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Make your stories taste (even) better than brains

Make your stories taste (even) better than brains

Francisco Mahfuz
May 29, 2025

I say something silly, Alice laughs and says,

“Dad, you’re funnier than a snake.”

“Oh. Thanks, but… is that a good thing?”

“Of course! Don’t you remember that time we went to that zoo, and the guy put a snake on your arm, and it moved in all sorts of weird ways?”

“Ah, got it. So you think snakes are funny, then?”

“Yes! Just not as funny as you.”

If I’m honest, that’s one of my favourite compliments ever.

***

I get the kids from school, sort dinner out, then I fall down an internet rabbit hole.

About an hour later, Alice asks,

“Dad, can you read a little bit for me?”

I check the time and tell her,

“Sorry, baby, I’ve got a work call coming up in a few minutes so I can’t.”

She hugs me and says.

“That’s ok, I know you tried your best.”

I don’t have the heart to tell her I didn’t.

***

The day after Alice and I had a big row, she calls me aside and says,

“Dad, I want to tell you a secret.”

“Ok. What is it?”

She is fidgeting and not looking me in the eyes.

“Sometimes, when we fight and I’m really angry… I wish you were dead.”

She’s hugging herself and looking down now.

“Baby, that’s normal. When we’re mad we’re… mad. We think all sorts of crazy things. That’s ok.”

She looks at me.

“Is it?”

“Yeah, for sure. I remember feeling that way when I was a kid too. There’s just one problem…”

“What problem?”

“If your wish came true, I’d come back as a zombie, and I’d definitely want to eat some tasty brains.”

I start shuffling towards her and moaning,

“Braaaaaains!”

She runs away laughing. I think I handled that well enough.

But… bloody hell. She’s only 8.

If an argument already has that effect… what will 15 be like??

Parenting…

It’s really not for the faint of heart 😅

Those are only 3…

Three separate tiny moments from my life. On their own, they can fun, amusing or even moving. I could probably get a useful story out of each of them.

I can also put them together and paint a broader picture of parenting, my relationship with my kids, Alice’s personality, or all of these things together, like I did here.

The most important thing, though, is that these are moments I would have almost certainly forgotten if I hadn’t written them down. Now I can always go back to them or I can turn them into stories and move them to a different part of my brain, which will keep them vivid and make them more meaningful.

But there are 1,471 more

Because I made a habit of capturing these moments a while back, I’ve accumulated quite a collection already, more than 4 years worth. Whenever I need a story, or an idea for content, I can dip into my records and I’m bound to find something there.

So when I hear people say, “I don’t have any stories,” I cringe, because they do–or they would, if they knew how to find and capture them.

And if you want to learn how to do that, this is for you 👇👇👇

On the 5th of June, I’m running a free masterclass about finding and telling all the stories you need. It’s an interactive deep dive with everything I teach my corporate and TED-style speaker clients.

It's happening here, where I hang out with Brian Miller and all the other cool kids ;-)