We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
Times forever frozen still
-Ed Sheeran, Photograph
Yes, time does stand still. Especially when you know how to savor it in a story. Few do it better than Ed Sheeran.
His results speak louder than his words, which isn’t easy, since Ed’s words are frequently, spectacularly cultivated, refined and set to music you can’t stop listening to or stop singing in your head.
There’s a reason, this kid knows how to tell a story, or in his case how to sing a story. He speaks it from his heart and it makes the rest of our hearts feel every word.
And if you hurt me
That’s okay baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won’t ever let you go
Ed Sheeran, Photograph
It’s no secret as to why he’s one of the biggest music superstars on the planet. His business is storytelling, like few in his generation have been able to do, in song after song after song.
When your legs don’t work like they used to before
And I can’t sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?
Ed Sheeran, Thinking Out Loud
If you hadn’t gotten the drift – I’m a big Ed Sheeran fan. His music moves me, his words make me remember why songs matter, because when they tell a rich and emotional story you can’t turn away or turn it off.
Ed also has no fear sharing his struggles with drugs, alcohol and a broken heart. He’s an open book in his songwriting and no matter the topic, he has the ability to tell it like it is. He lets you know what he’s feeling and how he’s healing. His stories remind you that life is real and even the most successful among us can’t escape the struggle.
Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels
I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills
And all the ones that love me, they just left me on the shelf, no farewell
So before I save someone else, I’ve got to save myself
Ed Sheeran, Save Myself
And what about the story behind the story? Ed freely admits he grew up with a speech impediment, a pretty significant stutter. Ed recently told a group at the American Institute for Stuttering Gala, “the thing I found most difficult about it was knowing what to say, but not really being able to express it in the right way.”
It wasn’t until he got into music, that things started to change. Why? Ed Sheeran couldn’t keep his story inside. His passion for writing and for singing and for sharing his thoughts from deep inside was too strong. He simply found a way to push through it, to persevere. “Be yourself, embrace your quirks, being weird is a wonderful thing,” says Ed. “There’s no one in the world that can be a better you than you.”
One of the greatest artists of his generation is giving you some incredible advice because he knows it’s worked for him. It is your story, it is your journey, that will take you and your business to heights you might have once thought unimaginable. We want to know your story. You don’t have to be able to sing it to share it. Ed Sheeran just happens to be a businessman, who happens to write songs and share his story through music. He is at his core, a storyteller, through and through. And he’s ruling the world.
I’m just a boy with a one-man show
No university, no degree, but lord knows
Everybody’s talking ’bout exponential growth
And the stock market crashing in their portfolios
While I’ll be sitting here with a song that I wrote
Sing, love could change the world in a moment
But what do I know?
Ed Sheeran, What Do I Know
What do you know? What’s your story? How can you share it? Are you brave enough and smart enough to reveal your why and what makes you and your business special?
If you want to rule the world in your sphere of influence, if you want to increase profits and productivity, if you want to attract the right type of clients, the right customers, the right leaders, salespeople or employees – then you’ve only got to do one thing.
Be like Ed. Don’t sell, TELL.
I’m here to help.
Your Storyteller,
Mark Brodinsky
Ed Sheeran’s Best “Story” Song:
Want Storytelling for your Business? Contact Mark Brodinsky: markbrodinsky@gmail.com /443-865-2795
Or visit, https://markbrodinsky.com/storytelling/ and fill out the online form for a free consultation.
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