The following is a collection of thoughts I recently shared on Linkedin as a commitment to myself to share my thoughts 1x per week without caring about the results:

I’ll admit—Up until now I’ve been more of a content consumer than an engaged member of the LinkedIn community. Probably due to the fear of feeling inauthentic. But starting today I think I’d like to break away from that old story.

These days I find myself using podcasts and audiobooks as the primary drive for squeezing in more of what feels like productivity while driving or doing mindless tasks.

But there’s something I’ve rediscovered lately through reading books:
• Setting aside time to disconnect
• Holding a tangible object free from internet distractions
• Diving into a novel subject, or maybe just curious enough to give something new a chance to commit to reading a few pages…

And there seems to be real value in these simple things.

Books somehow remove some of the unconscious bias we may have inadvertently created when hearing an author’s voice or seeing their appearance. Instead, we interpret their words in our own voice and tone, forming independent thoughts—something podcasts often rob us of.

They also provide natural pauses for reflection between chapters—something that’s harder to do when content keeps rolling forward and that next YouTube video starts playing before you decide whether you actually wanted to continue or not.

Today I finished reading “Between the Listening and the Telling,” by Mark Yaconelli—a beautifully written collection of personal stories.

And I found myself intentionally slowing down, stretching its reading over many weeks to let its lessons fully sink in. If you consider yourself a storyteller, this book will make you rethink what that actually means.

It begs the question of how we can all become better at identifying our own life stories, and details the various ways you can help those around you to share theirs.

If you have a good book suggestion that you’ve read lately and recommend, drop a comment below or shoot me a message ⬇️ I’d love to hear more about it and why it resonates with you.

(PS: Mark if you read this, I feel personally attacked by the following quote on page 60, but I forgive you.)

“Over half a million marketers in the United States call themselves Storytellers according to a recent poll of online profiles. What is the hope of these storytellers? What stories are they trying to tell? Attracting, keeping and manipulating our attention seems to be the primary aim… (Yet) The voracious and continual consumption of stories can render all stories, even the most sacred, meaningless.”