One of the things they don't prepare you for when you become a parent is just how many things they don't prepare you for when you become a parent. (Read it again. I made sure it makes sense. Which is good, because parenting little kids does not.) Some parenting things are hard, like how to tell whether their screaming means they're hungry, tired, cold, or just as upset as you are with the umpire in today's game. I mean I know Aaron Judge is 6-feet, 19-inches tall but COME ON, UMP, YOU'RE--oh, shoot, he pooped, gotta go... Other things are funny, ranging from "funny ha-ha" to "funny oh no." I'm ..read more

Ever since the internet was a twinkle in Al Gore's eye, content creators have wondered: quantity or quality? (87% of people just read "Al Gore" as "A.I. Gore," so maybe quantity is winning. Anyway, back to the debate...) "What'll it be, my friend?" I say as you wander off the streets into my Storyteller Saloon. "Quantity or quality?" "One large glass of quality," you say, because that's who you are. You care. I do too. That's why I smirk at you. "A high quantity of high quality, coming up!" Wait... you think. And you think right. * * * Quantity and quality are not opposites. They don't sit at ..read more

In 2015, I decided to attack an enemy with my work: average content. I'd spent years working on marketing teams at brands big and small, ranging from Google and HubSpot to a tiny startup nobody’s heard of. After that time, I emerged disillusioned with the entire field. I was ashamed at how much mediocrity I'd shipped and even more frustrated with the mentality of settling which, to me at least, felt endemic to the industry. After writing about my disdain for average content a few times, I decided to launch a podcast. I called it Unthinkable. The name hinted at my frustration at the time. I was ..read more

When I worked at Google, a colleague used to loudly declare (usually over drinks), "Let's play one-two-three-honesty!" What followed would be some kind of hilarious or hard truth about our office, our company, our industry, maybe the broader culture -- something which otherwise would go unspoken. Because a spoonful of sugar helps the strong opinion go down? Today, I want to play one-two-three-honesty about our work. I assure you, this comes from a place of love. Continuing to hide from it or couch the explanation isn't productive for anyone. (Deep breath.) Here goes. One-two-three-honesty? You ..read more

We're singing a song that isn't ours. I blame social media. Experts, entrepreneurs, and creators the world over seem to want to be known online today. Mostly, this manifests as a potent but aimless desire. It's not overly focused, so people run around grabbing at all the tactics, strapping themselves onto the content hamster wheel, churning out yet more "stuff." Because they want to be known. But what if we could become known for our substance and skip all the hollow gimmicks? What if we could better focus our desire to be known to ensure we make things that truly matter -- instead of just mak ..read more

Imagine you're putting up a sign in a town square. Let's assume it's one of those old timey wooden signs you hammer through the cobblestone with a mallet. (While we're at it, let's also assume we're wearing knickers and saying things like, "Dickens, my good man, how doth your smithing business fair, pray tell?") (Listen, just because it's a new year does not mean you're getting a new Jay.) Next, let's imagine the sign is for one narrow purpose: to rally others to build a ship. What might you chisel into that sign to ensure others respond and act? "But Jay," I hear you saying, "I don't WANT a n ..read more

"I get what you're saying, but how do you really feel?" It was 2016, and a friend was listening to a dry run of my speech's closing bit. I'd spent 11 months developing this particular keynote, but the ending still wasn't ready. I was starting to stress out too. The stakes felt higher than usual at my next event, Content Marketing World. For a time, CMWorld used audience feedback surveys to score their speakers, after which they'd award those highly rated voices a bigger room the next year. I began my CMWorld journey in a tiny room off to the side of the conference venue, but with each passing ..read more

Signature Stories is a miniseries inside Unthinkable where world-class business storytellers dissect a single story together with us. We analyze what makes it work, how they built it (and how it’s evolved), and how they use it to support their brand and serve the audience. You can find every episode wherever you get your podcasts. * * * Too often, when we try to learn from our favorite storytellers, we hear generalized advice, only getting fleeting glimpses inside the crafting of their actual stories. It’s not their fault. The places they appear around the business world are mainly concerned w ..read more

Inspiration is everywhere -- if you're paying attention. 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 regul ..read more

"I would march into marketing battle with you." "That was incredible. Your best one yet." "Seriously, I had tears in my eyes." How big must a story be to create that kind of reaction? Turns out, not big at all. These were the (very much appreciated) responses to my latest keynote -- specifically, to my final story in the talk. I've given the talk enough times and used the story in enough content elsewhere to know that it's a winning bit, a signature story. It's my "closer," as a comedian might say -- the thing you end with when you want to end strong. In fact, I previously used this story as m ..read more