Led by Millenials, an estimated 5% of Americans don’t believe we landed on the moon. That’s almost seventeen million Americans.
Until last year, I would have laughed at the ridiculousness of such a conspiracy.
How could our government possibly fake such an international event? Wouldn’t someone have caught it? Surely, such a large conspiracy would produce whistleblowers and truth tellers who would come forward and end this silly idea.
Last year I saw a documentary called “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Moon,” by Bart Sibrel.
The film dives into the details of the Apollo mission using NASA’s own data and storyline, and questions how, even with today’s technology, a moon landing could have possibly happened.
This documentary changed my view of NASA, and convinced me that the space agency isn’t being completely honest with the American public. Their story just doesn’t hold water.
That’s why stories are so important–stories make sense of the world.
In order for NASA to win me over, their story must make sense. Their facts, dates, and data must align in a way that forms a believable narrative. The astronauts supposedly called President Nixon on live television? With 1969 technology? They succeeded on landing the rover in space when they couldn’t do it with training here on Earth? They made it through the Van Allen radiation belts in 1969 but they can’t do it now? Get outta here.
NASA, because of the Van Allen radiation belts, admits they can’t escape “low Earth orbit”, 50 years later. Why? Technology has gotten worse since 1972? Really?
If the moon landing is a hoax, how did NASA fool the American people? They leveraged the fourth wall.
What’s the fourth wall?
The fourth wall is the pretend wall between the actors and the audience on the set of a play.
There are three very real walls where the action of the play takes place, but between the actors and the audience there is an invisible wall that allows the audience to suspend belief and enter into the story.
Television programs and movies work because we, the audience, joyfully suspend our belief and enter into the storyline to follow the characters as they begin their journey.
Most of what we know about the moon landing is from the video and photos that came back from the mission. Using the fourth wall, they fool us into believing their narrative.
Ask yourself, have you ever seen an astronaut do a 360 degree panoramic shot from the moon or a space walk? Do you find this odd? This is how the fourth wall works, you must gleefully join the narrative and view their missions through the fourth wall in order to believe. It’s how magic works. It’s how the wizards hypnotize you.
Government agencies however, are not the only institutions who use the fourth wall to take advantage of their audience.
Marketers, politicians, and news organizations also take advantage of our suspended animation to sell us during our moment of hypnosis.
However, when you decide to study stories, you become immune to the deception.
Storytellers know the difference between a story that makes sense and one that doesn’t. Storytellers understand the fourth wall.
What does this mean for you as a professional? As a real estate agent.
Knowing our minds are constantly putting together narratives for deeper understanding, shouldn’t we as advisors learn the craft of storytelling?
Isn’t it our job to help make sense of the complicated real estate process? To help clients understand the dynamics? Isn’t this what stories do best? To make sense of the world?
Confidence in life is everything. Real estate is no different.
Storytelling can bring confidence to your clients, and in turn build trust.
Whether you believe we went to the moon or not will not impact your day to day life, but now that you understand the fourth wall, will you ever look at NASA in the same way?
That, my friend, is the power of story.
If you’re considering a real estate career, or you’re already licensed and searching for a better way, let me encourage you to learn the art of storytelling for relationships.
Begin with a free copy of my book. Visit my website www.SalespersonToSuperhero.com to receive your copy.
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