Transformative Story Experiences | Amanda Johnson - The Story Oracle - Ep 159

WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.260 --> 00:00:06.399
Dr Steve: So I'm actually recording this 2 different ways, just in case you never know.

2
00:00:06.970 --> 00:00:12.180
Dr Steve: Because now, the only thing I don't have. Maybe you sent it to me, but I can't find it

3
00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:17.959
Dr Steve: is like a like a bio. Did you send me a bio.

4
00:00:18.926 --> 00:00:24.199
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I sent a bio and some notes, I believe, last week, after we chatted.

5
00:00:24.200 --> 00:00:25.670
Dr Steve: This is here.

6
00:00:26.430 --> 00:00:27.320
Dr Steve: Hang on.

7
00:00:27.780 --> 00:00:28.090
Dr Steve: See?

8
00:00:28.090 --> 00:00:29.140
Dr Steve: This, is it?

9
00:00:30.610 --> 00:00:36.439
Dr Steve: Okay? Okay, it just it kind of wrapped weird. Alright, give me a second. I'm gonna print it.

10
00:00:40.050 --> 00:00:44.359
Dr Steve: Yeah, I mean, alchemizes 25 years of transformative experiences.

11
00:00:46.210 --> 00:00:49.010
Dr Steve: I think that's what you're referring to. Right.

12
00:00:49.010 --> 00:00:49.560
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yes.

13
00:00:50.270 --> 00:00:52.903
Dr Steve: Okay, I'm gonna do this. Let me

14
00:00:55.030 --> 00:00:58.640
Dr Steve: let me put this in another file.

15
00:01:04.050 --> 00:01:07.200
Dr Steve: Okay, that we're good. Everything's good.

16
00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:12.160
Dr Steve: Where do you live. I think you told me San Diego.

17
00:01:12.960 --> 00:01:14.060
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Whiskey, Arizona.

18
00:01:14.380 --> 00:01:21.120
Dr Steve: Oh, Arizona, yeah. Duh, okay, this has been kind of a crazy week. I've got a lot of.

19
00:01:21.860 --> 00:01:30.759
Dr Steve: you know, with podcasting, you get like streaky, you know. You get like a week where you're doing like 9, and everybody's reaching out to you. It's very active, and then, like nobody cares for a week.

20
00:01:34.210 --> 00:01:35.640
Dr Steve: This in Arizona.

21
00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:36.830
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: It's been a busy week.

22
00:01:37.630 --> 00:01:51.610
Dr Steve: This week's been kind of average if there is such a thing. But I've had a lot of interest because I was just on this trip. And one of the things I talked about on the trip was, Hey, if anybody wants to be on a podcast I'm booking for the spring and the summer.

23
00:01:51.830 --> 00:01:53.109
Dr Steve: So all right.

24
00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:58.960
Dr Steve: let's just do a little tech check just to say Hello, let's talk for like 30 seconds. So let's make sure this sounds good.

25
00:01:59.610 --> 00:02:03.229
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Okay, let's check the tech.

26
00:02:03.960 --> 00:02:06.009
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: How does my microphone sound.

27
00:02:06.270 --> 00:02:11.929
Dr Steve: It's clear, but it's a little soft. I think. Last time did we do some kind of adjustment? Was that you.

28
00:02:11.930 --> 00:02:13.390
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: About this. Is that better?

29
00:02:13.390 --> 00:02:16.069
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Little better? Yeah, it's good. Okay.

30
00:02:16.330 --> 00:02:20.719
Dr Steve: All right. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to like countdown 3, 2, 1. We'll kind of bring it in.

31
00:02:20.930 --> 00:02:28.540
Dr Steve: I will read your bio. And what is the 1st question you want me to ask you? Or what's the 1st thing you would like to talk about?

32
00:02:30.315 --> 00:02:40.319
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Well, I think we talked about my notes here were talking about to entrepreneurial parents, about

33
00:02:40.430 --> 00:02:44.110
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: bringing personal growth in their writing projects.

34
00:02:44.260 --> 00:02:49.520
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: and then also bringing their families along with them. That's 1 of the fun things that

35
00:02:50.190 --> 00:02:51.900
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I've done in my career.

36
00:02:52.440 --> 00:02:55.320
Dr Steve: So let's start with that basically writing projects.

37
00:02:56.740 --> 00:02:59.740
Dr Steve: Okay, alright, I got. I got it. I got an idea.

38
00:03:06.430 --> 00:03:11.660
Dr Steve: And again, you know, probably about halfway through it. I'll kind of pause and do like a little commercial for the podcast

39
00:03:11.930 --> 00:03:20.729
Dr Steve: at any point. Don't be shy about offers freebies. How people can get them. All the links and stuff will be in the show notes. So you can refer to that.

40
00:03:21.200 --> 00:03:25.146
Dr Steve: although if you want to say, you know, like whatever you know, your link is

41
00:03:26.841 --> 00:03:31.780
Dr Steve: things like this. So story oracle, whatever. Okay, you ready to rumble.

42
00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:32.880
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I am.

43
00:03:34.540 --> 00:03:37.990
Dr Steve: Okay, let me get everything where I like it doing good.

44
00:03:38.311 --> 00:03:40.880
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Wait. You missed one of those hairs. Oh.

45
00:03:40.880 --> 00:03:46.529
Dr Steve: Whenever I get my hair cut it always sticks up, and I just give up on dealing with it.

46
00:03:47.100 --> 00:03:48.700
Dr Steve: All right, ready.

47
00:03:49.530 --> 00:03:55.540
Dr Steve: So 3, 2, 1, hey, everyone! Welcome back!

48
00:03:55.820 --> 00:03:57.180
Dr Steve: Welcome back.

49
00:03:58.060 --> 00:03:59.180
Dr Steve: Today

50
00:03:59.330 --> 00:04:07.850
Dr Steve: you are listening to the make, the great experience podcast. Your host, Dr. Stephen Green. We have a guest today all the way

51
00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:09.170
Dr Steve: from Arizona.

52
00:04:09.850 --> 00:04:18.240
Dr Steve: Yeah, make it sound like it's a foreign country all the way from Arizona, the other side of the country from me, where the weather is much nicer. The landscape's much nicer.

53
00:04:18.470 --> 00:04:31.459
Dr Steve: probably the food's better. I don't know we can address this, so let me introduce real briefly. My guest today is Amanda Johnson. She goes by the story oracle, or at least that's her business, Amanda. How you feeling today.

54
00:04:31.760 --> 00:04:35.289
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I'm feeling great super excited to have this conversation with you.

55
00:04:35.290 --> 00:04:37.550
Dr Steve: There we go, love the positivity.

56
00:04:37.550 --> 00:04:37.920
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah.

57
00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:41.379
Dr Steve: Let me tell you a little bit about her, and then we're going to get right into this.

58
00:04:41.640 --> 00:04:48.250
Dr Steve: Manna. Johnson alchemizes 25 years of transforming experiences through story literacy.

59
00:04:48.530 --> 00:04:51.719
Dr Steve: through writing and narrative medicine, to fulfill her mission.

60
00:04:52.100 --> 00:05:03.170
Dr Steve: This is her mission to equip individuals, to use humanity's most innate tools to transmute the pain of their backstory into more magically than ever for themselves.

61
00:05:04.290 --> 00:05:06.820
Dr Steve: their loved ones, and whose they serve.

62
00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:08.949
Dr Steve: That's a lot we got to unpack that.

63
00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:33.039
Dr Steve: Yeah, it's known today as the story oracle. I think of the oracle I think of, like Greece, right? The Greek, Delphi Amanda partners with organizations, individuals helping professionals, creative coaches, Ceos educators and parents will learn how to use story writing and community to open portals of connection, reconnection, belonging building, rebuilding, resilience, trust

64
00:05:33.490 --> 00:05:46.679
Dr Steve: claiming leverage, latent superpowers in themselves, and that's important. Late superpowers. You got to bring them out right everywhere with their families, their workplace, their communities. She partners with something called saved by story.

65
00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:50.710
Dr Steve: She also midwives, paradigm, changing brands, content.

66
00:05:51.760 --> 00:05:54.660
Dr Steve: more thought leaders and stories within the world.

67
00:05:55.890 --> 00:06:02.009
Dr Steve: Wow, okay, so where to begin? That is, I gotta tell you if I read 300 bios.

68
00:06:02.140 --> 00:06:04.789
Dr Steve: and there are more sat words in that bio

69
00:06:05.830 --> 00:06:10.340
Dr Steve: seen. So either you have an incredible vocabulary. You got a really thick thesaurus.

70
00:06:10.440 --> 00:06:18.110
Dr Steve: or both. But it doesn't really matter, because your message is clear. Your goal. If I'm interpreting this correctly, I want to hear you really define. It is to help people

71
00:06:18.330 --> 00:06:32.570
Dr Steve: to move forward in the lives kind of dissolve any trauma that's built up and hidden somewhere through the power of telling stories, either writing them down, or orally, or verbally, or whatever. So let's talk about this.

72
00:06:32.770 --> 00:06:34.680
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: How'd you come up with this idea?

73
00:06:35.260 --> 00:06:40.809
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I know it looks like I know you've been doing it for many years, and and maybe just tell us how this process works.

74
00:06:41.290 --> 00:06:50.410
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Sure. Well, how did I get here is a funny. It's a funny question with kind of a a i'll try to make it short answer, but.

75
00:06:50.410 --> 00:06:52.010
Dr Steve: We got 23 min.

76
00:06:52.010 --> 00:06:56.078
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: This is not something. This is not something that you go to school for. Right?

77
00:06:56.350 --> 00:06:56.910
Dr Steve: Okay.

78
00:06:56.910 --> 00:07:18.600
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I didn't get a degree in this. I was going to be a journalist, and then I decided to become a history teacher. When I realized when I started to engage great stories in college and realized the importance of understanding, not just the stories and the themes, but really wrestling with the context and the history in which that story was written.

79
00:07:18.820 --> 00:07:33.819
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I decided to take what I had learned all the Socratic method and critical thinking back to the high school. I landed in a really tough district during a really challenging time of my life. The kids were.

80
00:07:34.140 --> 00:07:48.469
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: They didn't believe that they were going to make it to see graduation. Lots of gang activity, lots of lost family members, lots of drugs happening overdoses. And so I did not feel like I had what it took.

81
00:07:48.670 --> 00:08:10.239
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: and I certainly did not have allies or mentors in that space to really help me to figure out how to connect with them with story and still get the job done. So I bounced out of that, and I was offered an online writing instruction job where I was able to take care of my little guy, and while he was napping I would help people learn how to write more powerfully online.

82
00:08:10.640 --> 00:08:19.135
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I went out to share that that service because I was so excited about the results that we were getting, and I went to the wrong market.

83
00:08:19.690 --> 00:08:23.773
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Have you ever done that? I went to the I have.

84
00:08:25.410 --> 00:08:40.109
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: yeah, I went to a whole bunch of entrepreneurs who said, I'm not exactly sure that you can teach me how to write better. But can you fix what I've written? So I started to help people with their their manuscripts, adjusting those.

85
00:08:40.110 --> 00:08:43.370
Dr Steve: More of like an editing role, as it were.

86
00:08:43.370 --> 00:09:04.810
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: More like an editing business. But what I realized was there were 2 things that were happening or not happening. I should say one was they weren't getting things done quickly, like there was so much time that they were taking to make something effective, and I thought if I could help them from the beginning. I could shave years off of this, and not just years, but

87
00:09:04.880 --> 00:09:28.019
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: probably energy and tears and sanity, and all of that stuff that goes into writing a book. So I started working with people from the beginning, and I quickly realized I had to. You asked how I had to start kidnapping them with consent. Of course I invited them away, for you know, 3 days and early on it was 3 days at a time. Now we do 7 day retreats

88
00:09:28.170 --> 00:09:38.500
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: where I would help them to figure out, what's the story? What's the core message? Let's organize it. Let's get you into the writing process. And at that very 1st retreat.

89
00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:44.480
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I heard a voice say, while I was watching this woman in tears on the floor.

90
00:09:44.810 --> 00:09:48.550
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: the voice said, this is actually the real work here.

91
00:09:48.970 --> 00:09:49.430
Dr Steve: Hello!

92
00:09:49.430 --> 00:10:17.070
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Part of what you're doing. The more important work that you're doing is walking people back to who they were before the story started, before it happened to them. And that's what I realized was one of the main challenges that people were having. You know, these high performing, overachieving, helping professionals, winning awards in different places, like being superhuman in their domain. And yet, when they sat down to write a book

93
00:10:17.260 --> 00:10:18.999
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: after writing a thesis.

94
00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:44.909
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: you know, you think that would be harder. But there was something about this project that they could not get to themselves, and I found that almost every time it was there was a story in there that still had some pain that still had some tenderness, and you know they weren't sure. Should I share this story? Is it going to affect the people that I love? I rebuilt these relationships. I don't want to talk about how hard it was right.

95
00:10:44.910 --> 00:10:46.790
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: something people don't always think about? Yeah.

96
00:10:46.790 --> 00:10:56.339
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: yeah. And they had. They had no idea that it was those things that were under the surface that were giving them a headache every time they sat down to write the next chapter.

97
00:10:56.340 --> 00:10:59.329
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: and and the story Oracle was born.

98
00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:00.620
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yep.

99
00:11:01.140 --> 00:11:05.850
Dr Steve: So let let me let me. There's a lot to unpack. Here, let me break this down a little bit.

100
00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:12.260
Dr Steve: so let's dispel one myth, because I've written a few books. Okay? And I can tell you it is work.

101
00:11:12.400 --> 00:11:16.080
Dr Steve: I mean, it's fun. It's certainly good when you get done.

102
00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:26.420
Dr Steve: But the process can be difficult, and it takes a lot of discipline always takes longer than you think. You tend to like. Write it, and you re-edit it 17 times. But

103
00:11:27.250 --> 00:11:44.109
Dr Steve: when you say a book, does it have to be like war and peace? Is it going to be 7,000 pages with 500 things can it be? You know, 20 pages, 50 pages. It doesn't have to be predefined in terms of scope, right? Or how do you look at that? What's your viewpoint on that.

104
00:11:44.110 --> 00:11:48.550
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I think it's you know. It depends on what you're trying to achieve with it, and how.

105
00:11:48.550 --> 00:11:49.000
Dr Steve: Quickly, next.

106
00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:50.000
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Can be done.

107
00:11:50.400 --> 00:11:52.850
Dr Steve: Because some people yeah, sorry, keep going. Keep calling.

108
00:11:52.850 --> 00:12:00.570
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I had an author early on who had this vision. She came in like, I'm going to write a 250 page book, and I mean the depth.

109
00:12:00.570 --> 00:12:02.069
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: That's a lot, by the way, folks

110
00:12:02.070 --> 00:12:14.730
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: right? Right? The depth of transformative work that she did in the 18 months that it took her to start it and and send the manuscript to me. It was enormous. And then, when she saw the page count, she was like.

111
00:12:14.880 --> 00:12:31.109
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Oh, my God, it's only 150, I mean. She was mortified, and I thought every reader that we have had read this has called me texted me and told me how incredibly transformed they are by the stories that you told in this book.

112
00:12:31.160 --> 00:12:53.339
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Like 150 pages. Her powerful storytelling got the job done. Some people need a little bit more space, and some people can do it in a shorter timeframe. But you know it also depends on what type of book you're writing. If you're trying to share your story, you know some people feel like, well, I couldn't write this in any less than 3,000 pages. Nope, that's not going to work right now. We have to figure out.

113
00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:59.040
Dr Steve: You need a whole life to read it so many days here.

114
00:12:59.040 --> 00:13:09.840
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: There are others who, you know they're writing a quick how to. You know they're writing it with a a very specific agenda in mind. You know, I'm going to get these things into the book, and then I'm going to push people into.

115
00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:10.360
Dr Steve: So.

116
00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:14.939
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: A program that I have for them on the other side. So it really depends on the aim.

117
00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:16.519
Dr Steve: So here's a question.

118
00:13:17.250 --> 00:13:18.950
Dr Steve: Do you see your role?

119
00:13:19.770 --> 00:13:23.290
Dr Steve: And, by the way, my guest, Amanda Johnson, the story Oracle

120
00:13:23.640 --> 00:13:25.610
Dr Steve: Amanda, do you see your role

121
00:13:26.290 --> 00:13:34.669
Dr Steve: as more helping the writer have this sort of, and this is my word. Maybe you agree with it. A cathartic experience, almost.

122
00:13:35.910 --> 00:13:43.410
Dr Steve: By creating this, this memoir-ish thing, that kind of gets out what they have bottled up inside of them?

123
00:13:43.590 --> 00:13:49.679
Dr Steve: Or is this more to educate or to motivate, or to inspire, or

124
00:13:49.790 --> 00:13:53.089
Dr Steve: whatever word you want to use the reader? Or is it both?

125
00:13:53.470 --> 00:14:01.240
Dr Steve: Because sometimes people produce things just because they just want to get it out? They don't care if people read it right. But what's your what's your what's your opinion here.

126
00:14:01.520 --> 00:14:19.099
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah, I've met people who are just prolific. They just have a bunch of great ideas and a bunch of good stories, fiction and nonfiction, and their, you know, their motivation may be some catharsis, and they might not know that that's a motivation. But for some reason they don't have the

127
00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:35.819
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: hiccup right? The people that I work with tend to have the hiccups because they're already operating. They're already high performing over overcoming a lot of things in their lives. And yet there's this one part that they can't get to. And so I really see my role as both

128
00:14:35.930 --> 00:14:51.904
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: a partner in writing and a partner in transformation, because it is true that some people, you know, I had a an amazing author. I mean, this is one of the most beautiful gripping stories I have ever seen fiction a few years back he sends me the the

129
00:14:52.240 --> 00:15:08.149
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: outline for it. It's giant. No scene work, no character development. I'm bawling by about halfway through this outline. Why? Because the themes are so good. The ideas for how the story is going to build are so good, but he's a second language learner.

130
00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:23.390
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: He! He spent 25 years in the States, but when he writes, his English is still not quite powerful enough to accomplish the job. So my partnership with him was a lot of rewriting and adjusting and amping up the story

131
00:15:23.390 --> 00:15:42.090
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: right, whereas I have someone like my partner or one of my partners that saved by Story Carlynn. She's an avid reader, but she's also an exceptionally gifted writer. So a lot of the work that I'm doing with her is around ideas. How do you take which which character is the most important which one gets the most

132
00:15:42.090 --> 00:16:01.179
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: transformation out of the arc of this story. Which perspective should this be from? You know? How do we insert this idea? Where should we put it? So? It was a lot more like of thought partnership in that process. And then her writing was that way. But in every case, fiction and nonfiction.

133
00:16:01.800 --> 00:16:07.301
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I see that people have the opportunity to have that cathartic experience.

134
00:16:07.890 --> 00:16:16.039
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I've seen people reveal a story to themselves that they didn't realize they were living at all, and it took them 18 months and a whole manuscript to see it.

135
00:16:16.330 --> 00:16:24.550
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: and I've seen people I mean, we would argue, Carlynn and I, that she digested some ancestral

136
00:16:25.114 --> 00:16:30.820
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: trauma or some secret in her family, because then it got revealed 2 weeks later, after

137
00:16:31.180 --> 00:16:49.660
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: that scene, so like these weird little synchronicities that happen there are these opportunities that if you don't know if you're sitting in your office by yourself trying to accomplish something, and you run into a writer's block, you may not know that that's some of the material that might be coming up that wants to be witnessed.

138
00:16:50.850 --> 00:16:56.919
Dr Steve: I got a lot of questions here. I'm trying to think of good order to ask them. So let's dispel a myth.

139
00:16:57.160 --> 00:17:11.170
Dr Steve: Can anybody, yes or no. Can anybody write a book obviously a 3 year old? Can't? But you don't have to be a certain education. You don't have to be a certain age. You don't be certain anybody can produce a work that's valued to them right.

140
00:17:11.170 --> 00:17:11.494
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yep.

141
00:17:11.829 --> 00:17:13.799
Dr Steve: Okay, number 2 is

142
00:17:15.439 --> 00:17:26.409
Dr Steve: while it's a challenge. And it might be emotionally challenging in your experience with the hundreds of people you've worked with. It's rewarding when they get done right.

143
00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:27.369
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Oh, yeah.

144
00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:34.259
Dr Steve: Yeah. So without violating any confidence, if if that's such a thing or confidentiality, can you just maybe

145
00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:38.220
Dr Steve: to be specific share? Maybe some of the things people have revealed.

146
00:17:38.390 --> 00:17:43.999
Dr Steve: Or maybe some of the things that people are focused on in some of these stories. I mean, is it like.

147
00:17:44.130 --> 00:17:53.509
Dr Steve: I'm almost thinking. It's like sort of Shakespearean idea. Where, like, you know, there's a character and a character with some challenge. And then there's some what do they call it Shakespearean.

148
00:17:53.670 --> 00:18:06.559
Dr Steve: the climax event, or something. I forget. I forget. I didn't have Shakespeare since college. You're talking 30 years ago. You know. And then there's like that 5 stage thing in Shakespearean drama. I can't remember. You probably remember it way more than I do.

149
00:18:07.100 --> 00:18:15.489
Dr Steve: But but does it have to be some sort of release sort of thing. Can it just be like a story, or is it? Is it this just how it works in your.

150
00:18:15.810 --> 00:18:18.750
Dr Steve: in, in your channeling. I'm going to use that word.

151
00:18:18.750 --> 00:18:26.849
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah, yeah, I definitely believe that people write books all the time and don't necessarily have a cathartic experience.

152
00:18:27.300 --> 00:18:30.619
Dr Steve: And I think that's 1 because of their goal for the book.

153
00:18:30.800 --> 00:18:58.610
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Could be very different if they're very business oriented entrepreneurs, you know they can, absolutely, if they're not writing story. If they're writing more of a how to or you know something in that department. It's much easier to, let's say, not have to take a look at any of the stories right. But when people are digging in the deepest parts of their soul and Psyche for old memories

154
00:18:59.180 --> 00:19:11.539
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: to share through the process of writing a memoir, or even, you know. Where else do you get content for a really good novel? Right? Carlynn is a great example, and she wrote about

155
00:19:11.690 --> 00:19:41.339
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: this, and has shared a little bit about it in different spaces, but one of the things for her was, you know, she came to retreat, and she started to. She was trying to write, and she was just stuck. I don't know what's happening, and I said, Well, why don't you jump ahead in the story? Maybe you can write a scene that you're more comfortable with, and then it'll inform this one that you feel stuck on, you know. Just kind of. I was hoping that she would write an easy scene. Tons of dopamine would light her up, and she'd come back and just be able to like.

156
00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:43.220
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: you know. Get through the rest of it.

157
00:19:43.580 --> 00:19:46.599
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: She chose the hardest scene of the book to write.

158
00:19:47.560 --> 00:19:53.209
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: and it was a scene because the whole story is about what happens when a family keeps a secret.

159
00:19:53.370 --> 00:20:00.370
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: What happens to the mental health of the family, and especially the children, when secrets are held well.

160
00:20:00.370 --> 00:20:02.870
Dr Steve: Which isn't something that doesn't happen all the time.

161
00:20:02.870 --> 00:20:14.299
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Exactly, and she's she's a therapist who's run a community of care for almost 3 decades. And so she knows this, inside and out. But she wanted to write a novel about it.

162
00:20:14.510 --> 00:20:19.039
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: and so I thought, I don't know is this personal stuff, and she'd say, No, I don't think so.

163
00:20:19.270 --> 00:20:30.160
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: And so she had this really cathartic experience, but didn't know what it was about until 2 weeks later, when something emerged in her own family and she looked at me, she called me up and said.

164
00:20:31.030 --> 00:20:37.200
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Do you think that this is maybe related? I mean, how long have I been, you know, looking at

165
00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:44.120
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: my family tree, looking at understanding it. And yet there was this one piece that maybe did I process this.

166
00:20:44.340 --> 00:20:56.890
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Another example is A woman who came to me. She's a a social worker who helps families through high conflict divorce. So she has seen some things, and it's always.

167
00:20:56.890 --> 00:20:59.320
Dr Steve: That that might have a little that might have a little drama in it, so.

168
00:20:59.320 --> 00:21:23.979
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah, what's in the best interest of the child? And how do you get ready for one of these custody evaluations? Well, she's like, I don't really want to write anything that's super dry. Thanks. I want to write something that is engaging and fun, and I'm thinking I don't know how you make that engaging and fun. But she had this great idea. What if I made it like almost like one of those? Choose your own adventure stories that we used to read when we were little.

169
00:21:24.530 --> 00:21:25.010
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Where are you?

170
00:21:25.010 --> 00:21:30.950
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: You get to the end of a chapter, and you get to make a choice with the character, go this direction or this direction, and see the outcome.

171
00:21:30.970 --> 00:21:59.970
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: So she did that for these, for this family inside of her book the father and the mother. Both get 3 choices each, and they all sound really like really good choices, and you get to see what's underneath those choices and what the outcomes are. And so she's writing. And of course we're talking about things happening in the background of her life. And as she's writing these characters, I'm starting to see some of the characters that she's been talking that she's been talking about in her life, and I'm starting to think.

172
00:22:00.120 --> 00:22:01.110
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: -oh!

173
00:22:01.770 --> 00:22:15.239
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I wonder if she's writing about her life, and she doesn't know it. And so I would gently oracle like right? Because I don't like to shove anything in anyone's faces. I believe people need a certain amount of safety before they'll let themselves see something.

174
00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:18.919
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: and so I would bring it up. And I would say.

175
00:22:19.320 --> 00:22:35.529
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Do you think there might be a connection between this or that. Oh, no, no, no, no! For 18 months. But all of these other things happened inside of her life that set her up for a moment where she could see it. And then I got that phone call. That was like, why didn't you tell me that I was writing about my life.

176
00:22:35.530 --> 00:22:36.050
Dr Steve: Yes.

177
00:22:36.520 --> 00:22:39.120
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I did. I did. I tried in so many ways.

178
00:22:39.120 --> 00:22:41.420
Dr Steve: It's not always obvious to the

179
00:22:42.020 --> 00:22:53.989
Dr Steve: our guest is Amanda Johnson, the story Oracle. This has been a fascinating conversation so far. This is Dr. Steve Green. This is the make the great experience. Podcast I hope you're enjoying this. So far.

180
00:22:54.180 --> 00:23:11.259
Dr Steve: the goal of this podcast is simple, this is all about success. This is all about any tool that you can have that's going to help you take anything in your life to the next level, where it's physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, educational, and all the above. So

181
00:23:11.630 --> 00:23:13.420
Dr Steve: let's get back to this. So

182
00:23:15.660 --> 00:23:19.570
Dr Steve: it, it is okay, quick answers. Once here.

183
00:23:20.254 --> 00:23:25.519
Dr Steve: you're coaching people. You're you're running retreats. Have you produced a book yet?

184
00:23:26.050 --> 00:23:26.480
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yes.

185
00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:28.410
Dr Steve: Is it like a shoemaker in the shoes, or.

186
00:23:28.713 --> 00:23:31.749
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah, I it took me 6 years, but yes, I.

187
00:23:31.750 --> 00:23:32.410
Dr Steve: No.

188
00:23:32.410 --> 00:23:40.059
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Of helping other people, and I've written I have my my name on 4 books, 2 of them I wrote myself, and 2 of them. I co-authored.

189
00:23:40.060 --> 00:23:46.572
Dr Steve: Congratulations. There we go, see. So she's walking the walk. She's not talking the talk just

190
00:23:47.360 --> 00:24:01.239
Dr Steve: What? How would somebody find you like? Let's say somebody. There's got to be plenty of people out there, and hopefully some of them are listening who are thinking. You know, I could write a book I got so many good things to tell. I got so many things to share. How would somebody find you.

191
00:24:02.560 --> 00:24:08.950
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: The best place to find that work is@savedbystory.house. It is a writing and publishing company.

192
00:24:09.350 --> 00:24:11.600
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Story.com. Yeah.

193
00:24:11.600 --> 00:24:20.109
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Helps people from inspiration to impact. So I only have the idea all the way to how do I put this into the world at scale?

194
00:24:21.230 --> 00:24:21.960
Dr Steve: Okay,

195
00:24:23.990 --> 00:24:32.119
Dr Steve: just to set an expectation. What? What would be someone's experience if they came to one of your retreats? I'm sure there's many, many ways you could answer this, but.

196
00:24:32.120 --> 00:24:32.450
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yes.

197
00:24:32.450 --> 00:24:50.960
Dr Steve: Somebody signs up for a 3 or 7 day retreat. Right? I'm sure they're probably excited. They're probably mixed emotions. They're excited. They're probably a little frightened, maybe their uncertainty. What would you expect, you know, in like the thirties? The 1 min version I condense 7 days into a minute. Here.

198
00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:59.670
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah. So there are usually 2 goals that we have for the 7 day retreats. The 1st one is to address anything that is standing in your way.

199
00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:21.519
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: and how we do that is looking at the different stories. I use a bunch of Pop culture stories, and we use those to kind of unpack the stories that maybe we're unable to see for ourselves. That might be holding us back. So we spend 3 days in usually circled up in little breakout rooms, and we have lots of people

200
00:25:21.838 --> 00:25:34.920
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: where we're working through some of the greatest stories ever told, and our own stories at the same time. That's kind of the medium that we use to create that space and a little bit of buffer make it easier for people. So we spend 3 days

201
00:25:36.238 --> 00:25:50.159
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: in person doing that the the best content that I ever get, and that people enjoy happens kind of in between all of the actual training, you know, over the meals on the walks, these sorts of things where.

202
00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:55.149
Dr Steve: This is a resident. This is resonant. You're you're there. People are living there. It's almost like a camp.

203
00:25:55.450 --> 00:25:56.700
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Very communal.

204
00:25:57.180 --> 00:26:00.660
Dr Steve: And how many people are involved in this at a time. Obviously, it's you

205
00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:04.360
Dr Steve: and you might have a do. You have a co-facilitator? So it's you and.

206
00:26:04.360 --> 00:26:08.279
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I have people who help me run the when we have to do breakouts and those sorts of things.

207
00:26:08.280 --> 00:26:12.840
Dr Steve: So if you and your co-facilitators, and then 20 people, 10 people.

208
00:26:13.030 --> 00:26:28.889
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah, 10 to 20 is the average. My hope is that those 1st 3 days we'll start filling rooms of 50, because every time we get to the end of one of those retreats, and every time I hear back from someone who says, You know the work I did at that 3 day retreat.

209
00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:32.690
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Look at how it's showing up in my life right now. Every time I think

210
00:26:32.910 --> 00:26:58.959
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I really just want more and more people to get this opportunity so hopefully those 1st 3 days. Then we take a day to kind of just be community, just have fun, just digest, maybe go to a Spa or whatever, wherever we're close to. And then we spend 3 days doing the work. So people at different phases of the writing, publishing, launching process usually are all around the same table, working on their content. And, as you know.

211
00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:10.683
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: with any sort of background in education, when you have these opportunities where people are sitting around a table at all different phases, learning happens much faster, and it creates those

212
00:27:11.520 --> 00:27:20.689
Dr Steve: Yeah, I can tell you, having been at many business events. In fact, I was just at one for 9 days that some of. You have listened to podcasts, know about

213
00:27:21.148 --> 00:27:34.870
Dr Steve: it. It's it's you never know what happens. There's kind of an X factor that happens when even you get 2 people, but even more so, a 6, 8, or 10, who are all kind of trying to accomplish the same thing, but from different perspectives.

214
00:27:35.320 --> 00:27:46.092
Dr Steve: And it all kind of blends together, and tremendous things can come out of it, assuming they don't start arguing. But no, no, I mean differing opinions can happen as well.

215
00:27:47.010 --> 00:27:49.879
Dr Steve: What what are there

216
00:27:50.150 --> 00:28:01.319
Dr Steve: is? Is there like any like singular experience you've had that stands out from all the rest, like one particular project or or author that you think has just been like.

217
00:28:01.450 --> 00:28:09.859
Dr Steve: like just way way out there in terms of their idea, their success. And are any of these commercially successful is that even the point.

218
00:28:10.986 --> 00:28:17.719
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Well, sometimes it is the point, and sometimes they realize that's not the point as they get into the project.

219
00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:18.200
Dr Steve: Okay.

220
00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:41.750
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I have worked on some phenomenal content and curriculum with thought leaders who are global. Now, who are taking the training into global spaces, you know, winning awards and those sorts of things, just brilliant, brilliant humans who didn't realize the importance of their story being included in even an academic piece of work.

221
00:28:41.960 --> 00:29:09.029
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: So that's 1 example. I love watching her on social media. She's lighting up the world with her brilliance right now, and using story and even talking about the importance of storytelling in her work now, from a neurobiological standpoint. So that's 1 of the entrepreneurial ones. One of my very 1st clients is extremely successful commercially, you know, written, I think, maybe 5 books. I think she's working on her 6 now.

222
00:29:09.576 --> 00:29:23.919
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Such a powerful way to build trust with an audience and keep bringing them along the journey right? Because everything new that she learns it goes in a book, and then it gets people ready for the training that just keeps getting better and better and better in her world.

223
00:29:24.120 --> 00:29:41.850
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: And then I do. I have these books like this one that I was telling you about the client who has written this novel that made me cry just on outline form every time I read it. Every time I touch, because it's a giant volume. We're working on the second book release. Right now.

224
00:29:42.410 --> 00:29:55.360
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I just think this has to get out like, I want this to be commercially successful. I want it to be on big screens. You know these sorts of things. Because it's that powerful. It deserves a spot there.

225
00:29:55.500 --> 00:29:57.620
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: And so.

226
00:29:57.790 --> 00:30:05.820
Dr Steve: I I can tell you this. So so this isn't. This is not an endpoint. In some ways it's a starting point, right? So you have this experience.

227
00:30:05.820 --> 00:30:06.430
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yes.

228
00:30:06.430 --> 00:30:13.169
Dr Steve: People come to these retreats, or maybe you can coach them one on one as well. They create their magnum opus.

229
00:30:13.570 --> 00:30:18.930
Dr Steve: Maybe magnum opus 2, 3, 4, and 5 as well. Now it could open a lot of other doors.

230
00:30:19.080 --> 00:30:25.439
Dr Steve: Because I you know a part of what I do is I coach people on creating content. It's not anything nearly as

231
00:30:26.350 --> 00:30:37.600
Dr Steve: deep as what you're doing. It might just be like a 6 page ebook on, because it's all about education in my world. But sometimes in my world people create books so they can become speakers.

232
00:30:37.600 --> 00:30:38.240
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yes.

233
00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:57.910
Dr Steve: And that's there's often a connection there. And no, I'm saying more like a business and entrepreneurial kind of sense like they won't hire you as a keynote speaker, if you're not a published author with some amount of notoriety. But that's a huge transition, right? So you write this book. Now you're out there. Now, people want to put the face with the story right

234
00:30:58.260 --> 00:30:58.610
Dr Steve: so

235
00:30:58.610 --> 00:31:06.910
Dr Steve: now, you can create like a little book tour, like even my local library, which is, I don't know how many people can hold, maybe a couple 100. They have authors there every couple of weeks.

236
00:31:07.410 --> 00:31:23.029
Dr Steve: So writing and reading is not dead folks. Yeah, we got the Internet. Yeah, we got phones. Yeah, we got tablets. But there are people still out there writing serious, profound content personal content that can be very moving can be very powerful.

237
00:31:23.320 --> 00:31:34.929
Dr Steve: and we got a person here to help them do it. But let's kind of to bring this a little bit to a close. So somebody wants to engage with you, or maybe they just need one. Do I even have a story that's worth telling.

238
00:31:35.510 --> 00:31:40.119
Dr Steve: I wanna make sure I say it right. It is

239
00:31:40.890 --> 00:31:52.711
Dr Steve: Where'd I put it? Here? Saved by Story dot house. Right? You're on Facebook. And this is all going to be in the show notes everybody, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram all the fun places.

240
00:31:53.260 --> 00:32:02.640
Dr Steve: is there something that you could do like? Is there a giveaway? You have a little freebie, or something that people can engage through these sites that might help them guide them through at least the early stage of this process, right?

241
00:32:02.900 --> 00:32:06.769
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Absolutely. Yes, there is a

242
00:32:07.159 --> 00:32:19.740
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: save by story. Dot house forward slash foreshadows, which are kind of like our freebies. Right? And so it just kind of depends because people come to us because they want to write, or because they want to publish, or because they want to brand

243
00:32:19.860 --> 00:32:39.349
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: that matches what they're doing in the world. And so there's a foreshadow for each one of those, so they can kind of pick and choose what feels like the right thing? Do they need more clarity for the writing? Do they need a little help with understanding what this story saving transformation stuff is about, or are they getting ready to work on a brand, and just want to kind of see

244
00:32:39.610 --> 00:32:40.809
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: how we do that.

245
00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:49.730
Dr Steve: This I to me. This is so interesting because I deal with a lot of people, and I I always think

246
00:32:50.130 --> 00:32:55.430
Dr Steve: it's like one of these stillwaters runs deep thing. I think there's always more there than is being revealed.

247
00:32:55.660 --> 00:33:07.070
Dr Steve: But you know, in our society this is how we react right? We're not going to go and see what's really happening. You know what happened to you in 3rd grade when somebody bullied you on the playground that's still impacting your life.

248
00:33:07.290 --> 00:33:19.980
Dr Steve: But this is reality, right? And you know I'm by trade, education, psychologist. I have some training in this, even though most of my life was in education and coaching, but I do believe I agree with you.

249
00:33:20.090 --> 00:33:25.660
Dr Steve: and I'm not that you need to be agreed with, because I think you have such a body of work to prove it already, that

250
00:33:25.960 --> 00:33:37.239
Dr Steve: if you can harness these things seem very powerful, and you can learn to harness it right, like just writing can be mechanical. But if you learn to harness something that's almost like a muse, in a sense.

251
00:33:37.240 --> 00:33:37.620
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yes.

252
00:33:37.620 --> 00:33:55.930
Dr Steve: Right. I don't know if this is one of the 7 Muses. I don't know. I keep doing these Greek mythology references. I know there's a there's a certain number of Muses right? And and I don't know if one of them is like trauma, but but it has almost the same motivational power. If it's driving you to have this thing going on so.

253
00:33:56.420 --> 00:34:03.509
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah, all right. Is there anything we did not get to that you want to talk about? Briefly as we come into closing here?

254
00:34:04.170 --> 00:34:24.410
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: No, I would just say what you were just saying before the Muse. You know it didn't take me too long to get. You know. I got the inspiration for my book series, and then I got into the process of trying to get it on paper, and I myself found myself thinking I have more work to do, because I don't know that I could

255
00:34:24.909 --> 00:34:40.899
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: share this from the stage and and do it a hundred percent authentically, or do it with 100 integrity like it felt like there was some things that I had to still work out, some old pain I need to let go of before I could walk other people through it.

256
00:34:40.900 --> 00:34:45.289
Dr Steve: Kind of experience your own process before you could teach the experience.

257
00:34:45.290 --> 00:35:02.179
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yes, yes, and I really believe that those are the things that you know. People have great ideas about how to change the world. Powerful messages, powerful stories. And yet sometimes this is the thing that keeps them from taking a stage. You know we have one author right now. Who

258
00:35:02.650 --> 00:35:07.110
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: do you want to be a speaker? No, I don't want to be a speaker. I just want to write this book. Well.

259
00:35:07.700 --> 00:35:10.079
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: looks like there are other plans for her, because she's getting

260
00:35:10.080 --> 00:35:11.949
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: until somebody asks you to come.

261
00:35:11.950 --> 00:35:12.390
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Ninky.

262
00:35:12.390 --> 00:35:13.909
Dr Steve: Yeah, yeah, I've seen that, too.

263
00:35:13.910 --> 00:35:14.690
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Good, right.

264
00:35:14.690 --> 00:35:26.660
Dr Steve: I've seen some very introverted people become very good speakers because they get coaxed into doing it the 1st time, and then they get all excited, and it's like an adrenaline thing to a degree as well.

265
00:35:27.150 --> 00:35:39.780
Dr Steve: Well, listen. I'm going to challenge my listeners here. I'm going to say I know I don't know how many people are listening to this right now. But typically an episode gets 3, 5,000 listens right. And I know some of you, maybe many of you

266
00:35:39.850 --> 00:36:02.309
Dr Steve: have got something in there that needs to get out there, and you want to get out there. Maybe you don't even know it yet. Maybe this is the trigger. Maybe this is that Trigger Point tipping moment that's going to bring you forward and say I am going to take action on this. I waited long enough to get this out, and now's the time, and we've got the person to help you do it. Are your? Are your retreats near. Are they in Arizona? You do them all over the country.

267
00:36:02.460 --> 00:36:04.319
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I do them in Southern California, cause that's where.

268
00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:11.489
Dr Steve: In California. There we go. Okay, so not too far. Nice weather. That's not so. It's.

269
00:36:11.490 --> 00:36:11.920
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: And.

270
00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:14.390
Dr Steve: Terrible out here today. So let's not even talk about that.

271
00:36:14.600 --> 00:36:24.729
Dr Steve: All right. So, Amanda Johnson, thank you so much for coming. You want to play. I need to tell you this. I'm not telling. I didn't tell her about this. You want to play a little game I play with all my guests. It's called my 5 Favorites.

272
00:36:24.950 --> 00:36:25.410
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Sure.

273
00:36:25.410 --> 00:36:43.670
Dr Steve: Okay. I don't tell anybody. This is all on the spot, right? And those of you with my podcast. Know this, these are very easy things. Let's just learn a little bit about you. I used to do this in the beginning of the podcast but then we'd go in all these weird directions. We get anything done so very simple. And there's no right answers. Or I have right, answers Number One. What is your favorite color?

274
00:36:45.410 --> 00:36:46.019
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Gold!

275
00:36:46.190 --> 00:36:47.919
Dr Steve: Gold. You know what the right answer is.

276
00:36:48.170 --> 00:36:49.100
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: What's the right answer?

277
00:36:49.100 --> 00:36:49.990
Dr Steve: Green.

278
00:36:51.020 --> 00:36:52.640
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: That's what we're name.

279
00:36:52.640 --> 00:36:59.530
Dr Steve: Well, I am wearing a green shirt today. Yes, also my last name. See, there's a little prejudice there. Gold, beautiful favorite food.

280
00:37:00.410 --> 00:37:02.269
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Chocolate, Dark Chocolate.

281
00:37:02.270 --> 00:37:03.720
Dr Steve: Was that? Was that a food.

282
00:37:03.720 --> 00:37:07.430
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yes, 100%. It's so good for you. It keeps the dementors away.

283
00:37:07.620 --> 00:37:09.260
Dr Steve: And it's got a lot of antioxidants.

284
00:37:10.340 --> 00:37:17.469
Dr Steve: There we go. Okay, you heard it here first.st Dark chocolate is a food. It's 1 of the food types, right? Carbohydrates, protein

285
00:37:17.960 --> 00:37:23.390
Dr Steve: fats, chocolate, got a favorite song, music.

286
00:37:24.920 --> 00:37:26.870
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Oh, favorite song.

287
00:37:26.870 --> 00:37:29.979
Dr Steve: That's a tough one, because most people say there's so many I can't pick one.

288
00:37:30.200 --> 00:37:31.859
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: It's true.

289
00:37:33.280 --> 00:37:38.069
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah. I would say, who we are by lifehouse

290
00:37:40.940 --> 00:37:46.009
Dr Steve: It's kind of deep. It's got sort of a deep piece to that. It's not one of those lightweight kind of.

291
00:37:46.220 --> 00:37:47.070
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: No.

292
00:37:47.070 --> 00:37:51.090
Dr Steve: It's not like something tells me I'm into something good. It's like Herman.

293
00:37:51.090 --> 00:37:53.380
Dr Steve: No, I have some of those, too. But

294
00:37:54.200 --> 00:37:58.829
Dr Steve: well, we might have tipped the scale on this one already, but favorite ice cream flavor.

295
00:37:59.670 --> 00:38:00.959
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah, definitely, chocolate.

296
00:38:01.661 --> 00:38:04.400
Dr Steve: Double. You're double dipping. No pun intended.

297
00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:04.960
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Right.

298
00:38:05.120 --> 00:38:07.150
Dr Steve: Favorite place to vacation.

299
00:38:08.360 --> 00:38:11.019
Dr Steve: You live in sort of vacation area, but sort of but.

300
00:38:11.020 --> 00:38:17.740
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: I do. It's nice, you know. I I still love going back to Southern California and the beach.

301
00:38:18.300 --> 00:38:26.130
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: You know. I miss the ocean, so I would say. You know, Carlsbad grew up in Carlsbad, and I just there's something about that.

302
00:38:26.810 --> 00:38:28.679
Dr Steve: Not too many oceans in Arizona.

303
00:38:28.680 --> 00:38:30.360
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: No, unfortunately.

304
00:38:30.360 --> 00:38:33.069
Dr Steve: Hey, lakes! Do you have a lake? Maybe somewhere.

305
00:38:33.070 --> 00:38:34.469
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: We do. We have lots of lakes.

306
00:38:34.686 --> 00:38:37.929
Dr Steve: You want a bonus question, you. You're 5 for 5. You got a hundred on

307
00:38:38.490 --> 00:38:41.010
Dr Steve: who is your favorite podcast. Host.

308
00:38:42.303 --> 00:38:43.720
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Well, you are, of course.

309
00:38:43.720 --> 00:39:11.549
Dr Steve: There we go. She's 6 for 6 extra credit. Thank you very much. Listen seriously, everybody. This to me is a fascinating topic, because I got to be honest, I've always thought of writing as a functional art. It's definitely an art. It's definitely a science and an art. And there's technique. And I've always sort of approached it functionally, like we write to kind of produce something of sort, of technical value or of educational value.

310
00:39:11.790 --> 00:39:29.700
Dr Steve: But clearly there's a genre, and maybe a very large one, where it's a therapeutic aspect to it, right? And I don't know if there's the same words Amanda would use, but I believe based on what we've talked about there, at least in the ballpark. So this is something to explore whether you want to start reading some of these things, or produce them yourself.

311
00:39:29.880 --> 00:39:32.230
Dr Steve: and and we roll from there. So

312
00:39:32.560 --> 00:39:42.830
Dr Steve: last thing for you, Amanda, do you have anything you want to pitch like you an event coming up specifically? Do you have a workshop, one on one? You got a consultative

313
00:39:42.990 --> 00:39:45.430
Dr Steve: webinar or something? You want to pitch real quick.

314
00:39:45.600 --> 00:40:14.730
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: We're starting our the next content cocoon cohort in in March. It's a big 12 month program, but the 1st 30 days is what I call the greatest messenger portal. It's kind of like the way that you decide whether you want to fully step in or not. If you're not 100 in. So people can go to the website and learn about that. The greatest messenger portal. It's it's a way to kind of lay the foundation for the whole journey. And I don't just mean writing, you know, really looking at

315
00:40:15.060 --> 00:40:19.119
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: all of those different stages that you get to go through as someone who wants to change.

316
00:40:19.120 --> 00:40:22.439
Dr Steve: No, I didn't ask this, and we're running low over time, but I don't care right now

317
00:40:22.560 --> 00:40:29.689
Dr Steve: it can. Is there like a typical person that works with you, or is it all over? The place like is, is your is. Do you have like a

318
00:40:29.880 --> 00:40:34.020
Dr Steve: sort of a profile of I'm kind of curious who your most common

319
00:40:34.926 --> 00:40:37.160
Dr Steve: you call them clients, partners.

320
00:40:37.390 --> 00:40:50.830
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah, clients. And then friends. Usually they come in as really high performing helping professionals, often entrepreneurial coaching leadership.

321
00:40:51.310 --> 00:40:54.299
Dr Steve: I mean men, women, more of one than the other.

322
00:40:55.170 --> 00:40:56.960
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: No, it's kind of a good mix right now.

323
00:40:56.960 --> 00:40:59.230
Dr Steve: Okay? Oh, I mean young old both.

324
00:40:59.410 --> 00:41:00.279
Dr Steve: You got this.

325
00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:03.730
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Our youngest author was 20 when she.

326
00:41:03.730 --> 00:41:07.410
Dr Steve: I think most people would. Most people would consider that young.

327
00:41:07.410 --> 00:41:12.050
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah. And our oldest one publishing this year is 70.

328
00:41:12.520 --> 00:41:14.190
Dr Steve: Wow! There you go!

329
00:41:14.190 --> 00:41:14.950
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Yeah.

330
00:41:14.950 --> 00:41:17.300
Dr Steve: So all over the place, very eclectic.

331
00:41:17.300 --> 00:41:23.830
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: But I will say, usually the people that find me are the ones that are in that transition from

332
00:41:24.480 --> 00:41:41.769
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: like being in life and building something to wanting to make it legacy right like taking that step from. I'm in it all the time to now. I want to take what I've learned from it, and make sure that it gets to the next generation in some way.

333
00:41:42.060 --> 00:41:46.329
Dr Steve: Yeah. And I can tell you, I think people at that point when they feel like

334
00:41:46.540 --> 00:42:03.699
Dr Steve: they've kind of reached a financial stature like, I've made enough money if there is such a thing, and I guess in some people's mind I've kind of proven that I can be where I need to be in my professional field. I need to do something, maybe a little more intangible.

335
00:42:04.380 --> 00:42:06.500
Dr Steve: Yeah, wow, beautiful!

336
00:42:06.940 --> 00:42:19.470
Dr Steve: All right, this is awesome. It is February. It's early February 22,025. So if you heard this, you will get into this year long thing. You gotta hustle a little bit. I wish you really good luck with everything you're doing.

337
00:42:19.470 --> 00:42:20.020
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Thank you.

338
00:42:20.020 --> 00:42:23.480
Dr Steve: I think this is great. I hope people take advantage of what you're doing.

339
00:42:23.650 --> 00:42:29.020
Dr Steve: on whatever scale, right? This can be. A small project, a giant project, a life-changing project.

340
00:42:29.410 --> 00:42:32.580
Dr Steve: So we'll go from there. So let's call it a day. Dr. Stephen green.

341
00:42:33.050 --> 00:42:38.199
Dr Steve: This is the make the grade experience. Podcast if you want to be a guest.

342
00:42:38.400 --> 00:43:04.490
Dr Steve: just make some comments. I will send you the forum. Please share this more importantly, I really, this is not self-serving, but it kind of sounds that way. I really believe the more people to get this information the better. I think this is here to help people to get where they want to get to achieve their goals to up level and whatever they're doing. So please share this. Please subscribe all the stuff we need to support these type of ventures. But really it's about the right people listening to this and taking action.

343
00:43:04.590 --> 00:43:08.240
Dr Steve: So we'll see you next episode, Amanda. Thanks again.

344
00:43:08.240 --> 00:43:08.830
Amanda Johnson | The Story Oracle: Thank you.

345
00:43:08.830 --> 00:43:10.440
Dr Steve: And it's a wrap.