You get to choose your mindset. Not what happens, just what you want to feel.

I forgot this.

South Africa has been a hard trip. My motorcycle was too high, too heavy, and I kept struggling. It was only when I decided to have at least one good day that my trip changed.

The bike didn’t get lower. I didn’t get any taller.

It was just my mind expanding, making it all fit. And it was such a great day.

In today’s Storyletter:
• Visual people, start writing
• Life Update – Building in Public
• Fun Stuff – Weekend Vibes

Key learning

You are all in the storytelling business, whether you want to be or not. The good thing is, you can get so much better in a matter of weeks.

During these past two weeks, traveling around South Africa on a motorcycle, I had time to think. There were many days when I felt uncomfortable, scared, and worried. In many cases, my feet would barely touch the ground, which meant I was always one mistake away from falling.

A fall hurts both your wallet and your body.

But over dinner, we had so many conversations about sales, and it became clear that in sales, people don’t get hurt. It’s not a zero-sum game.

People often say, “I’m a good storyteller” or “I’m bad at sales.” Yet most will never make the effort to become better. Why is that?
Why do we agree to work on some skills but leave the most important one hanging?

Over the course of a day, riding 350 km, I couldn’t stop thinking about writing. They all have the same thing in common: they don’t write. So how can they measure? How can they get better?

We keep saying we are visual creatures, yet most avoid writing and use the same excuses. Without writing, how can they see their story?

During a conversation over breakfast, one of our friends told me how he implemented my methods and won a huge deal with one of the top liquor brands in the world. Another friend explained their sales funnel over dinner, and we quickly found several gaps that writing revealed, all simple to solve.

I thought I’d use this week’s thoughts to help you think about storytelling in sales, both big and small.

Big Time Thinking
Write out the sales process step by step. Understand the numbers next to each part. Yes, it’s kind of like a sales funnel, but start from marketing and go through every interaction your sales team has. You’ll quickly understand where your numbers drop and who needs help.

Small Time Thinking
I’ll split this into two parts.

Your Sales Pitch
If your team doesn’t have a written three-minute pitch, you are missing out. During a week-long business trip in the U.S., my client brought in almost 90 qualified leads, which resulted in more than 62 calls over the following three weeks.
If you don’t have a short pitch, you are losing sales. Guaranteed.

Your Personal Craft
Write a weekly tip for your clients. It can be by email, WhatsApp, or any other way you communicate. The tip should be value-based, between 300 and 500 words.

Come up with an idea, write it or transcribe it.
Spend about 30 minutes editing, then leave it.
Spend another 30 minutes editing again.
Create one sentence to serve as your hook, message, or post.
Publish it with a “read more” or a link in the comments. Make sure you can measure the results.

Start working on your writing and editing.
The more you practice, the better you will get.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Need help? Feel free to reach out. I’m always here for you.

Building in public

Two Weeks of Riding Motorcycles Are Over

It’s strange to look back at a trip and say, yes, it didn’t go as planned and could have been better. While my India trip in 2024 felt perfect, even though it wasn’t easy, South Africa posed more physical challenges. I also felt lonely at times, even though everyone was helping.

It made me think about work, balance, and what makes us lead the pack. It’s when we feel comfortable, when we push ourselves, and when we want to become better.

For me, it’s about going back to my daily writing. I’m currently working on a few writing projects, so I’m going to start sharing more about that. One project is still under wraps, but The Business Catcher is moving along slowly, with great promise. Every client working with me right now on their Business Catcher fixes is growing and seeing improvements in both sales and marketing.

Europe, Here We Come

By the time you get this email, I should be landing in Berlin for a few weeks. Speaking engagements, meetings, and some quality time with friends are on the schedule. It also marks a huge personal milestone for me, as I’ll be traveling with my girlfriend, which is very exciting.

On October 6, two workshops are sold out, including my first license in Amsterdam. I’m so happy to see this idea come to life.

If you are around London, Paris, Lisbon, or Amsterdam, please DM me. I’d love to meet for coffee, chat, or walk around.

I’d also appreciate any connections to universities, VCs, or startup accelerators.

Just for Fun

Chill & Enjoy

🎧 Music
This week’s newsletter was created while listening to one of my favorite channels. Listen

🎬 Take Me Home Samurai
Nothing beats a good bloody Samurai show, coming up in November. Watch

🍿 Nothing Like a Bit of Bond, James Bond
I wish I could go back to playing computer games, but I still enjoy the trailers. Watch

Resources

📺 How to win the SEO game and AI search in 2025 - Full episode here

💡 The Business Storytelling Guide - A complete guide on how to implement storytelling to improve your business quickly. Available here 

📕 My Amazon best-selling book F*ck The Slides - How to Create a Winning Pitch. Available here: Kindle/Print/Audio

📺 My YOUTUBE Channel: Interviews, tips and some fun content Available here