Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

by Donald Miller

A philosophical problem can best be talked about using terms like ought and shouldn’t. “Bad people shouldn’t be allowed to win” or “People ought to be treated fairly.” In the movie The King’s Speech, the external problem is King George’s stutter. This external problem manifests the internal frustration and self-doubt the king struggles with. He simply doesn’t believe he has what it takes to lead his country. Philosophically, though, the stakes are much greater. Because the king must unify his people against the Nazis, the story takes on the philosophical problem of good versus evil. In Jerry Maguire, the philosophical question revolves around whether people are worth more than the money they can bring in. Romeo and Juliet asks whether romantic love is more important than family squabbles and tribal unrest.