We recently had the chance to connect with Dave Bricker and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dave, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
Everybody—and I mean “everybody”—struggles with self-doubt. It doesn’t help when others tell us we’re not smart/fast/attractive/capable enough, but there’s a voice within us that’s connected to our survival instinct. It tells us to stay safe, fly under the radar, and avoid the risks of failure. That voice manifests itself through shyness, timidity, impostor syndrome, and low self-esteem. And each of us is given the mission to move forward anyway, to listen to that other voice that says “Go for it.”
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Remarkable Stories, Inc. is a communications consultancy that helps with books, presentations, and messaging. So many people have the “smart person’s curse.” Their world makes perfect sense to them until they try to explain it to someone else. Imagine a carpenter with a cluttered workbench. You might not be able to get anything done on it, but if you were to clean it up, you’d destroy their productivity.
I work with clever people who want to share their big ideas. Before they can write about them, speak about them, or pitch them to investors, they need a framework—a way to break them down so others can understand how they work and how they’re meaningful. That framework is storytelling. Some people come for help with a book. Some want a slide deck. Some want help with public speaking, design, video, music, or technology. Some want a training program for their sales, marketing, customer service, or leadership teams. Creating whatever vehicle is best to convey a person from conflict to transformation is what Remarkable Stories does.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
When I was 18, I met a few sailors who lived on their boats in the free anchorage in Coconut Grove. They had no money but they went where they wanted on a whim. Until then, I’d been a private prep school kid who had thought adventures were only found in books and movies. By example, these folks taught me that life can be whatever you want it to be. Since then, I’ve sailed many thousands of miles, crossed the Atlantic in a wooden boat, slept in a volcano, written a bunch of books and a collection of songs, gotten comfortable speaking in public, started a few business ventures, and raised a happy kid. We imagine so many limitations and hold ourselves back with so many “what if?” games. My life since I met those wacky seafarers has given me a catalog of story-worthy adventures.
So many times, we don’t take risks, even when the consequences of failure are trivial. We don’t take the job in that other state, even though we could move back home in a matter of a day or two if it doesn’t work out. We don’t introduce ourselves to someone because they might reject us—so we reject ourselves first.
You don’t have to be a millionaire to live on a boat and sail the world. Decide what you want to do and decide that nobody else’s opinion or limiting belief system is going to deter you.
That’s what I got out of a chance meeting with a boat bum 42 years ago.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
We’re all scared as kids. That’s a time when we can’t often feel understood because we’re growing too fast to understand ourselves. And because kids are insecure, many become critics and bullies; they’re eager to redirect judgment away from themselves. I was an introverted, slightly autistic, weird kid who loved to read, and I had no skill on the ballfield—that great arena in which the elementary school social hierarchy is determined. What helped me was my ability to draw pictures. At the time it was superheroes and tanks and fighter planes. I created endless cartoons in high school. My sketches added a lighthearted element to my notebooks and homework assignments; they became my protective forcefield.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What do you believe is true but cannot prove?
I’ll twist this question a bit:
We are hard-wired to love answers—to seek truth, We love the notion that we can understand the universe and how it works, and see a place for ourselves in the grand scheme of things.
At the same time, we use words like “God,” “love,” “truth,” “beauty,” “art,” and “meaning,” even though we can’t define what any of them are. These are the “essential absurdities”—conceptual carrying handles for concepts that are too big to lift.
When we decide to believe in a certain something—to be a Jew or a Christian or a Democrat or Republican or that there’s only one “soul-mate” in the universe for us or whatever—we close the doors to growth and inquiry.
In a sense, you can prove that something is mathematically “true,” but what is truth? What is belief? What do they mean? (What is meaning?) The point is not to get stuck in an intellectual tarpit, but what I “believe” is “true” but cannot prove is that the best path for me is to live in the endless and joyful mystery of not-knowing.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When have you had to bet the company?
As a solopreneur, I bet the company on every project. Whether it’s a production job, pitch coaching, or helping a memoir-writer leave a legacy, I get new clients because old clients recommend me. If any of the work or the experience of working with me is south of excellent, I’m out of business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://remarkable-stories.com
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/davidbricker
- Other: https://speakipedia.com
