Storyworthy (Matthew Dicks) - Book Summary, Notes & Highlights

J -


Boy crush moment. Posted this on Twitter and Matt replied 😝


🚀 The book in 3 sentences

  1. Learning to tell better stories can change our lives in so many more ways than just that telling better stories.
  2. We all have stories to tell, about the tiny moments of transformation in our lives.
  3. Not remembering and sharing the stories we live causes one to live without memories.

🎨 Impressions

This is one of the most engaging books I’ve ever read. Matthew does a great job bringing to life the idea of storytelling. He elaborates that being able to tell stories means you need to live those stories and more importantly remember them.

🔍 How I discovered it

I'm currently in a YouTube course to, well, become a better YouTuber - or in my case just a YouTuber. Matt finished a session last week about Storytelling and how we can incorporate that not only online but in life and it was in no exaggeration - breathtaking. It also got me hooked on the Moth podcast.

👤 Who should read it?

Honestly, this has to be on my "everyone in the world should read this book" list. But, if you fit these, you might want to prioritize it:

  • If you like the idea of your life being full of story-worthy moments that you'd rather not pass by without acknowledging.
  • If you'd like to be able to tell better dinner stories.
  • If you're in the public eye.
  • If you have a job that requires you to speak well.

☘️ How the book changed me

How my life / behavior / thoughts / ideas have changed as a result of reading the book.

  • It made me appreciate that life is full of story-worthy moments.
  • Stories don't have to be 'omg you won't believe how drunk(with caffeine) I was when I did X' and 'omg you won't believe how great a time I had when traveling in Y'. In fact, alcohol and travel often make for not-very-interesting stories.
  • Matthew introduces the exercise Homework for Life. I recently started trying this with my wife and it's a great conversation piece.

✍️ My Top 3 Quotes

You need not spend time in jail or crash through a windshield or have a gun jammed against the side of your head to tell a great story. In fact, the simplest stories about the smallest moments in our lives are often the most compelling.
Your story must reflect change over time. A story cannot simply be a series of remarkable events. You must start out as one version of yourself and end as something new. The change can be infinitesimal. It need not reflect an improvement in yourself or your character, but change must happen. Even the worst movies in the world reflect some change in a character over time. So must your story. Stories that fail to reflect change over time are known as anecdotes. Romps. Drinking stories. Vacation stories. They recount humorous, harrowing, and even heartfelt moments from our lives that burned brightly but left no lasting mark on our souls.
In searching for stories, I discovered that my life is filled with them. Filled with precious moments that once seemed decidedly less than precious. Filled with moments that are more story-worthy than I’d ever imagined. I’d just been failing to notice them. Or discounting them. Or ignoring them. In some instances, I tried to forget them completely. Now I can see them. I can’t help but see them. They are everywhere. I collect them. Record them. Craft them. I tell them on stage. I share them on the golf course and with dinner companions. But most importantly, I hold them close to my heart. They are my most treasured possessions.

📘 Summary + Notes

  1. ❤️ "Trying to get better at storytelling also means trying to get better at being a father, or a son, a husband, a brother, or just a better person". So good.
  2. 😂 Storytelling is a less-funny stand-up comedy. You don't need to make people laugh to tell a good story. You do need to make them feel.
  3. 🔫 "You need not spend time in jail or crash through a windshield or have a gun jammed against the side of your head to tell a great story. The simplest stories about the smallest moments in our lives are often the most compelling" This is actual life events that happened to Matt.
  4. 📘 Stories reflect change over time. Without change, without transformation, you don't have a story. "Stories that fail to reflect change over time are known as anecdotes".
  5. 🏝 "Matt’s 3 Rules of Vacation Stories: (1)  No one wants to hear about your vacation. (2) If someone asks to hear about your vacation, they are being polite. See rule #1."
  6. ⛵️ "If you had a moment that was actually storyworthy while you were on vacation, that is a story that should be told. But it should not include the quality of the local cuisine or anything related to the beauty or charm of the destination."
  7. 📚 Homework for Life - Every evening, ask yourself "what is my story from today? What is the thing about today that has made it different from any previous day?" Write this down. If you do this, before long you'll have more stories than you can ever imagine.
  8. ⏰ "I give this to you: Homework for Life. Five minutes a day is all I’m asking. At the end of every day, take a moment and sit down. Reflect upon your day. Find your most storyworthy moment, even if it doesn’t feel very storyworthy..."
  9. 👑 Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever. — Ancient proverb
  10. ⏳ "All great stories — regardless of length or depth or tone — tell the story of a five-second moment in a person’s life. Got that?"
  11. 🧠 "Let me say it again: Every great story ever told is essentially about a five-second moment in the life of a human being.

Grab your copy here:https://amzn.to/3IIDlD4