Category: 
December 3, 2008
Over the years, I have spent a good amount of my time researching stories that offer listeners something more than simply a clever plot. They hint at a direction, or perhaps a meaningful message. They might even include a moral. It does not really matter what name you give to this elusive quality. To me, the significance is that the stories I tell have it. I call them inspirational stories. Click this link for more.
A listener can chew on the messages of inspirational stories. They can mull it over long after they heard the story. It gives them something that points them a bit closer to their “true north.”
Go to the “Listen” page of my website. There are a number of story samples where you are liable to find some meaningful direction. And you are likely to find the inspirational stories sticking in your mind. In fact, the inspirational stories I tell even inspire me!
In this fast moving, complex world, we all need a bit of “inner” direction to guide us as we move down the highway of life. The twists and turns can be dizzying and confounding. To help us stay on the road, inspirational stories can guide us. It is like having your very own GPS. You can find plenty of inspirational stories in all of my recordings. Check them out! Humor stories
Horaayy..there are 56 comment(s) for me so far ;)
Cool.
Blog was awesome. Your blog is really packed with great information.
I will visit this site again.
Dave Barry. Mark Russell. Russell Baker. Check out the humorists of history. Mark Twain Ogden Nash.
Thanks a million for the post.
This is a place I will bookmark.
I could have used this info a while ago. Good.
Something that the listener can relate to. Maybe there is a message. It might give the listener a suggestion of a new direction. It might even state a moral. The name one might give to this ephemeral quality is not as important as the fact that the stories I tell actually possess it.
Think of all the pleasurable hours an entire CD of stories can provide. Imagine the trip around the world your progeny can take on the wings of a story!
My “Recordings” page on this website lists three story CDs. Fables in Four Minutes is a collection of ten stories, each one representing a different storytelling genre. For listeners who want to take a virtual trip around the world, World Full of Stories makes a unique present. Parking in Manhattan, my latest project, represents a compendium of hilarious urban folktales, all of them sounding as though they really happened! To purchase my CDs, just follow the directions on the “Recordings” page to place your order.
When I was a kid, I often heard the word “nifty” in reference to things like fancy cars and outrageous fashion. It was a word that meant a variety of things, all of them good and attractive. As I grew older I heard the word being used in a wider range of topics: a nifty song, a nifty concert, a nifty evening out. Later still, it cropped up in conversations about more “cultural” experiences: nifty books, nifty poems, and nifty stories.
The word seemed allusively defined, yet attractively so.
Many Thanks.
Great post.
Storytellers all. Priceless humor their brush.
Priceless humor. what makes it priceless? The answer is simple. Priceless humor involves situations which most of us have experienced.
Which one gives you more freedom to choose your own message? My personal penchant is for finding my own lessons when I listen to a story. Check out my World Full of Stories and Fables in Four Minutes CDs for some examples of nifty stories with more subtle lessons.
Nifty stories edify. Nifty stories are memorable. Nifty stories travel beyond the culture from which they originate.
Keep it coming.
Fairy tales also live in the world of folktales. Stories about magic and mystery were apt outlets for questioning minds of preliterate villagers. Many folktales were cautionary tales with lessons for avoiding catastrophe. Do not go into the deep, dark woods! Steer clear of wild beasts! Do not talk to strangers! On the other hand, reward and happy endings comprise many folktales. Good is eternally pitted against evil.
Rockin blog. Very great.
As you know, laughter lightens the heart. Laughter takes the sting out of life. And as long as we are laughing at the foibles of others (and not ourselves) we find those situations funny. This is priceless humor.
Look around you at the great humorists.
Very fine. I will be sure to remember this place.
I keep lots of memories from the days when I was a young parent. Not only those high points, but those exasperating moments as well. One of them involves purchasing gifts for my children. Holiday gifts. Birthday gifts.
Why seek out inspirational stories? For one thing, we experience a deluge of information and news on a daily basis. Second, the lives we live give us no breathing space to reflect. In the absence of time and reflection, we have precious little available insight to bring to current affairs. Here is the place for inspirational stories. Inspirational stories give listeners something to chew on.
This was a great post. I was looking for thie very stuff last month.
I really like this blog. I liked reading this blog.
As I grew older I heard the word being used in a wider range of topics: a nifty song, a nifty concert, a nifty evening out. Even later, the word took on a more cultured definition in reference to poems, books, and, of course, nifty stories.
The word seemed allusively defined, yet attractively so. Still, I did not really define the word until I found myself using it to refer to the stories I tell to audiences and on recordings. Actually, it was a listener who called my material “nifty stories,” and that comment sent me to the books.
It teaches by example. However, the lessons in many other stories may not be as obvious. The characters may act out the meaning of the story. Listeners are left to figure out the message for themselves. And different listeners will carry away different messages.
Your writing is great.
Keep the good blogging coming.
Something that will last far beyond the moment of giving. One great gift I have found is a memorable story. And it is appropriate for all ages, children included. A CD full of stories will provide hours of pleasure. Imagine the trip around the world your progeny can take on the wings of a story!
You can find three CDs listed on the “Recordings” page of my website.
” Something that gives us perspective.
Care for some inspiration? You can find inspirational stories and more at http://www. jaystetzer. com. Go to the “Listen” page on the site and you will surely discover a number of stories with relevant messages.
great info.
As a child I found deep meaning in inspirational stories. I heard similar stories from my mother and my grandfather. Once in a while, a teacher would tell a story that held profound meaning to me. I was surprised to find how memorable those stories were. The messages stuck in the memory, too.
Great stuff.
Keep up the good work.
This was helpful stuff. Blog more soon.
Check out “Rock Soup” or “Herschel in the Woods” from my CD Fables in Four Minutes. My CD World Full of Stories has many examples a listener can enjoy. These are just a few examples of priceless humor. These stories will stick with you long after you heard them. You can find priceless humor and more at http://www.
Good and evil are eternal foes. The Golden Rule reigns supreme. No matter what the genre, a good world story brings meaning to the contemporary world as well. And that brings us to storytelling today. Contemporary society is far removed from rural villages of old, but the old stories still remain pertinent.
Other world stories are mysterious. Many world stories are full of insight. Often world stories are enigmatic. Generally world stories contain lessons. All world stories entertain.
World stories spread as the culture grows.
One of the great benefits of my travels around the world is the wellspring of world stories I have found in each country I have visited. And each time I visit another country I have the opportunity to learn a bit about it. Customs and rituals. Geography and daily habits.
And as long as we are laughing at the foibles of others (and not ourselves) we find those situations funny. This is priceless humor.
Look around you at the great humorists. Art Buchwald. George Carlin.
Look at history and the humorists that litter the pages. Mark Twain Ogden Nash. Storytellers all. Painting scenes with priceless humor.
What makes priceless humor? The answer is simple.
I grew up with the word “nifty” as a standard descriptor in my vocabulary. It alluded to the uniqueness and stylishness of the subject being described. As time passed, I heard the word used in a wider range of conversations, including nifty evenings out, nifty concerts, and nifty songs. Later still, it cropped up in conversations about more “cultural” experiences: nifty books, nifty poems, and nifty stories.
Whenever I heard the word I assumed it meant something good, something attractive.
More helpful information.
This was helpful stuff.
Totally cool.
I quickly realized that a good gift is hard to find. A meaningful gift is even harder to find. And whenever I succeeded in finding a gift that I regarded as special, I treasured it. And I anticipated that my children would do the same.
I am now a grandparent.
Love this post.
It was a word that meant a variety of things, all of them good and attractive. As I grew older I heard the word being used in a wider range of topics: a nifty song, a nifty concert, a nifty evening out. Later still, it cropped up in conversations about more “cultural” experiences: nifty books, nifty poems, and nifty stories.
Whenever I heard the word I assumed it meant something good, something attractive. However, it was only when I found myself using the word in my description of my own stories that I needed to define it.
Gifts for birthdays. Those occasional gifts rewarding good behavior. I would search high and low for something meaningful, something unique. Most of the time it was rough going. It did not take very long to realize that a good gift is rare gift.
I love this blog.
Helpful blog info. This is a great blog dude.
And it is appropriate for all ages, children included. Think of all the pleasurable hours an entire CD of stories can provide. Imagine the trip around the world your progeny can take on the wings of a story!
You can find three CDs listed on the “Recordings” page of my website. Fables in Four Minutes is a collection of ten stories, each one representing a different storytelling genre. For listeners who want to take a virtual trip around the world, World Full of Stories makes a unique present.
Where was this site when I needed it?
I needed this site last month.
I am always on the lookout for stories that bring something more to listeners than a clever twist of plot. Something that the listener can relate to. Maybe there is a message. Perhaps it gives a hint of direction. There could even be an outright moral.
Many folktales were cautionary tales with lessons for avoiding catastrophe. Do not go into the deep, dark woods! Steer clear of wild beasts! Do not talk to strangers! On the other hand, reward and happy endings comprise many folktales. Good and evil are eternal foes. The Golden Rule reigns supreme. Regardless of genre, any worthy world story can be applied to contemporary life.
Later still, it cropped up in conversations about more “cultural” experiences: nifty books, nifty poems, and nifty stories.
The word seemed allusively defined, yet attractively so. Still, I did not really define the word until I found myself using it to refer to the stories I tell to audiences and on recordings. Actually, I hit the books when a listener said my stories were nifty. The current Wiktionary defines the word as “good; a general term for anything that is good, useful or beneficial.