We All Tell Stories – Jarod Cerf (Writer/Brand Strategist) Ep.16

We all create narratives defining who we are, yet so many of us forget that we all have the power to craft and hone these narratives to define ourselves, our worlds, and the legacy we leave behind. Jarod Cerf lives by his adage that everyone is a storyteller. A consummate storyteller himself, Cerf has long recognized the power of storytelling and crafting narratives not only in the artistic sphere but for major marketing firms, within college classrooms, in major media outlets, for himself, and his clients. “I have had so many titles: teacher, journalist, PR, marketing, etc. And what I finally realized is that I am a storyteller: someone who teaches, entertains, and guides the folks in my tribe … to inspire a course of action, a thought, or remember something by. That’s all storytellers have done, culturally, historically, throughout time.” Sharing from his wealth of experience, this episode is quite the deep-dive into the existential, the esoteric, and the “Weird.” (“New Weird exists to overturn cliches and twist the traditional.” – BookRiot)  Jarod says, “I follow story from characters… they are what define what happens… It's not my goal, personally, to write horror fiction or sci-fi or fantasy, I enjoy those, but that's not what I set out to write.” Jarod’s goal in coaching and writing is to illuminate the darkest places for people, whether they are struggling to develop their stories or their life-path. Steve and Jarod discuss issues that often plague creatives like chronic pain. Jarod challenges the notion that suffering is necessary for creation. They also discuss creative blocks, marketing, what you should do with characters that seem to develop a mind of their own, and why storytellers are going to thrive in the new economy. Whether our medium is a novel, podcast, song, or even the way we remember and construct our lives: “how we make other people characters in our lives” defines how we experience life itself.   Guest Jarod Serf Website: https://herebetygers.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarodcerf/ Instagram: @hbtygers Twitter: @jcertherealist Here be Tygers Podcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herebetygers Medium: https://medium.com/@jarodcerf   Work with Jarod: https://www.20minutestobrilliance.com/tygers and be entered to win our drawing!   Host Steven Leavitt Site: https://www.icreatesound.com/ Portfolio: http://stevenleavitt.com/   Episode References Waiting for Godot Complex migraines Amblyopia    New Media Summit Here Be Tygers podcast - “Friends of all Stripes”: Animals in Folklore, Myth and our Lives, with Julie Saillan‪t‬ This is Water by David Foster Wallace OMD Dan Pink: A Whole New Mind N.K. Jemisin: The Broken Earth trilogy John Hodgman   Ray Bradbury’s “Here There Be Tygers” Jung and subjectivity George Saunders reflects on writing Göbekli Tepe Turkey History of Santa Claus Joseph Campbell and storytelling Labeling theory Here Be Tygers podcast - “The Different Worlds that We Live In & Imagine,” with Andre Rodrigue‪z‬   CandideJames Ragan Chekhov's Gun   The New Weird genre Speculative fiction Aristotle and Truth in Art The Truth in Art and the Art in Truth Ray Bradbury’s There Will Come Soft Rains Ernest Hemmingway’s Snows of Kilimanjaro Ray Brabury’s The Happiness Machine   Heart Shaped Pod James Joyce Mark Twain as celebrity Watership Down Robot Chicken’s Fraggle Watership Down H.P. Lovecraft Hermeneutics Five Languages of Love Highlander The Tyger by William Blake 10,000 Hours to Mastery-Malcolm Gladwell   Tags: migraines, storytelling, purpose, creating, advertising, soul work, genre, New Weird, disruptive habits, trust, eureka moment, journey, planting a seed, joy in creation, guides, guidance, tribe, right-brained, marketing, automation, branding, emotional connection, attachment, patterns, memories, remembering, art, Fabio, Michelangelo, fundamental essence, story loops, seeking meaning, glyphs, aborigines, puzzling meaning, knowledge, wisdom, Santa Claus, heroes, clarity, purpose, drive, ideology, characters, mortality, jargon, fantasy, cognates, symbolic representation, lifelong learning, Joseph Campbell, anthropology, communication, method, non-linear thinking, typewriters, process, creative tools, auditory/visual, worldview, hermeneutics, narrator, timeline, amblyopia, flawed humans, cult of personality, public engagement, Discord, Twitter, presence, doodling, zaizen, archetypes, magic, illumination, journey   Language of Creativity’s host Steven Leavitt enjoys discussing the ins and outs of all aspects of creating, creativity, and life with his fellow creators: artists, inventors, designers, producers and more. Along the way he hopes to gain perspective and multiply our understanding of what we share in common while creating, living, and learning.   Site: https://www.icreatesound.com/ Portfolio: http://stevenleavitt.com/   Theme Music: “Nothing Wrong” by Lobate Scarp   Please review this podcast on Google Play, iTunes and Stitcher and help other creatives find their tribe! The idea and concept of tribe has never been so inclusive as now in our interconnected reality. We’d love for you all to join us!