In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Kerry Morrison, a veteran brand messaging and positioning strategist. Morrison shares a personal story about his early career, emphasizing the importance of finding a path that aligns with one’s inner self rather than blindly following passion. He argues that storytelling is a fundamental skill for anyone in business, from large brands to startups, as it simplifies communication and drives success. His broader business advice centers on trusting one’s gut after gaining experience. Morrison highlights daily yoga and meditation as essential practices that would have accelerated his personal growth. He discusses his view of happiness as finding fulfillment in everyday moments and the journey rather than solely in goals. Morrison recommends two books—Walden for its nonconformist message and Dale Carnegie’s "How to Win Friends and Influence People" for its lessons on listening and genuine interest. He shares two favorite quotes that motivate him: a reminder about the size of the fight in the dog and a poetic line about contributing a verse to the ongoing play of life. Finally, he provides his online handles (@Kmore) and notes that he writes on Medium and engages most on Twitter.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Cary Morrison with us. He's a guy who helps brands with their messaging and positioning, and he's been doing it for a very long time. So welcome to the show, Cary.
I love that we just told everybody that I'm old.
So thank you for joining us. Uh, we'll dive in. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Oh man. Jeez. I mean, look, I was telling this to somebody the other day, so I'm going to use it. Listen, tell me if I'm dragging on because I love to hear my own voice. I had a great childhood, I had great parents, really supportive, you know, encouraged me to do whatever I want, but they were very traditional. And one of the things I learned from them was that you go into the workforce, you get a good job, you get a house, you get a car, in my case, you get a girl, or whatever else anybody likes, and you make your way. And so when I started working at the age of 18 for an ad agency, I went and did that. And for the first few years, I was on that path and I got all those things and I did not like it. I was not happy. So I think one of the largest lessons and something that I talk to younger folks about on a fairly regular basis is not to abandon everything for your passion. I think when people give you just that basic advice that you should ignore everything and just do the one thing that makes you happy, I think that's a little bit too much. But find the scenario where either you work to make your life better or you like what you do. And at least go on the path that is right for you, whether it's conventional or not, whether it's traditional or not, doesn't matter. Find the path that's at least right for that inner you and follow that one. Yes.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Ooh. Well, the thing that I find myself ranting a lot about is that that makes it worthwhile is learn how to tell stories. You know, the big brands that I've worked with in the past or the startups, some of them really well funded, some of them not, the salespeople, the marketers, the friends of mine running companies, the mid-level, you know, brand manager at a large packaged food company, every one of those people, in fact everyone in business, you need to know how to tell stories. It makes everything that we do, that we all do, so much easier.
And it might tie in, but what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
I like these questions. I specifically— I saw your questions and specifically didn't think about them. I like that.
I like off the cuff. I like it.
Yeah, but I do. My best overall piece of advice? Was that the question?
Overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific.
Right. Once you get past your first couple of jobs, so once you have a little bit of experience under your belt, trust your gut. Your gut knows what's right. Your gut knows the right answer. Your gut knows the thing that you should do, especially in tough situations. Go with your gut.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Do yoga and meditate every day.
Yes, I like that.
Yeah. The one thing, you know, I worked 100-hour weeks for a decade from starting out. And while I certainly worked too much and certainly wasn't as healthy as I could be, I would not trade that for anything. That was my education. But inside of that, just those two things, just every morning for 20 minutes, do a little bit of yoga and do a little bit of meditating. And I feel like I would be significantly further ahead in life.
Again, this could actually tie in, but in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Well, find the little things. Revel in the weird, enjoy the strange, enjoy those moments of serendipity. I have no answers in this life. I'm still trying to figure it out as much as anybody. The people that I know that are happiest and the most satisfaction that I have had is when I'm enjoying the journey. You know, you're enjoying the day-to-day. Yeah, you can be fixated on some goals. Yeah, you can have a mission that you're working towards, but getting there isn't the thing. It's the every minute of every day along that path. That's what keeps you far more fulfilled. And to me, fulfillment is happiness.
And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Okay, I did give this one a little thought. I love to read. I read a significant amount. So I'm going to give you two books. The first is Walden. Walden is my favorite book of all time. And while getting into it would be far too long for this, There's a message of nonconformity in there that I think could benefit everybody. And whether it's business or personal, just that idea of looking at things in a different way, of living fully, of not accepting the status quo is great for everybody. The other more traditional answer and a book that every single person should read is How to Win Friends and Influence People. Dale Carnegie in the 1930s wrote this book, which is— you can boil down to a couple of quick thoughts. Basically, learn to listen, learn to take an active interest in people, and be genuine. And in business especially, the more I take an interest in what you're doing, the more I listen to the pain points that you have, the easier it is for both of us to get what we want. To move forward, to do some business together, to find success. So those two together are sort of my perfect one-two punch.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Yeah, I mean, that's a— oof. So I'm gonna give you two again, only because one I just think is a little bit too trite. Well, they're actually both a little bit trite. The first one, somebody, I had this whiteboard in my very first apartment in Vancouver, Canada, my first job. I had this whiteboard at the front door and somebody wrote on it. I don't remember who and I don't remember why or exactly when, but it was up there the entire time I lived in that apartment. Somebody wrote, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." And every day I looked at that and every day, You know, that gentle reminder that, you know, any obstacle, any person can get through things, I just have always loved. The line that gets me these days, and it might be stretching it to call it a quote because it's the last line of a poem, but "The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse" is, for some reason, it's the thing I wake up every day thinking about. It's a middle-aged thing. You know, I'm in my 40s now. I totally get it. You know, I'm seeing the end, basically. But I just love that so much for right now. That idea that we're all playing a role, and the more that I can make a little bit of a mark— and I don't have enough— I have a big ego, but not a big enough one to think I'm going to change the world. But just some little piece that I can affect, uh, it's making all the difference. It did.
Thank you so much, man. Really appreciate you coming on. Uh, the last question I have before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find you online?
So if you look at @Kmore, K-M-O-R-E, on almost anything, you'll find me. Uh, I join every platform. I like to test things out. I like to try things. I I like to see what's going on. So that you can search for that and almost always get me. But most of the time I write on Medium is my sort of public non-work version of those things. And Twitter. Twitter is still my absolute favorite way to connect and see what people are doing.
Perfect, man. Thank you so much again for coming on. We appreciate it.
No problem at all, man. Thanks for having me. The podcast you just heard was recorded with Anchor. If you want to make your own, download the Android or iOS app completely free from anchor.fm/podcast. That's anchor.fm/podcast.
