A guest on Millennial Masters this week said something that stuck with me.
James Fleming told me: “People go on these leadership programmes, get a nice certificate, go back to work on Monday… and nothing’s changed.”
He’s right. We don’t learn because someone tells us what to do, we learn when a story makes us see something new.
That’s been on my mind all week because it’s exactly why I started Millennial Masters.
I want to know how people got there: the choices, the doubts, the contradictions and the parts they don’t usually talk about.
When someone shares their story, you start to understand the world through experience, and that’s what actually changes people.
Here’s why stories teach you what self-help never can. 👇🏻
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Stories change behaviour
When I interview founders, I usually ask which books shaped them. The answers aren’t what you’d expect.
More often they mention a biography or a novel, with stories about people who failed, adapted, and found their way through chaos.
Joshua Western told me he’s read the standard founder canon and found most of it “s**t.” What inspires him are autobiographies and political biographies that reveal character and context.
Jack Good said biographies let him “live that person’s life and think their thoughts,” which is why he reaches for Jobs, Musk, even House of Gucci.
Liam White pointed to Shoe Dog. It is the Nike brand story, but also a collection of hard realities. You come away with a feel for cash crunches and bets that nearly broke the company, which is what most advice glides past.
Oliver Yonchev traced a pivotal spark to the Innocent founders’ story. That book gave him a model for purpose and product that he could test against his own decisions.
William Stokes listens to founder memoirs and life stories on long drives. He mentioned Matthew McConaughey’s book, where the actor shares life lessons and stories from his journey.
Founders keep coming back to the same truth: stories make things real.
Fiction sharpens judgement
Fiction kept coming up in my interviews with Millennial Masters, often with a quiet confidence.
Yehong Zhu recommends it to founders who want more original ideas, alongside timeless Stoic wisdom from Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus.
Rob Smith keeps The Obstacle Is the Way on his shelf for the narrative of setbacks turning into strength.
Andrew Steele drew a personal thesis from Steinbeck’s East of Eden about giving yourself permission to try.
Tom Wallace-Smith said NASA scientists were starstruck by the Star Trek writers because storytelling can frame high-stakes ideas better than a technical brief.
Archie Mackintosh ends his day with stories that switch his brain off; not business, just human stuff.
Ryan Carruthers admitted he used to comb Wikipedia biographies of entrepreneurs to see how they started. Most origin stories were messy. That observation alone reduces the shame of imperfect beginnings.
The real education is in stories
That is why Millennial Masters focuses on journeys. You learn more from the choices, doubts and contradictions than from any tidy framework.
If you want to learn like the people I interview, start collecting stories.
Read biographies that show what decisions cost. Listen to founder podcasts that don’t skip the messy bits. Queue an audiobook that lets you sit inside someone else’s head for a few hours.
Stories stay with you because they make knowledge feel real. They shape how you see and decide, and over time, they turn information into understanding.
More insights from Millennial Masters:
Yes stories and practical application are the only ways we really change
Stories change behavior because they connect the dots advice skips.