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Ep 16: Your Story Is Your Most Powerful Communication Tool · Glovisor Podcast

• Joe Abreu - Glovisor: What if the most valuable thing you have isn't your business, your title, or your accomplishments, but your story? This episode's guest helps professionals and business owners find their personal story that makes people lean in. After 14 years in corporate, she walked away to build what became an 18 year practice in storytelling through workshops, legacy documentaries, and her book, My Life in Paragraphs, Find and Tell Your Stories. She is a co-creator of story catcher for iPhone and founder at Tree of Life Legacies and yourstoriesunleashed.com and yourstoryunleashed.com. Glovisor welcomes April Bell. April Bell: Hey, Joe, good to see you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Hi April, welcome. ⁓ you're welcome. I'm very excited to have this conversation. All right, so my first question that I have for you, you've built your life around helping others tell their life stories, but what's the story that shaped you? April Bell: Me too. Mmm. I think the most interesting thing about that question is that part of what I have run into over the years and talking to people about their stories is this thing I call the reluctant storyteller. And I discovered along the way that I too am still and was a reluctant storyteller. And for, you you mentioned the app Story Catcher. And for years after I started doing the storytelling and legacy videos, people would, I'd run into people and they'd be like, ⁓ yeah, you're the storyteller. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, I'm the story catcher. You're the storyteller. And several years ago, I ended up putting myself in a storytelling workshop. that and the goal of that was I was very business oriented. I wanted to one, nail my about story and also learn how to better help my customers and clients and telling their own stories. So I was very single minded about it and it just like living underneath this professional umbrella. And the, I actually ended up taking that course twice because the first time I was so single-minded about how I just thought it needed to go, that I didn't get anything out of it because I wouldn't give myself to the process. And so then when the opportunity came for me to take it again, I chose to go into that course. It's like a two month course with a cohort with an open mind and to have fun. And through that lens, I learned so much about the value of my own stories and I was like, ⁓ my stories matter too. And all the things that I had been preaching to people about for years just landed more deeply, more profoundly. And I saw how telling my own stories impacted others in a new way. And that really shifted how I was showing up in my work. And it also provided me with a lot more joy in how that I did my work. instead of, so before that, I would tell my own stories in the workshops that I lead as examples. So again, I was just very purposeful about it. Like I'm telling the story because it illustrates this prompt and module. And as the leader, that's my job to do that. Whereas I got the fun and play of exploring my own stories and the magic of when that meaningful nugget pops up that I may not even realize is important, but it makes an impact on another. So that really informed the way that I operated moving forward and helping people. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Absolutely. But you know, you've been a story catcher for much, much longer than that. Because one of the things that I found out about you, which resonated with me, ⁓ is that you spent a lot of time listening to elders tell their stories when you were a child. ⁓ What do those moments teach you that still guide your work today? April Bell: Yeah, that was really interesting to look back on my life and connect those dots. So when I was a kid, my mom would call me the visitor. So I grew up in a neighborhood on this small private lane in the San Francisco Bay area. all the people that lived on that street, when my parents bought that house, their kids had grown. So my brother and I were the only little kids living on that street. And so instead of playing with all the kids, I ended up making friends with all of the older people that were living around me. And I would go and just hang out with them and listen to their stories. and I could have them tell me their stories over and over again. fundamentally, I believe that one of the, people ask all the time, like, you know, what makes you, what makes a person a good storyteller? And then the baseline is being a good listener. And so in that aspect, one, I learned to, to, you know, I guess I was a natural listener because I started doing this when I was like five. but the value of listening. And then also I learned so much from these people about life, because they would give me advice and guidance and just talk about all the different things that they did in their life. And that fed my own interests in a variety of things and that there are so many different things that one can do with their life. so, yeah, it gave me a lot. to resource as I grew and changed throughout my life. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Right. Now, when you were a child listening to these stories, were you aware of what you were providing them, the opportunity to share the story with you? And then were you self-aware of what you were collecting, all of this information that one day would be extremely helpful? April Bell: No, you know, I was a kid. But I mean, so then that's the interesting thing is that, you know, another part of my story is, you know, like this desire to work with purpose to find my purpose and to work in my purpose. And part of looking back and seeing what just I naturally gravitate towards, which was Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Yeah. April Bell: you know, doing this whole like, you know, mining the wisdom of elders, like I'm just naturally wired to do that. And from taking the time to look back on those behaviors, then that helped me find that pathway that that led me to tap into what my purpose is. So I just love people and I'm curious and I want to know more and You know, I'm just one of those people that I've always got a follow-up question. Some people like it, others don't as much. ⁓ But I just want to know more about you. And so then that's just my natural set point. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Was there a defining moment when you realized that the storytelling aspect was more than just meaningful? It was sort of your calling. April Bell: Well, that occurred very purposefully. So in 2008, I had pushed, well 2007, I'd pushed the reset button on my life. I was engaged to my business partner and you can't end one without ending the other. So, and that business was his business. And so I found myself standing in this space of like, oh my God, what am I gonna do with my, what am I gonna do when I grow up? Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Ha April Bell: And to make a long story shorter, so I studied psychology in ⁓ College of Bachelor's in Psychology. So I've always been interested in people. I knew that I wasn't interested in doing therapy. And in the eight and nineties when coaching came. on the scene, I was like, ⁓ this is for me. Cause it's very forward thinking. And like, I always was lit up about behavior modification and like, you know, what makes you tick and why do you do what you do? And then what can you do to shift and change that? And all those things made coaching very attractive, but I was, I had a corporate job. I was in corporate leadership and I loved that job. It suited me. And also I knew there was something missing for me. But because it was a good job and I was making good money, I never did the work to really tap into what my purpose was. But I read books about it and all that kind of stuff and, um, and felt that coaching was the thing. I just needed to find a niche. Okay. So fast forward to 2007, early 2008, and I'm standing in my living room and I'm like, I need a life coach a whole lot more than I need to be one right now. And I kid you not, three days later, I was, I had recently joined a community, a spiritual community. And there was this one woman that I had met in a class that we were taking and I just really liked her. And so we were at a gathering, there was really loud music playing and I was like, I'm going to ask her to coffee. Cause I just, I want to know more about her. was looking to develop friendships. I'd moved back to my hometown. And I go up to her and I'm like, hey, you know, I'd like to have coffee sometime. you know, are you interested in that? And, know, the music was really loud. couldn't really hear. And in, in my, just 2008. So she's like, well, give me a piece of paper, give me your email and I'll send you some information. I'm like, I was thinking coffee. you send me some information, but I was doing this practice at that time of like saying yes to everything. So instead of like clarifying, I'm like, okay. So I give her my email and then, you know, this was in the morning. And so then I just got really curious. like, what the heck is she going to send me? And so then I kept running back to my computer throughout the day to like see if this email came. And then finally later that night, this is before smartphones. So I had to go check my actual computer later that night. Finally, the message came in and I opened it up and my chin was on the desk because she was developing a program as a true purpose life coach and she helped was helping people find their true professional calling in life and she wanted to know if I was interested in her program and I was just like ⁓ my goodness so I said yes again and it took about eight or nine weeks Joe Abreu - Glovisor: ⁓ you April Bell: Um, but I went in, I'm kind of a type a, so I had to like make myself be patient, be calm. But anyway, I was like 50 % spiritual, 50 % practical. And it was, which was perfect for me because that really is my, also my design. And through that process, I discovered this. passion that I have for connecting with people to talking about them and their wisdom to capturing their stories, going back to that being the visitor in my neighborhood as a child and hanging out with all the elders. And I came up with this idea and concept of doing, and that's a whole other story of doing these video biographies as legacies for people to pass on, you know, to capture now and pass on for future generations. And one of the things that I say a lot is like, how many times have you gone to a celebration of life and learned something about somebody that you're like, ⁓ wow, I wish I had known that about them. We could have talked about it. So I'm really interested in capturing those stories now while that person's still around so that you can ask those questions. And then also to have that, their wisdom, their guidance, their essence for. you know, as we change and go through life and have our own milestones, we hear things differently. So, you know, when I'm 20 and somebody is telling me about raising teenagers, I don't have a reference point for that. But then when it comes time that I have a teenager, like I'm going to hear all of that guidance much differently. And if I can tap into that and remember, you know, what they had to share, it's just such a gift. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Well, absolutely. You what's interesting is that you say that your wisdom lives inside your stories. What do mean by that? April Bell: So. As I did was doing the ⁓ video biographies, the legacy videos with people, all that sort of grew and expanded and I made the Story Catcher app. And then I also developed a bunch of which the basis of the app is I wanted, we wanted to find a way to help people get started in telling their stories. And so, Like not everybody could afford to hire me. Doing a private documentary is no small affair. So I wanted to give people away an access point of how to do that for themselves or to get started, or even if they didn't want to hire me at all, that they could have something, or if they didn't have the resources to, I really wanted to kind of democratize that for folks. so anyway, the kicker inside the app is that one, it's a super simple tool. So you don't have to know anything about video or editing. You can learn it like a half an hour. And then the other thing is to give story prompts inside the app. And so then from that, I developed this card deck that was story prompts. And then from there, I developed a whole workshop to help people find their values-based stories. So when I first started doing the biographies, I discovered this thing called the ethical will. Do you know what that is? Joe Abreu - Glovisor: No, please share. April Bell: So ethical wills are a centuries old Jewish tradition and they're a way for people to pass on their values, their philosophies and their lessons learned. And when I learned about this, I about lost my mind and I was like, that's everything. So I'm super interested in people and their stories, but like, what does it mean to you? So that wisdom is how I talk about that for the most part is that, you know, The wisdom is the stories behind your values and any value that you have. You're going to have developed that typically through a learning experience or a mentor. So then what we do is, you know, I provide a prompt, we flesh out some values that we look at the prompt, what are some stories that you're reminded of, what values exist within that story. And then when did you initially, like what was that moment? So ⁓ for instance, one person, a strong value that he has is listening and he learned that from his grandfather. So his grandfather had a small store in their community and he would go and work in the grandfather's store. And he noticed that his grandfather would always listen to his customers. And that helped make him a very beloved and successful business owner. And then he also noticed this about his grandfather in their daily life. Anyway, he took that lesson from his grandfather. And he has carried that through his whole professional life. And he does. ⁓ You know, he's a CEO and does operations for folks and he's grown businesses into the millions. And a lot of that is inside of this value of listening that taught him to listen to his customers. And that's been the secret sauce of his success going forward. And he got that from hanging out in his grandfather and in the store. Yeah. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Grandpa had so much wisdom. So let's stick with this here for a second. So I download the app and it'll prompt me questions and you just hit record and you just record yourself. How does that work? April Bell: So there are prompts inside the app. So there's a thing called interview tips and that just gives you ideas. And then I also wrote a book that's full of, so my book, my life in paragraphs, find and tell your stories. The first half is inspiration about why you should tell your story. The last third is my whole process and stepping through it. And then the middle are the story prompts that help you find and explore your values based stories. So once you kind of find and know your story, you then can film yourself or another. So it's more fun to do it with people than to like do this stuff yourself. You have a much richer experience doing story work with others. And so with the app is that you can take your two minute, five minute story, import it. add photos, screen text, and a title card, and then it renders it all together and sends it out and you can share it. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Okay, so you can share each story to family members. April Bell: Yeah, friends, community, mean, you can do like shout out videos. You could do testimonial videos with your clients. Especially if you provide some kind of service that you, you know, you make a thing. So then you can photograph the thing that you made and then I'm talking about it. ⁓ But yeah, it's just a really simple tool to capture stories and share stories. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Interesting. ⁓ One thing though, I do notice that most people do not think that their story or their life story and wisdom is really that important. Like, you know, it's just, had a normal regular life and I don't believe it's true. But why do you think people underestimate the value of their own story? April Bell: Yeah. It's, you know, the way I often talk about this, it's like, so just the water we swim in, we're like, you know, you do what you do, because that's who you are. And that's, you know, to us living our daily lives inside of our daily life. We don't realize how extraordinary certain things that we do might be. But certain things that you do or what makes you you. But you wouldn't do it any other way. you know, I don't know, but you know, I guarantee you, you've had people say to you, oh, Joe, that's amazing that you did X, Y, Z. I don't know how you do it. And you're like, well, that's what I do. You know, it's amazing to them and you're just being yourself. So a lot of times that those extraordinary parts about us is just who we are. So we don't, we're too close, we don't see it. So then the gift of either, well, I guess this is the thing that set me on the trajectory to expand more in how I captured stories with people. So then over and over and over again in doing the interview with the elders, I saw that they were having this unique opportunity of viewing their life in a whole new way. And that, you know, I think unfortunately we all spend a lot more time looking at what we did wrong as opposed to what we did right. ⁓ I wish I had said that better. ⁓ I wish I had a, you know, I should have done X instead of Y. in reality, there's just as many, if not more moments that we've shown up inside of our own greatness, but we're not trained to look at those things. And we don't always get the opportunity to look at them. So then in the telling of those important, well, the finding of those important moments and the telling of those important moments, we get to really get in touch with who we really are and what's truly important to us. So it's, you know, it's really growth and expansion in personal and professional realm. then the thing that I see inside of people finding those values based stories, it gives them a foundation to stand on that's unshakable. This is who I am. This is why I do what I do. And then also they get to find a way to elegantly communicate that. So You know, if I just tell you to be honest, that's not useful. But if I tell you a story about honesty or being honest or how honesty had impacted me in my life, that's going to be way more compelling and interesting. And you might take that away and use it. And then in a professional setting, if we take the time. to figure out how to share those personal values based stories. It shows the people that we're working with, who we are and what's important to us. And so then they connect with our humanity, with our team, with our customers, with ⁓ our community so that they can refer us better. And then we can kind of magnetize people towards us as opposed to trying to... use that, you know, buzzword or jargon to, you know, try and capture their attention. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Absolutely. And I'm going to be honest right now. It's one of the things that I really want to hear is have you recognized any patterns, patterns in the stories that people like to tell patterns in these golden nuggets that they want to pass on to the next generation, whether it's, you know, great suggestions or some regrets. Any anything like that's come up for you thus far? April Bell: Yeah, ⁓ there's two things that hit me right away. ⁓ One is hopefully not a surprise in that, you know, at the end of the day, what really matters to people is love, connection and relationships. And so over and over again, you know, people talk about who they love and why, and that that's been what's mattered to them. The other pattern is, yeah, that just that whole thing with the reluctant storyteller is that, you know, I first coined that term from one of my favorite interviews, this woman Elizabeth, her son had hired me to interview her. And this story is actually in my book. And when I got over to their house, I first met her and you know, she's just all warm and gracious and hi, how are you lovely woman and, and then she turns to her son. And in a lower voice, she's like, do we really need to be doing this? And I was like, oh. So I kind of scurry off to go set up my camera gear and whatever. then her and her son are bantering back and forth about, she's like, I don't have anything to say. Who's going to watch this? I don't have any grandkids. I have grand dogs and that doesn't look like it's going to change. I was like putting the microphone on her and she's kind of taking it off. I mean, it was comical and also a bit uncomfortable. Anyway, we finally sit down and I asked her one question and three hours later she was still sharing with me and it was epic. She had so much to tell about her grandparents. know, they'd like immigrated from Greece and her grandmother was this indentured servant, they came to San Francisco and she just, you know, she was reading me poetry. It was amazing. And, you know, she was a convert after that. But yeah, when we first sat down, she's like, I don't have anything to say. I don't even know why we're doing this. And she's actually the reason why I coined and finally ended up using the term my life in paragraphs. is that she ended up creating a practice after that experience in that, you know, even though I did interview her for three hours, I mean, the woman was 70 years old. you can't get a whole life in three hours. And so then she has stories would come to her, she just stop and write them down, and then either keep them for herself or share them with her kids or her friends or some of them she stored away for safe sharing them with in the future. And I just loved that result so much that yeah, that's how I ended up naming my workshop in my my book and, and And I guess, you know, the one other thing that I really want to share about that, because I just talked about writing, is that my approach also is really geared towards people that aren't excited about writing. So if you can write a couple of bullet points, you're good to go. So I really focused on spoken word stories and helping people do that. If you're a writer, it's great, you know, but I think there's a lot of tools out there for people that write. And so I'm interested in really interested in helping people that they for whatever reason they don't like to write, but we all have a story to tell. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Absolutely. So I've lived my life with the mindset that It is the things that we don't do that we regret most Now you get to see the other side of this. Is it true? Do people really believe this when you're much much older? Is this one of those nuggets that they want to pass on? April Bell: Yeah, thanks for bringing that back. So yeah, that was part of the, that wisdom of a long life. So, you know, I had... I was about five years in to listening to people's and the biggest pattern and learning that I gained, which I was so grateful to have this realization. And I did it by, mean, it's kind of obvious what I'm going to say, but. I didn't realize that that was what was happening at the time. But, you know, because of listening to so many people that had lived so much life that I myself gained a lot of wisdom about life. so one of the things that I learned is that, you know, you never know the things that happen to you, whether it's a blessing or a disaster. So the most amazing thing might end up being a problem. And the most terrible thing might end up being the turning point to you finding your greatest gift. And then, so for me in my personal life, I realized that when something would happen for good or for bad, you know, and I guess I'll say, especially for bad, if I didn't get what I wanted, I would just be curious. I'd like, ⁓ that's interesting. That didn't work out. I wonder what will work out as opposed to when I was younger. I'd be mad. So one of the patterns that I saw in the people that really able to be in the flow of life was this, is this. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: You April Bell: real is this willingness to flow with life and that you never necessarily know where it's gonna take you and that again, you take the good with the bad in stride because you never know what might unfold moving forward. As far as regrets, Joe Abreu - Glovisor: That's true. April Bell: I mean, usually the regrets that people have is like over, you know, not minding their relationships. So making money, the most important thing, making work the most important thing. ⁓ So the regret is not taking as much time as they would have liked to for the people in their lives and the things that brought them joy. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: That's true. So what makes storytelling so powerful in leadership, business, and in the human connection? April Bell: Well, know, storytelling is as old as time. mean, it's what we're made for. It's like as human beings, that's how we communicate. And I I always I find it really interesting. mean, you know, like I said, I'm just reluctant storyteller. And also, we're all storytellers. So I'm also a natural storyteller. I'm not being, if I'm not mindful that I'm telling a story, I'll tell you stories all day long. So it's, you like something that I do and I enjoy doing. And also, if you put me on the spot, I'm like, ⁓ here we go. ⁓ And I'm not alone in that one. So. We all are naturally storytellers and storytelling is also a skill and it's something that you can practice and it's just like any instrument you can learn you can learn to tell stories well just like you can learn to play the piano well it just takes practice. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: going back to, sorry, please. April Bell: So, ⁓ well, so I didn't quite answer your question. So then the thing is, is that when we tell our real, true heartfelt, authentic stories, that's how we show others who we really are. And that's what people connect to. When you're speaking from the heart, then you can say, ⁓ that's, that's Joe. I see you, I feel you. Now I feel like I know you. And then, when we do that for others, it gives them permission to do it for ourselves, ⁓ mirror that back. And then that creates trust, deeper connection, understanding, know, it's community and connection and all that stuff. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: So going back to the reluctant storyteller that you had there for three hours. So how does that work? When you're providing the service in person, you meet them, you listen to them for hours, then do you go back and edit these stories for the family members? And how is that delivered to the family members? April Bell: Yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah. So for the legacy video, that's a whole process of I do a pre interview questionnaire. So there's a longer one for the storyteller and a shorter one for friends and family. So I let them weigh in on things that they want the person to tell because it may not occur for that person in the moment. Anyway, the longer questionnaire I have, lets me get to know them. So I know what aspects of life have been important to them. And then I take all that information together and I create a list of personalized questions. And then we schedule the interview day. I like to interview them in their natural habitat because that's where they're most comfortable. So I usually go to their house or, you know, also film people in other other venues. But typically it's in their home. And then, yeah, it takes me about 45 minutes to set up the camera lights and sound. And then we sit down and I have my list of questions and you know, you're no stranger to this. It's the same as how you prepare for doing a podcast interview is, you you have your questions and then the conversation goes the way that it goes. But I do keep those objectives in mind so that, you know, we don't go off on too many crazy tangents that aren't, you know, a part of, you know, that goal of of mining that wisdom in their heartfelt stories. And it typically go, I I was guaranteed 90 minutes because everybody's different. Some people are tight lipped. You know, why, why did you do that? That's how, because that's what we did. Okay. Moving on. Other people, you ask a follow up and you know, you get 20 minutes anyway. So, um, I was guaranteed 90 minutes, but it's typically about two, two and a half hours. And then from there, I take that media and I tighten it up. and color correct it, make it beautiful. And then I create chapter markers across it. And then that's the main like called the essential edit. And that's the main piece that they get for that legacy interview. ⁓ And they always get that. So no matter what, I deliver that piece. And a lot of people choose to simply do that. And then ⁓ they can upgrade from there to do ⁓ custom editing. I have a mini documentary and a documentary. So 20 minute or 45 minute, know, hour and 15 minutes, I really don't recommend. And that's for somebody who's had a really big life with a lot of things going on. And then so then that's, you know, custom editing, photos, graphics, music, all this stuff like you'd see on History Channel, biography channel. And so then I give them the edited piece and then, but they also get that full long form interview so that they don't miss out on any of the stories that may not have made the cut into the shorter custom edited documentary. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: So what's one question that everyone should be asking themselves to uncover meaningful stories? April Bell: ⁓ boy. what's one question? You know, I don't know. I think that depends on on the person. So then I would say that if you find yourself being curious about somebody else, ask yourself that question too. Because there's probably something there. So if I say, well, hey, Joe, why why is it that you decided to create a podcast and interview people? Joe Abreu - Glovisor: So then the other way around would be that you're thinking about it. That's why you're asking me. Is that what you mean? April Bell: Yeah, so I mean, you know, for me, so I would ask you that question, because for me, I'm so insatiably curious about others. then so then mining that. And so then that's, know, that's a value of mine curiosity. So then I can look into that deeper and find, you know, where did that start? And so then we're back to that five year old kid sitting with the elders of her neighborhood saying, tell me that story again. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Yeah. So it's interesting, let me answer your question though, even though I typically don't answer questions on my podcast. And it's usually because I think I am a story catcher, just like you mentioned, truly am. And one of the things that I regret the most is that most people wanna listen to podcasts, episodes, much shorter versions than what I wanna record. Because I rather, April Bell: Good. Yay. I'm excited. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: I mean, I have a million questions to ask you and I know we can go on for hours, but I know no one's gonna listen to it because this is gonna be so long. But I really truly wanna learn about it. I wanna hear a lot more of the stories and what was behind there and what are your favorite things and what did you hear? The oldest person and how does it change between someone who is 80 to someone who's 90? Is there a difference? I guess I wanna get that granular in every conversation. because I guess, you know, some people call me nosy, other people call me a story catcher. I guess which side are you on? Or the traveler like your mom who we mentioned, right? April Bell: Yeah, so yeah, so we're pees in a pod on that one. The oldest was 105. He was the last living survivor of the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Interesting. Well, did you get any special nuggets about that? April Bell: was 15 years ago now. What was Bill's you know what you know is so great about him. So he had won and lost his fortune three times. And he so the first time was he was 24 years old and he lost everything in the crash of 1929. And then I don't know he made his money back he took him 10 years did it again lost it again and then made a third comeback and so then his nephew who hired me he really wanted to know like what was the secret of him being able to you know amass this kind of wealth three times over because most people give up and At the end of the interview, realized, like, cause you know, I asked him, so then he made all his money in hedge funds. And I'm like, Richard, your uncle's a gambler. But then that was kind of the thing though, is that he, so he had a high risk tolerance and he was also like just very, ⁓ go with the flow. And so then that was kind of his, his wisdom to share was like, you know, don't be attached to Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Hahaha! April Bell: these things and that was interesting about him too is that he would always say yes to stuff and the one time he didn't say yes was that after that crash in 29 his family owned this plot of land on the edge of North Beach in San Francisco and which became a parking lot and over the years and it's still there so it's still giving the family money. And at one point they wanted to sell it. He's like, that was the only time I said no. And that valuable piece of land is the thing that kind of has sustained him in the lean times. And so that wisdom with him was like, you know, kind of like don't be affected by. Any of the chaos going on in the outside world, just, you know, do your best to navigate your life in your way and in the best you know how. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Interesting. So what stories are people more often afraid to tell, but they should tell? April Bell: Mm-hmm. I talk about this one a lot. And in oftentimes kind of the question that people ask is, you know, in my opinion, you know, what makes a good story? And I mean, actually, there's two things. One, you need to have some kind of change has to happen. Otherwise, maybe you're just telling an anecdote. And for me, the secret sauce is being vulnerable. and you know vulnerability is challenging and it's scary and if you're you know being real about it They are, all of us are nervous to do it. I'm nervous to do it. And also, so it's like, you know, that thing that you think makes you look silly or foolish or, you know, like you made a bad decision. That's the thing that people connect with. And it's edgy to tell those things because, you know, I don't want to air my dirty laundry about when I made a mistake, but that's going to be the nugget in the story. that really anchors and connects. So I talk a lot about being discerning with your vulnerability, accessing your vulnerability, know, choosing. how to how to share what's compelling as opposed to cringe worthy. So yeah, vulnerability. That's, it's, it's powerful. It's scary. And it's the thing that truly connects us as human beings. That's where we showcase our humanity. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: So has there been an extremely shocking story that you've heard that you never expected in your life to have heard? April Bell: Ooh, I don't know. I've heard a lot. You know, I'm gonna, I'll answer that this way. and because this is true for me is that I in the beginning I was I've never really been the type to be starstruck or anything like that and I think that part of that quality is what helps me be with anybody and everybody and help them tell their story because I don't bring a lot of pretense to the interview. That being said I did feel like, ⁓ that like really outwardly successful people, like they're going to be more whatever, more, more compelling, more interesting, more this, that, or the other thing. Actually, turn on those people kind of had more problems, bigger problems, like the more money they had, the bigger their problems. ⁓ And what was interesting there is that those folks don't have it figured out any better than anybody else when it comes to what really matters. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Yeah. April Bell: So, you know, some folks are really good at making money and they have a lot to show for it. ⁓ But at the end on their deathbed, is that going to be, you know, the most important thing? early on in my work, I ended up working with before billionaires were a thing. I was interviewing a billionaire and he was we became friends. He became one of my favorite ⁓ interview people. But ⁓ and also parallel to that, was this woman that she was like 90, know, 15 years ago. And she had, they don't call them the silent generation for nothing. But she had raised six kids and so she was a homemaker and she was a stay at home mom and she was the matriarch of this family. And she, Joe Abreu - Glovisor: You April Bell: poured every ounce of her being into raising her children and her grandchildren and being a contribution to her family. And I remember like the most, the thing that stuck with you the most that she said was like, she was proud that she raised good citizens. And she repeated that one a couple of times. like, yeah, I wish like people really focused on raising good citizens as much as she was. But my point is, is that she remains to be just as interesting to me as that billionaire guy. And that to me was shocking of that I was much more interested in people's true humanity than the stuff that they were surrounded by. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Very true, yeah. And it's all the same. The last day is all the same for everyone. Very interesting. April Bell: And then that's the thing about, so another thing that occurred, I intuitively knew this going in based on the impact that the stories that elders had told me in my life growing up. then like in my own personal life, my family, like we'd always been interested in culture and heritage and celebrating cultural traditions. And for me, that was very grounding and important. And getting those stories from my own people was very grounding and important. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: must have been great to be able to find that information. April Bell: Yeah. I lost the thread. I was going to make a point about something and I'm sorry I forgot. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: So would you? That's okay. So what do hope people discover about themselves through your work? April Bell: I hope they discover their own wisdom. So the thing that lights me up when I do my workshop with people is to see the connections that happen as they share their stories. So the way that it's set up is that we'll work on a singular prompt and then we'll find the values and the moments that speak to that prompt. And a lot of the processes around one is kind of like looking into your heart and seeing what stories are there for you. What's you know, what shows up, what's been meaningful. But then also I have people share with each other out loud because there's there's a different thing that happens when you just think about stuff inside your head is when you say it out loud. And so then I have people share what's coming up for them and then listen to what's coming up for the other person. So then a big part of storytelling is listening. And, and I could talk about that for hours, but for this point is that what happens is that somebody might share a story that in a lot of ways has nothing to do with anything that you would do in your life, but there's still that nugget in there that you see yourself in their story. And it reminds you of other things that are important to you. And it's, you know, kind of like this popcorn thing of where people just start bouncing off of each other of different ⁓ stories, memories, values, and it just grows and expands from. from there and then from that what happens is really getting to know yourself deeply. So then you can, you you really know what you're tethered to. again, like I said earlier about, you know, standing on that foundation of knowing who you are and what you stand for and what you value. So not only do you have that for yourself when you're in a situation where you may have to make a choice. If you know who you are and what your values are, and there's a choice put in front of you that isn't in alignment with your values, it's going to be a whole lot easier to make that decision knowing what those are for you than if you found yourself. So then what a lot of us do is flounder around and ask all our friends. And something feels off and we don't know why. So then we go around and talk to everybody about something's not right. Well, if you know what your values are, can be like, that's not in alignment with my values. So no. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: inherent decision making. So the world remember one message from April Bell. What would you want that message to be? April Bell: Mm-hmm. ⁓ Your story matters. And that was the profound thing that happened to me and makes me just laugh at the absurdity of life is the moment that I discovered that my story also matters. Because running around being the story catcher, not wanting to be the storyteller, I realized. that I had the same objection. Nobody wants to hear my story. And then I started telling my own stories and I saw the impact and value that that had on others. And I was like, ⁓ maybe my story doesn't matter too. So yeah, everyone's story matters. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Excellent. Now April, who should be contacting you today? April Bell: Well, ⁓ so in the vein of the values-based stories, so then I run along two different lanes. So one is the legacy. So if you have an elder in your life that you don't wait to start capturing those stories, you can use the app. You can use the voice memo on your phone. You can film them. Just do it. Start asking those questions. You want to know. But, or you can work with me in a formalized way to help you capture that legacy. And then on the other side is the workshop that I do. And so my partner, Rumi Tsukihashi, we have a course called Your Story Unleashed. And that helps people in business and professional settings to find those values-based stories that they can use with their team. with their coworkers and presentations. So like, you know, super data driven people, it's like, hey, bring some bring some story, personal stories to your presentation. And the course is designed to last over 90 days and you know, you just spend 10 minutes a day or an hour a week. And at the end of that process, you'll have a nice bank of stories that you can access whenever you need them. And the way that it operates is there's two options. One is a self study and the other is inside of a cohort. Highly recommend. Because you get that experience of bouncing stories off of other people and practicing that vulnerability in a safe space. ⁓ yeah, so that's your story, Unleashed.com. And ⁓ we provide the cohort version a couple times a year. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: And how does that tie to the book? April Bell: So it's the same process of tapping into your core values and finding those origin stories behind your values. So that's my whole process of what I take people through. So then correct, or you can also pick up my book, My Life in Paragraphs, Find and Tell Your Stories, and that whole process is provided on that ⁓ last third of the book. So people can, you can do it on your own. Get a friend though. Works so much better if you do it in a group. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: All right, so please tell us where should they contact you? April Bell: Yeah, so you can find all of the story things that I do, because I also do, you know, one-on-one consulting and a variety of different things. ⁓ Other versions of my workshop for different types of communities. so that's at Aprilbell.com. And then ⁓ or the Your Story Unleashed, but there's links to Your Story Unleashed in Aprilbell.com. So yeah, all the news that's fit to print and my legacy stuff is there too, Aprilbell.com. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: April, thank you. You remind us that our stories are wisdom, connection, legacy. Thank you for helping people find those stories and to share them. April Bell: Thank you, Jo. Thanks for being interested and giving me an opportunity to hopefully inspire some folks to look for their own stories and just share those with others. Joe Abreu - Glovisor: Absolutely, you're welcome. Till the next time.