Leesa Barnes — Success Refresh: Faith Inspired Leadership Tips

What I Learned From Canada’s Got Talent Auditions, Part 2

December 13, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall Leave a Comment

Last weekend, I attended the Canada’s Got Talent auditions held in Toronto. I normally wouldn’t even bother, but I had a hook up on tickets and the person who had them was quite persuasive that I attend. It was a 4-hour event and overall, I’m glad I went. It helped me to drum up some blog posts about my experience. Of course, none of my blog posts contain any spoilers, so I’ll instead focus on the business application of the auditions. In Part 1, I shared the 5 powerful things I learned about … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: #cgtcitytv, canada's got talent, carrie wilkerson, dina pugliese, get storied, maesha Brueggergosman, martin short, michael margolis, stephan moccio, the barefoot executive

What I Learned From Canada’s Got Talent Auditions, Part 1

December 12, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall 2 Comments

Last weekend, I attended the Canada's Got Talent auditions held in Toronto. I normally wouldn't even bother, but I had a hook up on tickets and the person who had them was quite persuasive that I attend. It was a 4-hour event and overall, I'm glad I went. It helped me to drum up some blog posts about my experience. Of course, none of my blog posts contain any spoilers, so I'll instead focus on the business application of the auditions. What I saw was more than just auditions. Each … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Teller Tagged With: #cgtcitytv, canada's got talent, dina pugliese, maesha Brueggergosman, martin short, stephan moccio

People Don’t Buy What You Do, They Buy Why You Do It

December 2, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall Leave a Comment

I've been on this Simon Sinek bandwagon over the past 3-weeks ever since my friend, Lynn Pearce suggested I read his book Start With Why. I was sharing with her all the things I find wrong with internet marketing and Lynn strongly suggested I get Simon's book. I stumbled upon his TEDTalk in which Simon makes some powerful points about what motivates people to buy. I grabbed the talk from my friend Tina Forsyth's blog and sharing it below (thanks Tina). My only gripe (and this is what I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Teller Tagged With: lynn pearce, simon sinek, start with why, ted talk, tedtalk, the golden circle, tina forsyth, why people buy

Why Your Odd, Bizarre and Strange Story Will Bless Others

November 24, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall Leave a Comment

A couple weeks ago, I was in New York city. The last time I was there, the Twin Towers still stood. So it was fitting that on 11-11-11, I would visit the spot that changed so much for so many. I took the R train from the place I was staying in midtown Manhanttan to Ground Zero (it's hopelessly easy to take the subway in New York - I truly don't understand how anyone can get lost). As I emerged from the subway, I looked up to see the new Freedom Tower being built on the spot where the two … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Narrative Tagged With: 9/11, freedom tower, ground zero, lower manhattan, new york city, remembrance day, september 11th, twin towers, veterans day

Why These Business Cards are Memorable

November 23, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall 5 Comments

I once heard a billionaire at an event tell people that if you include a photo on your card, you're an idiot. Well, she didn't say idiot, but she did say enough to make my virtual assistant hide her business cards - which had her picture on it - deep into her luggage. How selfish. Business cards, just like your overall brand, must fit your story. If you're verbose and flamboyant, then put together a fold-up card. I've met people who have given me business cards that fold out into a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Tools Tagged With: amethyst wyldfyre, ava diamond, business cards, carolyn ellis, darnyelle jervey, jacqueline wales, janice johnson, kathleen mailer, payson cooper, robyn hatcher

6 Sources You Can Pull From to Avoid Inventing Stories

November 21, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall 2 Comments

James Frey duped the world. In 2005, Oprah Winfrey selected his book, A Million Little Pieces, as part of her book club. And everyone knows that when Oprah chooses a book, it becomes a bestseller. Imagine everyone's surprise when just a few months later, James sat on Oprah's couch admitting to the world that most of the stories in his book had been fabricated. Stories are powerful. And using them to connect with prospects helps you stand out. However, making them up and passing them … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Teller Tagged With: a million little pieces, carol roth, influence through stories, james frey, oprah winfrey, peter guber, tell to win, ty bennett

The #1 Problem With the Occupy Wall Street Movement (and Why the Tea Party & Arab Spring Succeeded)

November 18, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall Leave a Comment

I was a member of Toastmasters for 4-years. I became a Competent Toastmaster in under a year after completing the first 10 speech projects (and went on to obtain my Competent Leader certificate a year after that). One of the speech projects is called Get to the Point. The goal is to prepare a 5-7 minute speech that informs, entertains and has one specific point you're trying to convey. And this is the problem with the Occupy Wall Street movement and other similar movements around the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Narrative Tagged With: arab spring, naheed nenshi, occupy toronto, occupy wall street, tea party movement

5 Examples of the Villain Being Anything But a Person

November 17, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall 2 Comments

In a previous blog post, I shared why it's important to identify both a hero and a villain in your business narrative. However, the hero/villain need not be a person. Here are 5 examples of hero/villain narratives that aren't human. House - the villain is the mystery sickness, the hero is Dr. House Apple - the villain is Windows, the hero is Mac Ford - the villain is oversea production of vehicles, the hero is made in America Virtual Events - the villain is free virtual events, the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Narrative

6 Ways to Identify a Hero in Your Story

November 15, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall Leave a Comment

Every story needs a hero. And a villain. Without good and bad battling against each other, the story gets just a tad bit boring. In the movie The Matrix, the Architect said that the first version of the matrix was a utopia. It was perfect. A little too perfect. It was so perfect that the humans that were plugged into the matrix kept trying to wake up thinking their utopia was a dream. When the story is too perfect, it becomes a snooze. Humans needs conflict, drama and struggle … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Narrative Tagged With: hero, jeff blair, joe frazier, mohammed ali, muhammad ali, peter guber, tell to win, the architect, the matrix, villain

Yet Another Way to Respond to Story Hijackers Using Michele Bachmann’s Example

November 14, 2011 by Leesa Renee Hall Leave a Comment

Michele Bachmann, a candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2012 United States presidential election, was heckled at a recent speech in South Carolina. A group from the Occupy Charleston movement stood up during her speech and said the following: "This will only take a minute. We have a message for Mrs. Bachmann. You capitalize on dividing Americans. Claiming people that disagree with you are unpatriotic socialists. And you promote discrimination. This does not help the American … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Narrative Tagged With: michele bachmann, msnbc, occupy charleston, story hijackers

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