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Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, I’m not sure why so many of my intros have to do with food, but I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share a story about titles.
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Friday Forum
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What I Learned Yesterday:
I’ve been called a lot of things in my life: liar, trickster, talented, mean, ornery, arrogant, funny, rude, wise. I’ve also had many titles: manager, director, owner, father, husband, friend, worship leader, student, podcaster. However, over the last few months I’ve been called a couple of things that I didn’t necessarily expect: teacher and storyteller.
Teacher is not necessarily a word that has never been associated to my name before. I’ve done things like Bible classes at church, teach podcasting courses, and when I was in high school, I even had thoughts of becoming a teacher one day. However, teacher is not a word that would come to mind immediately if I were asked to describe myself.
The word storyteller is a word that I would never have associated with my name. In fact, it never had been associated with me until I started this podcast. Since I began this podcast on March 17, I’ve been called a storyteller at least a dozen times, if not twice that.
A few weeks ago we were having dinner with Clint my partner in crime for The Fringe Podcast and Almost Human Podcast, and his wife Mandy, who will soon be hosting this podcast alongside me and Derek. One of the many things we talked about that night was this podcast.
I mentioned that the word storyteller was starting to be applied to me and this podcast and that I thought it was odd. I mean, I very purposefully set out to teach lessons through stories with this podcast, so it does seem fitting, but still, odd. Why does it seem odd? Because I never really considered myself a storyteller, that’s why. Sure, I could define a storyteller by simply applying the term to anyone who tells stories. And suppose that if I did that, it wouldn’t be inaccurate. But I think of a storyteller as something greater than that. I think a storyteller is someone who has the ability to capture the attention of an audience and take them on a lyrical journey. I definitely don’t put myself in that category.
Still, I’ve been pondering these words and what they mean to me and how they manifest themselves in my life. I love these words, and I love that some think they are appropriate words to describe me.
Now back to the word teacher. That is a word that I’m much more comfortable with. In fact, when I left my career and became an entrepreneur, I hoped that teacher would be a word that would be used to describe me. Why? Well, I had a vision to consult with people and teach them how to become better podcasters. I had a vision to create tutorial videos that would teach audio editing techniques, demonstrate how to use audio equipment, and be more involved in podcasting communities to lend my experience to others.
I’m proud to say I’m doing all of those things. Last week I was consulting with a client about her podcast and she wanted to know how to streamline a few things. As we spoke I got a better idea of how some of my techniques could help her. She was writing things down fervishly and getting really excited. At one point she stopped and gasped at one of the techniques I shared. It was such a good idea to her and she was blown away that she now had some great info to help her improve her audio quality and her production process. I felt like a rock star. It absolutely made my day that something I taught someone brought about that type of reaction.
Today I woke up and checked my email. Among the new items in my inbox was a notification from YouTube. A commenter said, “Phenomenal video, easily one of the best videos on podcasting! So thankful I came across this video. I just subscribed and can’t wait to check out your website.” A few weeks ago a commenter said, “Your video presentation, and comparison test are commendable. The tests were well presented in simple and clear ways. You avoided the often confusing comparison tests which go into unnecessary technical detail.”
These comments drive me and inspire me to do more.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
There is something magical that happens by the exchanging of ideas and info. Can we learn stuff without the assistance of others, of course we can. Are we almost always better off when we allow someone with experience to share that experience with us? Of course.
Are you sharing your wisdom, knowledge, and experience with others?
As Mandy and I were talking about storytelling I told her that I’ve never really practiced at being a storyteller and I’m not sure that it applies to me. She corrected me and said that I had a lot of experience telling stories. She said that all of the years that I spent putting episodes of Fringe, Revolution, and Almost Human into 3-6 minute recap stories helped prepare me for this podcast.
After she said it I just looked at her. I mean, that thought had never even came close to my mind. I thought about it for a minute and I realized that she was right. And isn’t that the way life is. The stuff we do every day is preparing us for the future. Sometimes it’s stuff that we’ll pass on to our kids or grandkids, and sometimes it’s stuff that we’ll share with others. Whatever it is, don’t ever discount the life you’ve had or the life you’re having and the value that those experiences can have on others.
Now, get out there and share life.
I’m Darrell Darnell and this has been stuff I learned yesterday.
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