It's all I wanted... and I almost screwed it up

“Do you need any help with the fireplace?”, David asks me. 

“Nah, I light fires all the time, I got this.”

“Ok, if you need a hand just let me know.”

My family and I have rented a farmhouse for the weekend. 

When Patricia tried to show me pictures of the place before we booked it, I just had one thing to ask: 

“Does it have a fireplace?”

“It does, yeah.”

“I’m good, then. Go for it.”

As soon as we arrive, David, who manages the property, shows us around and offers to help, but I’m keen to get the fire going so I send him on his way. 

I open the fireplace door, place the wood and the kindling, and light it up. 

It catches immediately, so I go put some beers on the freezer and get dinner started. 

But when I come back 10 minutes later, the fire’s gone out. 

“Huh. That’s weird.” 

I rearrange the wood and light it again. 

“All ok there?”, Patricia asks.

“Yeah, I’m sure it will work this time.”

Two hours later, it still hasn’t. I got a tiny fire going, there’s a pile of embers in the fireplace, but the big logs are just not catching. 

By now I’ve run out of kindling and fire starters, and I’m starting to panic. 

David pops by again to see if we’ve settled alright, and I wave him over. He looks at what I’m doing and frowns. 

“Have you been trying to light the fire with the door open?”

“Yeah. So there’s lots of air coming in.”

“That’s not gonna work. There’s too much air. Also, look here. You’ve got the logs covering the grates at the bottom.”

“Aren’t those just for the ash to fall through?”

“No, that’s where the air comes from.”

He rearranges the logs, moves some of the embers around, and closes the door. Within a few minutes, the thing is a raging inferno.

He gives me a sympathetic smile and leaves. 

And that feels exactly like my father’s “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed” speech. 

It still sucks 😅

Not all fires are the same 

What works to light a firepit might not work for a barbecue. What works for an open fireplace clearly didn’t work for a closed one. 

The pieces are the same, but how you use them makes all the difference in the world. 

It’s the same for talks: 

A keynote is different than a workshop. A pitch is different than a presentation. 

I do a lot of work helping experts deliver TED-style talks, and I see this all the time: 

• They think they need a story… but don’t know which one to tell

• They believe it needs to be backed by science… but don’t know how much research to mention or how to describe it 

• They think it needs to inspire people… so they turn into motivational speakers 😬

Try as you might, that fire ain’t never gonna catch.

If you dream of speaking on the 🔴 Red Dot - or are just curious if you should even consider it - I have something for you: 

On December 18th, join Brian Miller and me for a free virtual masterclass: Introduction to the Red Dot.

You’ll learn:

• The common mistakes that almost guarantee rejection

• The surprising qualities event organisers really look for in applicants

• How to find and craft your own Big Idea statement that stands out

We’ve guided dozens of speakers from 19 industries across 3 continents to book, write, and deliver the talk of their life.

You could be the next one ;-)

🔗 Register now to join us live on December 18: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpc--vrjMvHdD792hWPqZ8yuWX-0VR83yP#/registration

(Can’t make it live? Register in advance to get the replay!)

Winter is coming. 

Let’s get that fire started 🤘

-Francisco 

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Note: We are not affiliated with or endorsed by TED Conferences LLC and do not guarantee that anyone will book a talk at a TEDx conference. We simply have an outstanding track record of supporting clients on their journey to speak at these types of events.

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