Vishen LakhianiFounder of Mindvalley | NYT Bestselling Author | Transforming Lives Globally

Three decades later, the story is the thing that stayed

22 Jun 2026 · 2 min

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1:33

In this short talk, Vishen Lakhiani recounts a vivid memory from third grade when his teacher, Mr. Kulchinsky, used a personal accident story—a pin in his leg after a reckless drive—to instantly capture the class’s attention and compel them to obey. Lakhiani uses the anecdote to illustrate a broader principle: stories are the most effective vehicle for making information stick, influencing behavior, and even transforming people. He argues that when speakers, teachers, or content creators embed memorable narratives, the audience retains the message for decades. The talk ends with a direct call‑to‑action, inviting viewers to comment the word “unforgettable” to receive further resources on mastering story‑driven communication.

Chapters

In grade 3, my teacher told me a story that stuck with me for more than 30 years, and here's why that matters. When you speak, when you teach, when you record a video, the idea is to leave information with people and have them retain it, maybe even transform them. And that's what Mr. Kulchinsky did. He used to sit sometimes with his feet up on the desk. And one day I decided, as a little bit of a rebel, to stir up a rebellion. I made sure that all the students put their feet up on the desk so that when he walked in, he would see us. He walked in and I expected him to get mad. Teachers get mad sometimes, don't they? But instead, he didn't do a thing. He just started telling us a story about the night that he went on a date after just getting his driver's license. And the date went really well and the girl gave him a kiss and then he was driving home and he went too fast. And then the car started spinning and then the sign disappeared and then the bush disappeared and then he saw a big tree and the whole world disappeared and he woke up with a broken leg bleeding and an ambulance take him to the hospital. When they got to the hospital, he told us, when he got there, they had to, they had to put a pin in his leg to try and repair it, but they didn't know how tall he was going to get. So they, they guessed he was going to get taller than he would. And so when they put the pin in, they put the wrong size. And what he said to us was, the reason that I put my foot up on the desk is that the pin in my leg hurts. And so if any of you have a pin in your leg, you can leave your foot on the desk. Otherwise, you'll take your feet down right now. And we all did. Not only did we do what he asked us to do happily, but I remember the story over 3 decades later. If you want to learn how to tell stories that really transform people and stick with them and are unforgettable, put unforgettable in the comments and I'll send you the information.