Storytelling through helpful, entertaining video with George B. Thomas
Using video for a form of "edutainment," George B. Thomas helps other learn a complicated marketing and sales software, a new strategy and a fresh way of driving business growth. A recovering youth pastor and former pub bouncer, George has always helped people...it’s just been at different points of their journey.
Now George is an inbound evangelist and creates training videos for HubSpot users. But they're so much more than standard training videos... You have to see it to believe it. He’s a branding guru, a video marketing ninja, an inbound marketing Jedi (yes he’s a total nerd and that’s awesome) and a HubSpot accredited trainer. The energy he brings is infectious and the knowledge he drops is inspiring. And he doesn’t need coffee to do it all — but it does help.
"You are absolutely more powerful, more smart, more anything that you think that you're not. You have the potential to be great. You just need to find 'that thing.' You need to find that passion. You need to find that consistency. The most important part of this, you need to find that belief in yourself." - George B. Thomas on motivation
Vulnerability, Authenticity and Storytelling
The best advice George received about storytelling and public speaking was from his friend Marcus Sheridan. Marcus encouraged George to share a detail about himself in his keynote, that might make a lot of people question his expertise and intelligence. George said he struggled with the idea, but in the end, standing up in front of the entire audience with a simple slide that only said, "I'm a high school dropout" helped him connect with his audience like no other story.
For George, the reason behind dropping out - that one teacher that told him he'd never amount to anything and George's subsequent belief in that lie - was more important than keeping that story to himself.
"You have to be vulnerable. You have to be willing to put yourself out there, to fail, to say things that people might go, whoa. That's where the magic moments come in." - George B. Thomas on vulnerability
Finding Inspiration to be a Better Storyteller
As storytellers and performers, we often look to bigger names in our own space for inspiration. That natural inclination is a great place to start. However George says for him, finding inspiration and motivation goes beyond that point. Human interaction, keeping your eyes open and ears tuned in, and finding inspiration everywhere is key for George and his storytelling. He says you can find amazing pockets of inspiration anywhere.
"I'm just still going to engage with you like you're a human. I find inspiration everywhere. I've talked to janitors before, which there's nothing wrong with being a janitor and they've said something and I'm like, 'That's like the smartest crap I've heard in the last 90 days.'" - George B. Thomas on inspiration
Connect with George:
Remember to leave a 5-star rating and review if you enjoyed the show, and share this podcast with your friends and colleagues. The Storytellers Network with Dan Moyle airs every Monday at 7 AM EST.
