and what is crucial for me to keep fighting. For the first time in my life- I developed a loving relationship with ME.
I have many stories, to choose one would be impossible. Instead, I will tell my most recent story; the power and not-so-conventional use of LinkedIn. I graduated from a small, private, liberal arts school in 2006. It was a great experience, I received a good education, I met wonderful people, but the career development/job placement element, arguably the most important aspect of a college education (and the real reason people attend college) was non-existent. Don’t get me wrong, there was a “career office” where you could learn about different career paths, and get advice on writing a resume (although the advice came from another student…probably a creative writing major), but the school never hosted a career fair, and a platform to network with former alumni didn’t exist. Fast forward 5 years, and I just bumped into a former college roommate and our conversation quickly turned to the recent explosion of activity in our LinkedIn accounts.
Over the past few months, my inbox has been filled with LinkedIn requests from current students of my alma mater. These students are looking to connect with alumni, and ultimately looking for career help/advice (Something every college student should be doing, btw). This recent spike in activity led me to 2 thoughts: 1. It is amazing how much social networking has evolved in as little as 5 years. As a senior in college, I received a career pamphlet and a poorly written resume. Now, thanks to social networking, the resources for career advice and job placement for current students are unlimited. If you’re a student and reading this story, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT! Join LinkedIn, connect with as many professionals who attended your school as possible, and just ask for advice. 2. It also made me think that the new career office at my Alma mater probably looks allot like this: http://www.linkedin.com