The Story Forge Podcast

03/01/2025

It's book excerpt day today!
Blood, Sweat & Spikes: Running the Wetmore Way releases Jan. 15th. Available for pre-order now.

Excerpt from BLOOD, SWEAT & SPIKES

20/08/2024

New episode of The Story Forge Podcast just dropped. Just a solo, hot-type edition today. Give it a listen here >>>

Movies matter. Especially in America. Especially to me. Especially this one that has taught me so much about the way people think and want to think and need to think. And inspired a cornerstone piece of what I do for other people for a living.
https://www.nymblesmith.com/episodes/voicing-a-sport-alex-cuesta-amp-dave-hyatt-g6zfg

Movies matter. Especially in America. Especially to me. Especially this one that has taught me so much about the way people think and want to think and need to think.

19/07/2024

NEW EPISODE OF THE STORY FORGE:
How do you find the things you love to listen to?

A friend tunes you into them.

That's how I found Talking in Ovals. An old friend from my earliest running days mentioned it to me.

So I listened.

And I saw that Alexander Cuesta and Dave Hyatt were dedicated to something bigger than themselves.

And I liked it.

And think they're doing something important for a sport that needs that passion shared into the community.

And I invited them on to talk about what they do and why. And I think we tapped into some of the things that they do that matter to passionate track fans like them.

And you can listen to it here >>>
https://www.nymblesmith.com/episodes/voicing-a-sport-alex-cuesta-amp-dave-hyatt

Alex Cuesta and Dave Hyatt are first and foremost, fans. They’ve been athletes themselves. And coaches. They’re teachers and friends. But maybe more than anything, they’re fans. They love track & field and cross country. And that is what inspired them to start the Running in Ovals podcast ...

27/06/2024

Why Yellow Matters - featured in CEO Weekly this week!

Why Yellow Matters: Lyle Smith’s Guide to Almost Everything. In an age where digital noise drowns out meaningful conversation, Lyle Smith, the founder of...

30/05/2024

This makes me so sad. I understand the evolution. I know I can get a better price on the guitar and overnight delivery. I know it's easy to stream almost any song on demand. I know I can get the bike parts I need for Sunday's ride tomorrow. I know that book from Amazon can be here by drone, well, now.

But on the other hand, I miss wandering through Jack's record store finding something I never would have been turned onto otherwise just because it was filed under F instead of T by mistake. I miss waiting outside for the store to open like I did the day VH 5150 came out in 1986. I miss hanging out in the back of the bike shop with Gardner, the mechanic, on Thursday nights when they were open late learning how to fix things. I miss picking a title off the Bookworm shelf because the sky blue spine caught my eye. And I miss asking Mike to take that ruby red Strat off the wall to let me hold that smooth, fast neck in my own hands. To plug it in and hear the tubes hum as they warm up. I miss asking him about the picture of him with his arm over Les Paul's shoulders hanging behind the register even though I've heard the story a hundred times. I'll miss Sam Ash. And not just because it's where I bought the '88 Takamine I still play today.

14/05/2024

Is what you're saying good enough?

When it comes to writing, a discouraging number of people seem to think good enough is, well, good enough.

It's not.

I just spent a not-insignificant time reading through summaries of sessions for a big conference this week.

Trying to figure out which sessions I wanted to attend.

What are they about? Do they interest me? Will I meet anyone important to me there?

I found one with a title that grabbed my attention. "What a great topic!" I thought.

Then I tried to decipher the description.

Line after line, I found myself asking "what does this mean?"

Description after description, I found myself saying "egad! this is poorly written."

I WANTED to be excited about it.

I WANTED to dig in and find out more about it.

I WANTED to be inspired by the topic and the leader of the session.

But I couldn't.

I couldn't understand what the description was describing.

Despite trying very hard.

So I put that one to the side.

And looked for something else.

The session might end up being really great.

It might, in truth, be valuable.

But I couldn't do it.

Because I had no idea what it was about.

The write up was just "good enough."

And that wasn't enough to get me to go.

03/05/2024

Check out the latest episode of The Story Forge Podcast where we chat with Serial Entrepreneur, Dan Lievens, founder of ShareOne, about everything from the importance of authenticity and the power of video testimonials, to acupuncture, philosophy, and the threat/opportunity of living in an AI world. Give it a listen here >>
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Dan Lievens is a serial entrepreneur in the purest sense. Founder of 12 different businesses including ShareOne, Dan operates under a singular theme - that if each of us is somehow able to share one fundamental, transformative story of our lives, what a different world we might be able to live in!

29/04/2024

Great reviews keep coming in! I'm grateful for all of my readers and hope more of you will pick up your own copy to enjoy at whyyellowmatters.com

24/04/2024

Four years ago today, a track meet was canceled. But not just any track meet.

For the first time in its 126-year history, the University of Pennsylvania Relay Carnival, THE PENN RELAYS, the oldest track & field meeting in the United States was canceled.

Penn ran through two world wars. Ran through the 1918 influenza pandemic. Ran through all manner of weather and crises and twice was rescued by large donations from controversial figures like Bill Cosby and George Steinbrenner.

It took the Covid pandemic and a nationwide, worldwide lockdown to skip a year.

On Friday, April 24th, when he would otherwise be managing the organized chaos at Franklin Field that is the Penn Relays, longtime Meet Director, Dave Johnson, instead took a seat in his sunny back garden and talked to me about history, great performances, decision-making, and the future of what many of us see as the greatest meet in the sport.

Penn returns this week, as it does every year on the last weekend of April.

Give it another listen here >>>

We sat down with longtime Penn Relays Meet Director, Dave Johnson, on this Friday that should have been the 126th Friday running of the carnival. Unfortunately, due to the Covie-19 pandemic, the historic meet was cancelled for the first time in its long tenure as the biggest and best relay meet in t

22/04/2024

New copies arrived!

I’m told this is a good thing when you have to restock.

First batch - sold out.

It’s exciting to have people you don’t know buying your book.

It’s weird to have people quote you back to you.

But I think I can get used to both.

If you’ve purchased one, thank you! Please consider writing a review where you purchased it or at Good Reads.

If you haven’t yet, pick up your copy at Amazon, B&N, or directly.

Link in the comments >>>
and are appreciated!

05/04/2024

Ok, take two on the new episode. Corrupted file fixed. Please enjoy!

This is a conversation I sat on for quite a while before deciding to post it. But in the end, I'm glad I spent some quality time with this conversation. I think it's too good not to share. Thank you Charles Huldal , Keeper of the Inn for being such a great friend of both me and my dad for so long.

I met Charley Huldal on my first trip to St. Andrews. With my dad. We played golf. We sipped whisky. And Charley and his wife, Ray, welcomed us home. And for that, we, I will be forever grateful.

04/04/2024

Hey! Look who’s in the local library. I mean, who doesn’t love the library?

25/03/2024

My old friend, Brett Keirstead, invited me to spend some time chatting on his podcast recently. I had a great time talking with him and hope you enjoy listening to Salespeople are People, too.

My favorite line from his post... "Lyle is now the third person from my very own Bedwell School Kindergarten Class of 1973 (Bernardsville, NJ) to publish a book (shout out Peggy Doherty DeLong, Psy.D.)."

He even gave me a new name, which I think I like very much. Listen here >>

Lyle Smith - owner of the Marketing firm Nymblesmith and author of the new book Why Yellow Matters shares his personal story and journey in how he became associated with Brand Storytelling. Everywhere we go in life as salesperson, parent, spouse, business owner, candidate, or any other role we play,...

23/02/2024

When you talk about the movies you love, you're talking about the people who made something that matters to you. This may be my favorite of these shorts so far.

The award-winning actor talks about his childhood experience seeing CARNIVAL OF SOULS and his love for low-budget horror treasures, shares how BLUE VELVET ig...

22/02/2024

It's new author day today at The Forge. Tune in for the newest episode of the pod - Why Yellow Matters.

Why Yellow Matters is about communicating. Writing. Deciding. Understanding. Thinking things. Deciding things. Writing things. It is about brevity and balance. Cleverness and chaos and clarity. The hard things and the great things and opening yourself up to the zone. But most simply, it’s about ta...

22/02/2024

No relation.

Since the 1880s, the Lyle’s Golden Syrup has featured a rather curious logo on its tin: a lion’s carcass surrounded by bees. Now it’s undergoing a major redesign.

13/02/2024

On Sale Now!
WHY YELLOW MATTERS

I wrote a book. And readers are loving it. And I hope you will, too.

WHY YELLOW MATTERS is about communicating. Writing. Deciding. Understanding.

Thinking things. Deciding things. Writing things.

It is about brevity and balance. Cleverness and chaos and clarity. The hard things and the great things and opening yourself up to the zone.

But most simply, it’s about taking the time to ask “why.”

And 30 other thoughts to make your things matter more.

And now, you can get it. Here >>>
https://www.nymblesmith.com/the-book

Also, at Amazon or Barnes & Noble, if you prefer.