Last week I confessed. For the first time in my 692 Frost Advisories, I left out the most important part. On purpose.

Last week I shared the brilliant campaign from The Foundation for a Better Life at PassItOn.com:

They shared…

“Here’s a short quiz:

• Who won best actress last year?
• Who won the World Series two years ago?
• And finally, name your favorite teacher.

Now I’m guessing that the last question was the easiest. Why’s that? Because that person made a difference in your life. So go ahead – make a difference. Because making a difference is in you.”

By using the Rule of 3, their campaign was allowed for a possible story. Choosing between #1 and #2 is binary, and an “either/or” choice is reactive. The option of a third choice allows for story.

Here is the more important part that I purposefully left out. “Name your favorite teacher” is something that matters, the other questions (best actress, World Series) are simply facts.

When I hear your story, I think of my story. That’s when you know you’ve hit gold.

Oh, by the way, my favorite teacher was Mrs. Mahan, my high school drama coach. She would sit in the audience during our performance and gently rattle her charm bracelet to let us know she was out there rooting for us. I’ve never forgotten the lesson Mrs. Mahan taught us about the impact of encouragement.

And that’s a story.

*Thanks to my pal Brant Hansen for his handy-dandy Doodle contribution to my story