Tell & Sell Your Story: How to Grow Your Audience, Impact & Income

What happens when you've prepared every word… and then decide to go off script? In this week's episode, Lisa reflects on her son's wedding weekend, the heartfelt toasts, the stories shared by family and lifelong friends, and the surprising lesson that emerged from it all: preparation creates freedom. After spending weeks writing and refining her wedding toast, Lisa found herself adding to parts of the scripted toast she'd planned to give. The experience reminded her of one of the most important storytelling principles she teaches inside her group mastermind, The Story Collective: when you truly know your story, you don't have to cling to the script. In this episode, Lisa shares: • How preparation creates confidence rather than restriction • The power of the Umbrella Story framework and knowing the "prongs" of your story • Why great storytellers don't need every detail. They know which details matter most • How storytelling can show up everywhere, not just when planned • What it means to live your story before you ever tell it Whether you're preparing for a keynote, a podcast interview, a media appearance, a sales conversation, or simply sharing your story with people you love, this episode reminds you that the goal isn't memorization. The goal is knowing your story so well that you can trust yourself tell it off script when the moment and opportunity arrives.

In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares one of the most important lessons she's learned after securing sponsorships, partnerships, and collaborative opportunities throughout her career: the opportunities we want often begin with a simple ask. Using a recent travel partnership renewal as a real-time example, Lisa shares how a sponsorship opportunity came together after three polite emails, four years after the original relationship was established. The experience became a powerful reminder that persistence, professionalism, and relationship-building often matter more than having the biggest audience or platform. She also reflects on sponsorships that helped fund her nationwide DON'T WAIT Project tours, including partnerships that grew from a single local sponsor into larger opportunities because everyone involved benefited from the relationship. In this episode, Lisa explores: why the first step to getting a YES is simply asking the difference between being persistent and being pushy how storytelling creates value for sponsors and partners why mutually beneficial relationships matter more than free products or funding how follow-up emails can lead to opportunities that might otherwise disappear and how sponsorship principles apply to speaking, media, business, books, podcasts, and beyond Whether you're looking for sponsorships, speaking engagements, media opportunities, collaborations, or simply trying to open more doors in your business, this episode offers a practical reminder that many opportunities are waiting on the other side of a conversation. Sometimes the biggest difference between a no and a yes is the willingness to send one more email because until you get a NO, your pitch is a pending YES. To learn more about The Story Collective, Lisa's group program, send her a DM or an email. It's the first step toward bringing your next venture (and dream pitch) to fruition.

This week on Tell & Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw breaks down one of the most important communication frameworks she teaches inside The Story Collective: Before, During, and After. Most people prepare content. Great communicators prepare transformation. In this episode, Lisa explains why powerful communication has less to do with sounding polished and more to do with understanding the psychological journey of the audience listening. You learn: • Why Before, During, and After is about audience psychology, not talk structure • How speakers, leaders, podcasters, and entrepreneurs can create emotional and behavioral movement • Why the best conversations change something inside people while they're listening • How understanding your audience's "before" changes the way you communicate • The difference between sharing information and creating transformation Lisa also shares practical examples from interviews, leadership communication, and her Story Collective framework to show how one honest conversation can shift the energy in a room and move people toward clarity, action, and connection. If you speak, lead, coach, sell, create content, or simply want to become a more impactful communicator, this episode changes the way you think about storytelling.

In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares the real story behind how sponsorships and collaborative opportunities are built over time and why most meaningful partnerships start much smaller than people think. Recorded just before leaving on an 11-hour drive to pick up the van she's dreamed about for years, Lisa reflects on how quickly life can change when momentum meets preparation. After selling her house in one day and stepping into a brand-new season of travel, storytelling, and golf, she unpacks the vision behind her newest project: combining her television show, van life journey, and love of golf to spotlight meaningful human stories at golf courses across the country. Along the way, Lisa shares how her very first sponsorship 18 years ago was simply a local print company covering the cost of event flyers and how that small beginning shaped the way she approaches sponsorships and storytelling today. This episode explores: how storytelling creates sponsorship opportunities why the best partnerships benefit everyone involved how to think creatively about funding dreams and projects and why momentum often begins with one small collaborative YES If you've ever wondered how to turn your story, platform, podcast, event, or creative idea into something that attracts support and opportunity, this episode offers a grounded and inspiring look at how those opportunities are built in real life—one story at a time.

In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most powerful exercises inside her Story Collective program: the "stage cut"—a five-minute version of a talk that becomes the foundation for a full keynote. Drawing from her signature Umbrella Story framework, Lisa explains how breaking a talk down into one core story, a strong opening, and a clear closing allows speakers to move from overwhelm to confidence. Instead of trying to fill 45 minutes on stage, this approach helps you focus on connection, clarity, and transformation—one story at a time. Lisa walks you through how mastering a five-minute talk creates the ability to build longer talks with ease by adding additional story "prongs," sequencing them intentionally, and guiding an audience through a meaningful journey. If you've been thinking about speaking but feel stuck on where to start or overwhelmed by the idea of building a full keynote, this episode offers a practical, proven approach to help you begin your speaker journey with confidence that grows with each prong of your story. Lisa's opening her next round of The Story Collective in just a few weeks. Reach out to her on Instragram or through email for more information and to save your spot.

In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares a deeply personal reflection on what it means to take care of the people in our story—and why those relationships matter more than we often realize. As she prepares to list her home for sale and step into a new chapter of van life, Lisa takes listeners behind the scenes of the physical and emotional process of letting go while sorting through years of memories, making difficult decisions, and navigating moments of overwhelm. Through it all, one theme becomes clear: none of us should do chapters like these alone. From friends who showed up to help pack, organize, and carry the load, to meaningful exchanges of support and unexpected moments of connection, this experience reinforces a powerful truth—our stories are shaped not only by what we go through, but by who shows up for us along the way. This episode invites you to reflect on your own relationships, the people who support you, and how the way you show up for others becomes part of the story you're building. If you're navigating change, growth, or a new chapter in your life or business, this conversation offers a grounded reminder that storytelling isn't just about what happens—it's about who's there with you when it does.

In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw breaks down the natural connection between speaking, writing, and client work—and why they are not separate paths, but part of the same body of work. Drawing from her mastermind, the Story Collective, Lisa explains how a talk serves as a powerful entry point, offering connection and transformation in a short amount of time, while a book expands that experience into something actionable and repeatable. From there, deeper client work becomes the next step for those who want more personalized guidance. Lisa also shares a personal story about discovering The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book by Susan Page, and how that experience shaped her understanding of what happens when someone moves from learning to implementation—and ultimately, to seeking support. If you've ever wondered how to connect your talk, your book, and your offers in a way that feels natural and aligned, this episode offers a clear and practical perspective on how your story becomes something people can step into at every level. To learn more about Lisa's story and how to work together, please visit her website: www.lisabradshaw.co

Two weeks after announcing she's selling her house, buying a van, and preparing to travel for a year, Lisa Bradshaw finds herself in the middle of the part no one talks about—the overwhelm that comes with actually making a big life change happen. In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa shares a real-time look at consistency during stressful seasons and why showing up matters even more when life feels messy, emotional, or uncertain. Speaking directly to coaches, speakers, creators, and entrepreneurs who build their work around personal story, she explains how storytellers don't just share lessons after everything makes sense. Instead, they pay attention while life is unfolding. This conversation explores the connection between consistency, self-trust, and storytelling, and why staying engaged with your work during overwhelming moments can shape the stories you tell later on stage, in business, and with your clients. If you've ever wondered how to stay consistent when life feels like too much, dive into this episode. For more real time advice on how to tell and story your story, hit the subscribe button.

In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares a deeply personal decision: she's selling her house and buying a van to travel for a year. What sounds like a lifestyle shift is actually a strategic expansion. Lisa opens up about the emotional weight of letting go of a home filled with memories, the conversation with her son that changed everything, and the hopeful reluctance we often experience when stepping into a new season. More importantly, she explains how this next chapter will integrate sponsorships, public speaking, and storytelling from the road and why this isn't a sabbatical from her business, but an evolution of it. If you've ever felt a chapter quietly closing. If you've been circling a decision for months. If you're wondering what it would look like to build your outside-of-the-box dream in real time. This episode challenges you to ask: What has served its purpose? And what would it look like to just do the thing you've. been wanting to do? To follow along in this journey, be sure to subscribe to the podcast for updates throughout Lisa's van life adventures.

In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares a powerful conversation that sparked a deeper look at identity, transition, and storytelling in business. What happens when a 30-year corporate career ends and the title that defined you disappears? Where does your leverage come from then? Through the story of a former vice president stepping into a business he's building with his son, Lisa explores why storytelling becomes essential when you move from internal credibility to public visibility. She breaks down why visual businesses often feel easier to market, why high achievers struggle to talk about themselves, and how your experience becomes your greatest asset when you're willing to tell it. If you're navigating a career shift, building a side hustle, stepping into entrepreneurship, or redefining your identity beyond a job title, this episode helps you see how your story creates connection, builds trust, and makes marketing feel natural. Because people buy from people and when your story is clear, your marketing gets easier. Follow Tell and Sell Your Story for more storytelling insight and strategy to help grow your audience and your income.

In this episode, Lisa Bradshaw shares a powerful realization that came out of her recent Story Collective group call about why so many entrepreneurs feel stuck in "quick content" mode and what changes when we begin treating our story as a body of work instead of a series of posts. Using creator Blake of Today (@blakeoftoday) as a real-world example, Lisa explores how meaningful storytelling shows up across platforms, formats, and seasons, and why our posts, talks, workshops, and books are all different expressions of the same core story—our UMBRELLA STORY. If you've ever felt pressure to constantly come up with new ideas, reinvent yourself, or keep up with trends, this episode reminds us that we already have a lifetime of material and a deeper story worth building from. This episode also helps us reconnect to why people started listening to our expertise in the first place, focusing on how our story can live beyond social media and within the bigger body of work we're building. Have questions about joining The Story Collective? Reach out via instragram: @lisabradshaw.co

Rehearsal is part of the creative process that helps you uncover the talk you're actually meant to give. In this episode of Tell and Sell Your Story, Lisa Bradshaw shares a mindset shift she consistently coaches her speakers through: if you only rehearse the script you wrote at your desk, you'll only ever deliver the talk you wrote at your desk. But your strongest stories, lines, transitions, and emotional turns often show up when "practicing" in real life—in the car, in the shower, while walking, cooking, or folding laundry. Learn how to use "creative rehearsal" to find the layers, swaps, and upgrades that make a keynote feel more honest, more human, and more magnetic, so when you step on stage, you don't sound memorized. Instead, you sound like YOU. If you're building a keynote or signature talk right now, this episode changes how you develop and deliver the talk only you can give.

This episode opens the year with reflection in place of resolution. Lisa Bradshaw shares a piece of writing that deeply resonated with her and sparked meaningful conversations with family, friends, and colleagues, then she weaves it into her own perspective on aging, independence, health, money, learning, peace, and personal responsibility. It's a reminder that strength, dignity, and intention don't come from waiting or wishing, but from choosing how we live the years we're given. This episode invites you to pause, reflect, and begin 2026 with clarity about what matters most and to share it with someone who might need these words too. Forward this podcast, share the message. I sat in my favorite chair, looked back at my life, and whispered to myself, "So… this is the beginning of the final stretch." And slowly, the truths I had avoided all my life began to surface. Kids? They're busy writing their own story. Health? Slips away faster than sand through open fingers. The government? Just headlines, promises, and numbers that never change your daily reality. Aging doesn't hurt your body first—it hurts your illusions. So I sat down with myself and carved out a handful of bitter but necessary truths. Kids don't save you from loneliness. Children grow, life pulls them in every direction, and you become a memory they visit when time allows. You smile… and yet something inside you remains strangely hollow. Kids bring joy—but they are not a shield against loneliness. Health is not forever. One day, the outings you once jumped into with enthusiasm feel like a marathon. You realize health was never a background character—it was the main pillar holding your life steady. Retirement and money. Retirement is not a reward — it's a reality check. Depending on the system is like standing on thin ice. Bills grow, needs grow, prices grow… but support doesn't. So I rebuilt my life on new rules — honest, sharp, practical rules for living with dignity. Rule 1: Money is more reliable than anything else. Love your kids, cherish them. But don't make them your retirement plan. Save for yourself. Even small savings create big freedom. Financial independence is dignity. Rule 2: Your health is your real job Nothing else matters if your body refuses to cooperate. Move. Walk. Stretch. Guard your sleep like treasure. Eat cleaner. Reduce the poison disguised as sugar and salt. Illness doesn't discriminate, but it respects those who take responsibility for themselves. Rule 3: Create your own joy Waiting for others to make you happy is the fastest way to heartbreak. So you learn to enjoy the small things—a peaceful breakfast, a good book, music that warms the soul. When you know how to make yourself happy, loneliness loses its power. Rule 4: Aging is not an excuse to become helpless Some people turn aging into a performance of complaints. And slowly, even those who love them start stepping away. Strength is attractive. Resilience is magnetic. People respect the ones who stay capable, not the ones who surrender. Rule 5: Let go of the past The good old days were beautiful—yes. But they're gone, and there is no return ticket. Clinging to the past steals the present. Life today may look different, but it still holds moments worth living. Rule 6: Protect your peace like it's your property Not every argument needs your voice. Not every insult needs your response. Not every relative deserves access to your emotions. Peace is expensive. Protect it from drama, negativity, and draining people—even if they're your close people. Rule 7: Keep learning something—anything The day you stop learning is the day you start aging. A new recipe, a new word, a new app, a new hobby—your brain needs movement just like your body does. Learning keeps you young. Stagnation makes you old. Strength and freedom still belong to you. Aging is an exam no one can take for you. You can adapt, rebuild, and rise stronger… or sit back, complain, and wait for someone to rescue you. And if no one comes to rescue you, Stand up for yourself. Because you still can. And that single truth is enough to transform the rest of your life. Author Unknown