Episode 8: From Appalachia to the Stage: The Power of Personal Stories with Bryan Gross

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Well, welcome back or welcome for your first time to the Mind Movie Makers, the storytellers of Mind Movie Makers. And I am so excited today because I actually have a guest. I have Bryan Eugene Gross, Dr. Bryan Eugene Gross, who is one of the people that was in my recent storytelling show called The Last Story Standing. And Bryan told an amazing story.

that was called Beneath the Mountain, Finding Courage in the Shadows. And he and I had such a great time working on this story together. So please welcome Bryan, everyone, and Bryan, introduce yourself and tell them a little bit about who you are, and then we'll get into our experience together in the Last Story Standing journey.

Bryan
Alright, sounds great. Thank you so much for having me on your podcast. I've been looking forward to this since you invited me. as you mentioned, my name is Bryan Gross. I am originally from the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, which of course is what my story was about in last story standing. So I've been an educator for over 20, 21 years now. Yeah, 21 years. I won't tell you how old I am now, but I will just say that I was in my 20s when I started teaching.

People look at the color, people look at the hair and they think I'm way older. So anyway, I've been fortunate to be able to teach in Kentucky, California and Washington for the last 21 years. I teach psychology. I've had some wonderful experiences with students and just other people in the field of psychology and I'm very partial to it. I do have a PhD. Like I said, I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains. My father was an underground coal miner for 25 years and

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Quick math.

Bryan
He and my mother just instilled hard work and good ethics in my sister and I. we just, it's what we've always done. And I enjoy what I do. And I've always heard that if you enjoy your job, you never have to work a day in your life. And I've had fun along the way. And of course I've started bridging success now. And with that, I have a podcast called the Acceptance Project Podcast that comes out weekly on Tuesdays. And we talk about, you know,

self-acceptance, adversity, diversity, know, hearing our own voices and just kind of learning to kind of, you know, just accept ourselves and other people. And I don't like the word, I don't like the word tolerant. I like the word acceptance because if we're just being tolerant of one another, then we're not really accepting one another. Tolerance just means, okay, you can exist in the same space, but I'm really not going to respect you. So I like, I like acceptance. And that's what we preach at the acceptance project podcast. So.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
yeah.

Bryan
I was so fortunate to be in the last story standing and with you and your guidance and then of course just learning so much from the other competitors and it was a wonderful experience.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Yeah, I love that. I agree with you. Like tolerance versus acceptance, there's like a totally different energy between that, you know? One's kind of heavy and negative and like, you're lucky you're even in my space. And then acceptance is more free flowing and the way I really want us all as a planet to live. So I love that. I absolutely love that. So on this podcast, we study storytelling, right? Like we're looking at what, what, why are we telling our stories?

Bryan
Yeah. Yeah.

Bryan
Yeah.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
What's the point of telling our stories and how do you tell it so that the audience

is right there with you. They're a fly on the wall in any of the scenes that you create. So you have been public speaking. Obviously as a professor, you're constantly public speaking, but the storytelling thing is a whole niche kind of world. What is it that you learned and are taking away with your experience with the Last Story Standing competition? And again, this is from the National Speakers Association. So this is a nationwide competition.

is going to go to the regional level. And Bryan took third place, but it was neck and neck. I'm not kidding. First, second, and third, we gave those judges a hard time that day. And that was my goal. That was my goal. There was eight storytellers and I was like, let's make them miserable. So tell me your experience as someone coming into the competition and then like what you learned.

Bryan
some great stories. Some great stories. Yeah.

Bryan
Well, I guess when I started the competition, I thought, you know, this can't be that difficult. I've 21 years of teaching psychology and I've been speaking and all of that. And then I learned teaching teaching and giving lectures is so very different than storytelling. And I, thanks to the help of Missy AI, which I'm hoping we'll talk about that, you know, before long, you know, I really, learned so much about that whole mind movie and how to bring listeners

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Yes.

Bryan
into the moment you're in as a, like painting.

painting this image so they can kind of see it and feel it. And they can live in that moment with you rather than just like, here's this guy on stage telling a story. Let me see what I can get out of this. And when you talk about your wonder, wonder, you know, theory and all of that, now I kind of wonder myself when I'm giving lectures, how many of my students are wondering around trying to figure out what I'm talking about. So this opportunity to learn from you, from, you know, the other competitors and from Missy AI, it really helped me to kind of

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Yeah.

Bryan
guess take a step back and look at my own story and kind of dissect it to figure out okay what are people hearing when I'm talking? Is this making sense? Are they following it?

on that day when we had the last story standing, are they just smelling this wonderful food that was in the back from Bakery Nouveau and thinking, I can't wait for this story to be over. I wanted them to be in the moment with all of us. And now, so then I felt like I was only competing against other competitors. Now I'm competing with Bakery Nouveau in the back who has this wonderful smelling food that even I'm thinking, I can't wait. What kind of sandwich did I get that day? So it was wonderful. So it really helped me to kind of think more and maybe be a little bit more...

critical of my own storytelling and making certain that I'm not just up there just saying something, but I'm actually creating an image and a movie that people are gonna be able to kind of live in. And it makes such a difference. It made such a difference. I mean, you know, the copy of your book that I got, I mean, it now looks like it's been drug across the country and back with all the tabs and the, you know, the marks and the highlights and the,

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
I love that.

I love that, I wanted that, that's what I want.

Bryan
So I used it. I used the book and I absolutely loved it. As a matter of fact, I even pulled it out when I was writing a podcast for myself earlier in the week. And I went back to one of the theories that you had talked about. I was reading that again and I was working with Missy AI and she even made reference to that. I'm like, oh God, I to refresh my memory on what that was. So the book is phenomenal. I'm still using it even after the competition's over.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
That just warms my heart. mean, because I did write it to help people like yourself. know, like how do you find your stories? So thank you. I appreciate that. And he is mentioning Missy AI. I've mentioned it a few times on the podcast too. And that is essentially, she is my AI that is trained in my book and trained in my voice. And so it's kind of like having me as a pocket coach, you know, like I'm there when you need it. Okay.

So that was great. So we're in this competition. There's eight storytellers. You're the final storyteller. So if anyone's thinking about Bakery Nouveau's food, it's because they're excited that they're gonna get a prize after seeing eight awesome storytellers and then one of those delicious almond croissants that William Lehman brought. Like he way over delivered. He was so amazing. Yeah. So the journey of iterations, you know, in writing a story, you know,

Bryan
Yeah, it was interesting being last because you’re sitting there listening to all these incredible stories and at the same time trying to stay in your own lane and stay focused on what you’re about to do. And I remember thinking, wow, these are amazing. Like every single person brought something so unique and powerful.

And then you start to feel that pressure of, okay, I have to go up there and close this out. And I didn’t want to be thinking about placement or anything like that. I just wanted to make sure that I honored my story and told it in a way that felt authentic and that people could connect to.

And honestly, I think that’s what helped the most. Just staying grounded in the story itself.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Yeah.

Bryan
And trusting the process that we had worked through. Because there were so many iterations of that story. I mean, we went through it multiple times. And every time it got tighter, clearer, more emotional, more real.

And by the time I got on stage, it felt like it wasn’t just something I memorized. It felt like something I lived through again.

And I think that’s the difference.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Yes. Yes. That’s exactly it.

Bryan
And when you talk about mind movies, that’s what I was trying to do. I wanted people to be there with me. I wanted them to feel what I felt, to see what I saw.

And when I finished, the response from the audience… you can just tell. You can feel it. It’s different.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Yeah.

Bryan
And that was something I had never experienced before in that way.

So I’m incredibly grateful for that.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
I love that. And that’s what storytelling does. It creates connection. Real connection.

And when you can do that, especially in a short format like that, it’s powerful.

Bryan
Yeah.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
So if there’s one thing that you would tell someone who is maybe afraid to tell their story or doesn’t know where to start, what would you say?

Bryan
I would say just start.

I know that sounds simple, but it’s true.

Start with something real. Start with something that actually means something to you. Because if it matters to you, it’s going to matter to someone else.

And don’t worry about making it perfect right away.

That’s what the process is for.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Yeah.

Bryan
And be open to feedback. That was huge for me.

Because sometimes we think we’re saying something clearly, but it’s not landing the way we think it is.

So having someone like you to guide that process was incredibly helpful.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
Thank you.

Bryan
And yeah, just keep going. Keep refining. Keep telling it.

Because your story matters.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
I love that.

Melissa Reaves, Story Fruition
and you're so welcome.

All right, audience, thank you, thank you.

We will be back with our next episodes.

We drop every Monday.

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And let's get this podcast out there because there's a lot of people who could benefit from learning how just everyday human beings can create gorgeous moments

that move the needle in our own, I think, human consciousness.

So thank you.

All right, and until the next show. Bye.