155 How Visualization Fuels Homemade Stories Host Shannon Cason

Shannon Cason is a writer and storyteller. He’s told stories on stages across the U.S. and has been featured on such top storytelling shows as The Moth and Snap Judgment. He’s also host and executive producer of WBEZ’s Homemade Stories - a collection of fiction and non-fiction stories with unique commentary. When you hear Shannon, you get a sense he’s just naturally mindful, lives in the moment, and likely doesn’t stress out too much. At least that’s my take.

Contact Info

• Website: www.ShannonCason.com (Signup for my newsletter)
• Podcast: Homemade Stories

Most Influential Person

• Easy Rawlins (Ezekiel "Easy" Porterhouse Rawlins is a fictional character created by mystery author Walter Mosley. Rawlins is an African-American private investigator, a hard-boiled detective and World War II veteran living in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. - from Wikipedia)

Effect on Emotions

• I have more control over my emotions. More lucid to think before I act.

Thoughts on Breathing

• I have to control my breathing because I do breathe hard and I've noticed that I control my breathing more. I do breathing exercises but I can't get into them. My wife will tell me, why are you breathing like that, so I am mindful about how I breathe.

Suggested Resources

• Book: by Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Steven Covey
• App: Google Calendar and my physical To-Do List

Advice for Newbie

I would ask them, "is what you're doing working?" Maybe you need to do a little less. Maybe you need to be mindful of all these things you're trying to accomplish; where is it going? A lot of times you can be so busy doing a bunch of stuff, but then where's all this stuff going? I used to work with people like that. Why are they that busy? Are they just trying to look busy? Putting the rubber to the road is the more important thing. Sometimes it doesn't take as much as you might think it might take. Be mindful of your plan and your strategy to get there.