The Secret to Great Storytelling - Why Your Croissant Crisis Matters

Why Storytelling is the Ultimate Superpower

Let’s be real—attention spans today are about as stable as a Jenga tower in an earthquake. You have a tiny window—mere seconds—to hook someone before they swipe, scroll, or get distracted by a dog video that’s objectively more engaging than you.

That’s where storytelling comes in.

More Than Entertainment—It’s About Connection

Good storytelling doesn’t just entertain people—it makes them care. It transforms passive listeners into invested participants. It’s the difference between someone absentmindedly scrolling past your content and them stopping everything to share it with a “Dude, you have to hear this.”

Think about it:

• The best TED Talks? They don’t just throw data at you—they tell stories.
• Viral YouTube videos? They don’t just show things happening—they create narratives.
• Great sales pitches? They don’t just sell a product—they make you feel like you’re part of something bigger.

Why Storytelling Gives You an Edge in Any Field

It doesn’t matter if you’re a creator, entrepreneur, marketer, or just the person who wants to be the most interesting one at the dinner table—storytelling is your cheat code for influence.

• In Business → You can have the best product in the world, but if your story is boring, nobody cares.
• On Social Media → Algorithms reward engagement, and engagement happens when people are emotionally hooked.
• In Everyday Life → Want to be the person who captivates the room instead of making people check their phones? Storytelling is the answer.

The Power of a Well-Told Story

A well-told story does three things:

1. Grabs Attention – It makes people lean in.
2. Creates Emotional Investment – People feel something, even if it’s just FOMO for your croissant crisis.
3. Becomes Shareable – If it’s good, people spread it for you.

So whether you’re writing an ad, giving a speech, posting a tweet, or just trying to impress someone on a first date—mastering storytelling is non-negotiable.

Because the world doesn’t remember facts—it remembers stories.

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Aaron Sorkin’s Golden Rule: Intention & Obstacle

Aaron Sorkin, the genius behind The Social Network and The West Wing, could give you an hours-long masterclass on storytelling. But instead, he boils it down to one simple, ironclad rule:

"I worship at the altar of Intention and Obstacle."

That’s it. That’s the framework. No overcomplicated theories, no abstract writing advice—just two simple questions every great story must answer:

1. What does the hero want? (Intention)
2. What’s standing in their way? (Obstacle)

If both aren’t clear? Congratulations, you’ve just created a boring story—one that will lose your audience faster than a low-budget Netflix original.

Why This Rule is a Game-Changer

Every great story, whether it’s an Oscar-winning film or a random viral tweet, thrives on tension.

• If the intention isn’t clear, the audience doesn’t know what to root for.
• If there’s no obstacle, there’s no struggle—just a series of unremarkable events.

And unremarkable events? They kill engagement.

Let’s break this down using some well-known examples:

📖 Harry Potter → Intention: Wants to live. Obstacle: Voldemort wants him dead.
💊 The Matrix → Intention: Neo wants to discover the truth. Obstacle: The machines want to keep him trapped in the illusion.
🚬 Breaking Bad → Intention: Walter White wants to provide for his family. Obstacle: Cancer, crime, and the cartel stand in his way.
🥐 Your Life Right Now → Intention: You want a croissant. Obstacle: The bakery is closed.

Same principle, whether it’s a billion-dollar franchise or your very real pastry-related frustration.

How to Apply This Rule in Your Own Storytelling

Next time you’re crafting a story—whether it’s a speech, a blog post, or a caption for your latest Instagram pic—run it through the Sorkin Test:

✅ Does my character (even if it’s me) have a clear goal?
✅ Is something actively stopping them from achieving it?

If the answer to either is no, go back and add tension. No one cares about smooth sailing—they care about the struggle.

At its core, storytelling is conflict. And Sorkin’s rule ensures that every story you tell has enough of it to keep people hooked.

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Breaking It Down: From Harry Potter to Your Morning Pastry

Let’s get one thing straight—a good story doesn’t need dragons, meth labs, or life-or-death stakes to be compelling. It just needs clear intention and a juicy obstacle standing in the way.

Let’s put this theory to the test with some famous (and not-so-famous) examples:

Epic-Level Stakes

📖 Harry Potter → Intention: Wants to live. Obstacle: Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard in history, is actively trying to kill him.

💰 Breaking Bad → Intention: Walter White wants to provide for his family. Obstacle: Terminal cancer, a ruthless drug empire, and a growing list of enemies stand in his way.

Everyday-Level Stakes (That Are Weirdly Just as Engaging)

🥐 Your Life Right Now → Intention: You want a croissant. Obstacle: The bakery is closed, and now you’re spiraling into a personal crisis over whether to settle for gas station pastries or embark on a city-wide pastry quest.

See the pattern?

The difference between a blockbuster narrative and an everyday frustration isn’t the size of the stakes—it’s how the story is told.

Why Small Struggles Make Big Stories

You don’t need to fight Voldemort or run a drug empire to create a compelling story. Some of the most viral, memorable, and downright hilarious stories come from tiny, absurd obstacles—because they’re relatable.

Think about it:

• Seinfeld made a show about nothing—and it became one of the greatest sitcoms of all time.
• John Mulaney can turn ordering McDonald’s into a 20-minute comedy special.
• Your friend’s ridiculous travel nightmare is always more entertaining than a movie plot.

Why? Because every single person on Earth has dealt with annoying, minor inconveniences—and when told well, those stories hit.

How to Elevate the Mundane into the Hilarious

If you want to make your stories more engaging—even when they’re about something as simple as a bakery betrayal—lean into these elements:

1. Exaggerate the urgency → "I NEEDED that croissant like my life depended on it."
2. Describe the frustration in dramatic detail → "The bakery was closed. My soul left my body. This was an act of war."
3. Build the tension → "I checked another bakery. Also closed. Was I cursed? Had croissants been outlawed overnight?"
4. Give the payoff a twist → "In the end, I found one—at a gas station. It tasted like disappointment and crushed dreams, but I ate it anyway."

Every story needs an obstacle. And sometimes, the best ones come from the smallest, dumbest, most ridiculous hurdles.

Because if people can feel your pain over a croissant, you’ve mastered storytelling.

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Why Small Struggles Make the Best Stories

If you think a good story requires dragons, betrayals, and high-speed chases, I’ve got news for you: some of the best stories come from everyday annoyances.

That’s right—your WiFi cutting out during a Zoom call, the longest Starbucks line in human history, or that one sock that disappears in the dryer? All storytelling gold.

Why? Because:

1. We’ve All Been There

Not everyone has faced Voldemort in a duel, but everyone has experienced the soul-crushing disappointment of an out-of-stock favorite snack.

• The croissant you wanted? Gone.
• The Uber driver canceled? Tragic.
• You’re stuck behind someone paying in coins at checkout? Time slows to a crawl.

These micro-tragedies are universal experiences, which means they hook your audience instantly.

2. The Pettier the Struggle, the Funnier the Story

There’s a weird storytelling paradox: the smaller the stakes, the more dramatic you can make them.

Picture this:

• You tell a story about losing your passport while traveling—people feel bad for you.
• You tell a story about dropping your burrito the second you unwrap it—people laugh.

Tiny inconveniences become hilarious when exaggerated. Add some over-the-top frustration, and suddenly, you’ve got comedy gold.

("I locked eyes with my fallen burrito like a soldier who just lost a comrade in battle.")

3. Small Struggles Make You More Likable

Nobody enjoys hearing someone flex about their huge successes ("So I was just casually closing a $10M deal…").

But tell people a self-deprecating story about the time you tripped over your own shoelaces in front of your boss?
✅ Relatable
✅ Endearing
✅ Instant audience connection

Humor humanizes you. The best storytellers don’t just entertain—they make their audience think, “Yep, that’s totally happened to me.”

Turn Your Mild Inconveniences Into Storytelling Gold

Next time life hits you with a minor inconvenience, don’t just complain—turn it into a story:

✔ Exaggerate the drama → "I stood in line for coffee so long, I started questioning my existence."
✔ Build the tension → "I finally got to the front… and they spelled my name ‘Cthulhu.’"
✔ Deliver a relatable payoff → "Did I correct them? Of course not. I AM Cthulhu now."

Because at the end of the day, small struggles connect us all—and if you can make someone laugh about them, you win the storytelling game. 🎤

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How to Apply Intention & Obstacle to Your Own Storytelling

So, you want to tell better stories? Whether you’re writing a blog, crafting a tweet, pitching a product, or just trying to make your friends laugh, there’s one golden rule: no tension, no story.

If you’re just listing things that happened, congratulations—you’ve written a grocery list. And let’s be real, nobody has ever said, “Dude, you HAVE to check out this grocery list.”

To make sure your story actually hooks people, run it through this quick storytelling checklist:

1. Does the main character (even if it’s you) have a clear goal?

Every good story starts with intention—what does the hero want?

• Harry Potter wants to survive.
• Walter White wants to secure his family’s future.
• You just want a croissant.

If there’s no desire driving the story, there’s no reason for people to care.

2. Is something stopping them?

Without an obstacle, there’s no struggle.

• Harry’s problem? Voldemort wants him dead.
• Walter White’s problem? Cancer, crime, and the cartel.
• Your problem? The bakery is closed, and now you’re spiraling.

The obstacle doesn’t have to be life or death—it just needs to create tension.

• Bad story: “I went to the store and bought milk.”
• Good story: “I went to the store, and the last carton of milk was in the hands of a 6-year-old. A showdown ensued.”

3. Is there enough tension to make people care?

Tension is the glue that holds a story together. If your story lacks stakes, your audience will check out faster than a bad reality show.

Build tension by:
✅ Exaggerating the urgency ("I NEEDED that croissant like my life depended on it.")
✅ Milking the obstacle ("I tried another bakery. Also closed. Was this the croissant apocalypse?")
✅ Leaning into the struggle ("I considered settling for a stale gas station pastry. Have I lost all dignity?")

When the tension is strong enough, even the smallest moment can feel epic.

Turn the Mundane Into Magic

Next time you tell a story, don’t just state what happened—make people FEEL the tension.

• Not "I was late for work."
• But "I sprinted to the train, coffee in hand. One step away—doors slammed shut. My caffeine and I stared at each other in betrayal."

Because life is full of obstacles—and if you can tell them right, they’ll keep people hooked until the very last word.

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The Croissant Method: A Foolproof Storytelling Framework

If you want to tell compelling stories—whether in writing, speaking, or marketing—you need a structure that works every time. Enter The Croissant Method: a simple, repeatable framework based on Aaron Sorkin’s Intention & Obstacle rule, with a sprinkle of humor and relatability.

This method ensures that even the smallest moments (like a croissant crisis) can become binge-worthy stories.

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The Croissant Method: 5 Steps to Storytelling Success

1. The Setup (Intention) – What do you want?

• This is where your story begins.
• Establish a clear goal—what is the hero (you or someone else) trying to achieve?
• The more specific and relatable, the better.

✅ "All I wanted was a croissant. A perfect, buttery, flaky croissant."

2. The Conflict (Obstacle) – What’s stopping you?

• Every great story has something getting in the way of the goal.
• This can be big (a villain, a system, a disaster) or small (a closed bakery, a long Starbucks line, bad WiFi).
• This is where tension builds—people start caring because they can feel your struggle.

✅ "But when I arrived at the bakery… the doors were locked. Closed for renovations. My soul left my body."

3. The Escalation – How does the struggle intensify?

• Things don’t just stop at one obstacle—they get worse.
• Add layers of frustration or unexpected twists.
• This keeps people engaged and emotionally invested.

✅ "Fine. I tried another bakery. Also closed. At this point, was there a croissant shortage I wasn’t aware of? I was spiraling."

4. The Climax – The Big Moment

• This is where your turning point happens.
• It can be a resolution (you succeed) or a hilarious failure (you settle for something terrible).
• Play up the emotions—either relief, triumph, or dramatic disappointment.

✅ "Finally, I found one at a gas station. It was stale. It tasted like regret. But I ate it anyway."

5. The Payoff – Why It Matters

• Every great story ends with a lesson, realization, or punchline.
• Tie everything back to a bigger idea—even if it’s just how life is cruel and unpredictable.
• If it’s funny or relatable, even better.

✅ "Life is full of struggles. Some are big, some are small. But the ones that involve carbs? Those hit the hardest."

Why The Croissant Method Works

✔ It’s simple – Anyone can apply it.
✔ It builds tension – Keeps people hooked from start to finish.
✔ It’s adaptable – Works for tweets, speeches, blogs, stand-up comedy, and even marketing.
✔ It turns ordinary moments into engaging stories – Because relatable struggles make the best content.

Use This in Any Situation

🎤 Public Speaking: Open with a personal struggle that hooks the audience.
📖 Writing & Blogging: Use this structure to make even mundane topics engaging.
📱 Social Media: Keep it short, punchy, and relatable.
💼 Marketing & Sales: Frame your brand’s message around a problem & a solution.

Because at the end of the day—every great story needs a croissant moment. 🥐✨

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Final Thought - Every Story Needs a Croissant Moment

Not every story needs a villain twirling their mustache. Sometimes, the obstacle is as simple as a closed bakery standing between you and your much-needed croissant.

And guess what? That’s enough.

The magic of storytelling doesn’t come from how big the struggle is—it comes from how well you tell it.

A dragon blocking your path? Cool. A grandma blocking the last loaf of sourdough at the farmers’ market? Way funnier, way more relatable.

Great stories don’t need epic stakes—they need clear intention, a solid obstacle, and just enough tension to make people care.

So, what’s your croissant moment?

• That time you desperately needed coffee but the machine at work was broken?
• The day you almost made it to the gym before getting sidetracked by a “quick” Target run?
• The tense battle between you and autocorrect while trying to send an important text?

Life is full of croissant moments—tiny obstacles that, when told the right way, become legendary.

So go forth. Find yours. Make it binge-worthy. 🍞✨