Make Me Care

I got a lump in my throat the other day when I read my son the classic picture book, The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein. The book was published in 1964 and I enjoyed it when I was a child. It is a beautiful story about a tree who loves a boy so much that she gives him everything she has. Her apples, her branches, and eventually even her trunk. Though she is left only a stump by the end of the story, the tree is happy because she made the boy happy. She is like a loving mother with her child.

My emotional response to this story brought me back to something I learned in a course at Georgetown University in 2014, called, “Business Storytelling and Brand Development.” The professor had us watch a series of YouTube video ads from companies like Chipotle, Coca Cola, and Ford Motor Company. The ads were all well produced. Some were funny. Others were thought-provoking. One was even a bit of a tear-jerker.

After we watched the last video, the professor asked for our thoughts. The class responses varied from “excellent video production” to “cute CGI,” and “great storytelling.” All true, but the professor was looking for something else. How did the ads make us feel? Our answers were again across the board – happy, sad, angry, inspired.

My professor then said something that has resonated with me ever since, “Make me care.” She paused and said, “The ads succeeded because they made you care.”

At the time, it was like a light went off inside my head. Make me care. Yes! Every book, movie, or story I’ve loved had this common element. Sometimes it was the character or historical figure who was so compelling that they made the story. Think, The Catcher in the Rye, The Shawshank Redemption, or Better Call Saul. In other cases, it was a grand epic, like Game of Thrones, filled with heroic characters. But whether the stories were character or plot driven, they touched me. They made me think. They made me care.

Reading The Giving Tree as an adult touched me in a way I was not expecting. It helped me to relate to my family in a deeper way. The tree could be my own mother, my wife, or my sister, all of whom would give everything for their children.

The goal of this blog is to make you care. To inspire you as the people I will write about have inspired me.

Stories help us understand and enjoy the mysteries of life. They stay with us. They speak to the heart. Stories remind us to care. And, in the words of Rabbi Harold Kushner, “Caring about others, running the risk of feeling, and leaving an impact on people, brings happiness.”

The world feels heartbreakingly divided at times. Just turn on cable news. Or read your Facebook feed. Perhaps, though, we are not as divided as it seems. We are all trying to figure this thing out. This world of ours desperately needs more people who seek a better understanding of each other, who spread kindness, who make a positive impact through caring for others.

The goal of this blog is to make you care. To inspire you as the people I will write about have inspired me. By reading about people who have touched me on a deeper level, I hope you will remember people who have enriched your

life. Maybe a historical figure. Or maybe a parent, a grandparent, or a friend. We don’t need to look far to find inspiration. Everyone has a good story to tell. If we listen, we will learn from them.

I don’t know exactly where this blog will go or what form it will end up taking. My guess is that it will change over time. This is an exercise. But whether my audience is one person (Thanks, Mom) or a million, I want to write. I want to tell good stories. And, hopefully, my stories will make you care.