1133: Create Contrast

The Netflix juggernaut, Stranger Things, is built around the concept of the Upside Down – a dark, twisted reflection of our world. Yes – today, we're talking CONTRAST. In his first book, Maps of Meaning, Professor Jordan Peterson describes how contrast motivates us. "Our most fundamental maps of meaning – maps which have a narrative structure – portray the motivational value of our current state, conceived of in contrast to the hypothetical ideal, accompanied by plans of action." If you need to read that twice, go ahead. The insight is simple. Our actions are relentlessly driven by the contrast between where we are and where we want to be ... whether what we want is a coffee, a new job or a new relationship. Robert Fritz (who I mentioned in post 4) calls this imbalance "structural tension". This is why the best business storytellers, influencers and persuaders understand that they are in the contrast creation business – the real world versus the Upside Down. What would you prefer? Your life as it is, versus your life with this new product, position, knowledge, talent, ability, respect or status? Remember, great business stories FLOW towards audience action. Flow is powered by TENSION. Tension can be engineered by asking questions and creating clear contrast. But there's something else going on here, something hinted at in Peterson's words above ... It speaks to the foundational power of storytelling, and we'll get into it tomorrow ... Nick ------------------- The Stories Mean Business podcast with Nick Warren. One Idea A Day, Every Day. Get deeper into business storytelling: https://storiesmeanbusiness.com/storybusiness/ https://storiesmeanbusiness.com/podcast