• My greatest storytelling challenge yet: overcoming the tragedy of the commons

    Ten years ago I set out with my wife Heather to produce “Independent America: The Two-Lane Search for Mom & Pop” — a film about local economies and self-sufficiency. And now it’s time for this content-creator and educator to apply everything I’ve learned about community-building and technology to what my greatest communications challenge yet: can…

  • How to command the stage (and enjoy it): a three-point checklist

    Obviously, very few of us actually like to “put ourselves out there.” Despite my years of experience, I still find it most daunting in the hours and minutes leading up to show-time. Even for my most recent performances I was uncertain as to how I was going to “bring it home” when the time came.…

  • Here’s the advice I gave to over 1,000 millennials at TEDx Oregon State (update: now with video)

    Hanson Hosein’s slides from his TEDx Oregon State University talk given on February 12 2015. He shares five lessons on why we all need to practice a form of professional self-destruction to sustain success in this disruptive age. He’ll also explain when to know it’s time to move on to the next big thing. Hanson…

  • Success through professional self-destruction and why I drop the mic: my TED talk preview

    It was there that I announced that this would be my final “Storyteller Uprising” keynote. There’s some of that “professional self-destruction” I referenced in my TEDx talk synopsis. “Drop the mic” is another way of saying “leave them wanting more” before you overstay your welcome. After five years of successfully presenting the Storyteller Uprising concept…