Good Day Brewers - Pang here! ☕

Before we get into today’s story…

I’ve got something to share I thought you might be interested in.

I got to know Howie last December and recently, he left his 9-5 job which brings in a 6-figure income.

Why?

Because he’s someone who believes in having the freedom to spend quality time with his family.

“The first 10 years of seeing my boy grow up is the most precious to me.”

Right now, he’s teaching aspiring entrepreneurs like you to scale your one-man business through SYSTEMS, without having to compromise time spent with your loved ones.

Join the road to freedom 👇

Have you caught the latest Mission Impossible movie?

This series is one of my favorites.

Ethan Hunt takes on the impossible mission AGAIN together with his team time and again.

⚠️ WARNING: Spoilers alert

If you haven’t watched the movie and HATE spoilers, please come back when you’ve watched that show! I’ll see you next week! 😉

Estimated reading time: 1,770 words — 7 mins 26 secs

Ticking Time Bomb

A month ago, I had a short vacation trip with my dad to Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Of course, we caught a movie together as the father and son duo who enjoy action movies.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning.

We were seated right in the center of the movie theater—the best spot to catch all the action.

This scene came up.

Ethan was at the airport weaving in and out to avoid being caught by government agents who were after him.

He was there tracking the buyer who would be holding the second key.

Why so?

Because both keys are important.

They are rumored to hold the power to unlock the original source code of The Entity.

What is The Entity?

It is an advanced, self-aware rogue AI capable of penetrating cyber-security and predicting probable futures.

So can you imagine, whoever controls the entity holds control of the world?

With the help of his friend, Luther, who is a computer specialist, they were able to locate the buyer.

However, Ethan noticed that the buyer was pickpocketed by another lady called Grace.

Ethan runs after Grace and confronted her.

Now, here’s where it gets exciting.

In the middle of all this action, another scene shows up at the same time.

Benji, who’s also working on this mission noticed a suspicious baggage. which is on its way to Venice together with the buyer.

He rushes to the baggage deposit section of the airport and with Luther’s help, was able to find the suspicious baggage moving across the conveyor belt.

As he unzipped the baggage, it contains what appears to be a NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVE.

As he puts his hands on the device, it’s activated.

Tik Tok. Tik Tok.

Benji: Looks like we’ve got 5 minutes. It appears to be nuclear.

Luther: How big is it?

Benji: Big enough to massacre everyone in this airport.

Luther: Can you disarm it?

Benji: Well, I’m going to need tools. Where am I going to find…

Benji started running to the conveyor belt and flipping open random luggages looking for tools.

My heart was racing at this point.

My palms were sweating in the middle of all this crazy action.

Adrenaline was pumping through my veins.

Will Benji be able to disarm this nuclear explosive?

• 5 minutes will go by in a blink of an eye

• Will he even be able to find any tools to help him?

• Will he be able to diffuse the bomb in time? Or will the whole airport go up into ashes?

Benji finally found a scissors in one of the baggage.

He used it to pry open the cylinder.

But it gets crazier.

To his horror, a cylinder cipher pops up from the side.

Benji: There are 8 wheels. 14 letters on each wheel.

Luther: 1.5 million possible combinations.

Yup. You guys are fucked! That’s what I thought!

Benji: Oh my god! The wheels. They spell out a message! U.R.DUNN!

Dunn is the last name of Benji.

Somehow whoever placed the cylinder there knows Benji.

They know Benji would be the one to find it.

You wouldn’t believe what happens next.

Benji: Hold on, there’s a message on the display.

Cylinder: I speak without a mask. I fly through the air without wings. What am I?

A riddle pops up out of nowhere.

Benji is feeling the heat. What if he fails to answer this?

Benji: An Echo!

He got it right this time.

But another question pops up.

Cylinder: Are you afraid of death?

Benji: What kind of riddle is that?

Luther: It’s not a riddle. It’s a psychometric test. The more questions you answer, the more it knows about you!

Benji: Are you afraid of death? NO!

Cylinder: BEEP BEEP BEEP. Error.

Luther: Did it work?

Benji: I LIED! IT KNOWS!

Benji’s forehead is already drenched in sweat.

Benji: Okay FINE! FINE! YES! I’M AFRAID OF DEATH!

You thought that would be the end.

But no.

Cylinder: What is always approaching, but never arrives?

Luther: Wait wait, I know this one!

Benji: We’re running out of time.

1 minute 59 seconds left on the clock.

Tik Tok. Tik Tok.

Luther: Ethan! Sorry to bother you. Would you happen to know what’s always approaching but never arrives?

Ethan: What’s always approaching but never arrives?

Now at this point, Ethan and Grace were working together to return the stolen key back into the buyer’s pocket to prevent suspicion.

Grace: Tomorrow.

Ethan: What!?

Grace: Always approaching but never arrives? Tomorrow!

Benji quickly gave the answer to this monster cylinder.

Was it the end?

Nope. Another question pops up again.

Cylinder: Who or what is the most important thing to you?

Luther: Say it! You have no other choice! SAY IT!

Benji: My friends!

Cylinder: What gets bigger the more you take away?

Luther: A hole!

Benji: Okay a hole!

The 2nd last wheel on the cylinder spins.

Benji: Okay! I’ve got no more questions but there's one more wheel! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT TO DO!?

Luther: That must be your final test!

Benji: I’VE GOT 45 MORE SECONDS!

This is about as intense as the movie gets. My hands were clenched into a fist. My palms were sweating.

Will the nuclear explode?

Ethan and Grace were still trying to escape the government agents who were hunting for them.

Ethan: We’re pinned down. We need a way out of here. Where am I going?

Luther: Listen. We’ve got a bigger problem, Ethan. It’s very possible that no one is getting out of here.

Ethan: WHAT? Why didn’t you tell me this?

Benji: Well, you had a lot going on. We didn’t want to bother you!

Ethan: Listen to me. A nuclear bomb is something you bother me with. How much time?

Is Ethan going to save the day again?

Benji: We’ve got 20 more seconds. 15 more. By the time I explain this, we’re all going to be dead. WHY DO WE ALWAYS END UP IN THESE SITUATIONS?

Benji was counting down.

10 seconds.

9…

8…

7…

6…

5…

Just at this moment, Benji spotted the 8 letters at the bottom.

G. O. O. D. L. U. C.

Guess what the last letter was?

4…

3…

Benji quickly rolls the cylinder down to K.

The Cylinder activates and unlocks.

Benji: Oh my god!

Ethan: What?

Benji: It’s empty!

Yes! We all got tricked!

What an insane roller coaster right it has been.

• Sitting in a comfy chair

• In front of a screen that’s 72 feet wide and 92 feet tall

• With Dolby’s incredible audio that puts me right in the middle of all this action

That’s some incredible storytelling action right there.

Now you may be thinking:

Well, it’s just a movie. It doesn’t work like that in real life!

But I thought a little deeper and realized that life is very much like a ticking time bomb.

Sure, you may argue that the scale isn’t in minutes or seconds, that’s why there’s no urgency.

But have you ever thought about the days passing by? 28,835 days. That’s our average lifespan.

Are you squandering that away?

Relatable Moments

A nuclear explosive that’s about to blow isn’t exactly relatable.

But you know what is?

• Having to deal with tight deadlines

• Panicky moments when things don’t go as planned

• Conflicts arising in the least expected ways

Free storytelling lessons.

The best lessons out there are FREE.

Well, not exactly.

To get the best out of these lessons, you need one thing.

Mindfulnness.

When we paid for the movie tickets, we wanted to be entertained by this action-packed film.

But with just a little mindfulness, I’m able to break down this film into something more.

Into something powerful that filmmakers tap into to make their movies irresistible.

You can’t resist finding out what happens next, can you?

The use of Stakes

Did you notice how stakes are being used in this scene?

It started in the middle of the action.

Ethan was trying to locate the buyer, only to find him pickpocketed by Grace.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

Here’s how many times you were bombarded with stake bombs:

Benji noticed suspicious baggage.

But Ethan was already on the buyer. So Benji had to be the one handling this.

Stake 1: What’s in the baggage?

With the help of Luther, Benji located the baggage.

But when he opened it, he was shocked to see a nuclear explosive.

Stake 2: How will he handle the explosive?

It gets worse.

A timer is activated when he laid his hands on it.

5 minutes is all he’s got.

Stake 3: Will the timer countdown to zero?

Right now, Benji could not even activate it.

He needs to find a tool to help him with this.

So he rummaged through the baggage on the conveyor belt.

Stake 4: Will he find the tool he needs?

He found a pair of scissors and was able to activate the cylinder.

But a compartment pops out.

8 wheels. 14 letters on each wheel.

Stake 5: Will he solve this puzzle?

Subsequently, he was bombarded with a bunch of riddles.

But the time was still ticking.

Down to the very last second.

Every riddle he solved brought the timer close to ZERO.

Stake 6: Will the nuclear go off?

He managed to resolve it.

That’s how that scene ended with adrenaline pumping through my veins.

I felt like I was at the edge of my seat on a roller coaster ride.

How to apply STAKES?

Bombard your readers with a ton of questions.

With everyone line you’ve written, ask yourself this question:

Why should my readers care?

What’s at stake for me that would keep my readers curious to find out what happens next?

What’s it going to COST ME if that “bomb” goes off?

• Am I going to lose my family or a loved one?

• Are things going to go missing?

• Am I going to get lost and die in that jungle?

If there’s more for you to lose, there’s more excitement for your audience to read on to find out how it ends!

Can you craft a similar story?

Not exactly.

There’s a reason this show is called Mission Impossible.

We don’t live our lives on the edge like Ethan and his friends do.

But there are plenty of moments we’ve experienced in life where we risk losing

• Something precious

• Something valuable

• Something meaningful to you

Talk about them.

Go into detail to explain in your story what matters to you and why those matters.

Intrigue your audience.

Make them curious to find out how it ends!

That’s it for this one!

Hope you enjoyed being put in the middle of all this action!

I’ll see you next week!

Your Barista,

Pang

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