Mysteries Solved by TREEO

Here’s a little mystery for you! Did you see the TREEO holiday video? If you didn't, we alluded that TREEO was formed because of this guy...

But, we have a confession: that’s not entirely true. More on this later.

Here's some truth for you – we all love a great story. Great stories can take us on emotional journey of excitement, anger, love, despair – and can live on for centuries.

Using an eight-step formula for telling great stories that inspire and motivate, I’m going to tell you the true story of how TREEO was formed.

1. Start with the end in mind.

His job was to get me from here to there. But where was there? There, for me, was to understand how I wanted to fill my “containers”. You see, I was given this simple analogy that applied to so many things: my potential, my dreams, my excuses, my ambitions, and more. Once I learned my current container wasn’t big enough nor was it easy to expand, my eyes were open to the journey he was about to take me on.

2. Let the listener join the story.

He told a masterful story created with that simple container analogy, arrived at through Kendrick Lamar quotes and deep reflection. My imagination was unlocked, the journey was now officially on my own terms. You see, I started finding my own questions and when the story became mine, I cared so much more about the answers.

3. Let listeners draw their own conclusions.

My journey unleashed emotions and perspectives, because my storyteller sowed seeds for positive change by going out of his way to not explain the perplexities and vastness of my containers. There wasn’t a moral or a logical ending; the story was more a “choose your own adventure”. And the choices I was making would ultimately start shaping the containers that I wanted to fill.

4. Create characters listeners can care about.

Around these containers the storyteller created several amazing characters. I related to them because they were just like me or the people I admired. I was so engaged by the characters that I followed them – I chased them all the way to the glass edge of their own containers.

5. Take your audience on an emotional roller coaster.

I remember one character, who was like my soccer coach from when I was young. A major influence in my life. The storyteller pulled me into a journey about a person going through the cycle: shock, anger, resistance, awareness, acceptance, action and finally achievement. I recognized my mentor in the story. I was sweaty and teary eyed, reflecting on what I admired about him, what I wanted to mimic from him, where I was failing him and where I could change to be more like him. I was all in.

6. Create a character that provides a role model.

The storyteller could tell that I wanted to move forward but I didn’t know how, and was too embarrassed to ask. So, we started down a path related to age, related to fatherhood, related to exhaustion, and related to falling into status quo and complacency. That’s when he cued up Kendrick Lamar quotes about how the rapper was moving forward, while sharing the key steps that allowed Lamar to succeed – in his own words.

7. Create responsibly.

My storyteller was a master. He had incredible impact on me and the white t-shirt I sweated through during our journey. He guided and inspired me to expand my current containers, and create new ones where I could build on my passions by using my head, heart and hands in exciting ways.

8. Include the REAL YOU in the story.

Finally, my storyteller told me about his containers. He recognized trust is a fragile asset. Authenticity and vulnerability made me instantly realize how important the journey was. On top of everything, my storyteller was humble. The weaknesses, mistakes, and anxieties he shared through his stories made me feel whole. I absorbed every word …

…because I trusted him.

Little did I know that hours and days before, my great friend, Matthew White, was undertaking a similar journey. His story wasn’t about containers, but his experience was essential and organic to him, just like mine was. Our journey was also similar in that we both grew incredible admiration for our storyteller, for our coach... for Sandy Ram.

When I said I was lying about Sandy starting TREEO, I was. Sandy didn’t start TREEO – we don’t really know who did. What he did spur for me and Matt was courage, belief and motivation. Sandy opened the door to the idea that we could offer our community something. He gave wings to the possibility of TREEO.

So, here’s the whole truth: without Sandy, there is no TREEO.

Now imagine your life is a container. Is it full or empty? Is it expanding or shrinking? What containers make you happy? How many containers do you need to hold your passions? TREEO Coaching, I mean Sandy Ram, can help you close the gap between where you are now, and where you want to be. He can help you unravel your own mysteries to get more fulfillment out of your work and life.

Thanks, Sandy!