Is your team 
Fired up, or burnt out?

Connect your organisational heroes with their true character, narrative and destiny story; and see them light up when they realise chaos, obstacles, struggles, even burnout, can be recast as a critical moment in every great story: it's what the hero does next that matters. 

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Live audiences at 'Fired Up, or Burnout?' share a palpably vulnerable experience of honest leadership as Mark shares raw behind-the-scenes moments into his own spiral into depression and burnout. 

 

With the clarity of hindsight, a new storytelling mindset, and (sleep, therapy, nutrition, exercise), it's plain  it wasn't the end of his origin to destiny story. As a teenager he'd dreamed of being a journalist. After working his way through the ranks he got his dream job as IT editor of the Australian Financial Review.

 

Now as a family man with four children and a solid marriage, his destiny story became blurry. ​​

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But in the moment of sweaty palms, racing heart and piqued cortisol - the first of many panic attacks, Mark's rational gave way to sensory overwhelm. After decades as a professional storyteller who wrote front-page news stories, shaped the narratives of blue-chip brands, and literally wrote the book on shaping brand stories to change behaviour and boost sales, his stage crumbled.

 

Burnout is cast as an almost inevitable villain in modern corporate life. The relentless pace of change in this era of AI and global polycrisis blurs and breaks predictable patterns of right and wrong, heroes and villains, origin and destiny. We're in an identity spiral where 3 in 5 of us hit rock bottom.

 

How do you help the heroes in your organisation overcome obstacles and failures?  
 

In this unforgettable keynote, Storytelling Mindset Expert and Author of the Amazon best-selling book The Story Code for Leaders, Mark Jones offers a new script for HR leaders, entrepreneurs, department heads, executives and high-performers: rewriting our inner stories, giving voice to our hero character, and rehearsing new scripts will unlock clarity, confidence and optimism for the journey ahead.

 

​Mark shares his own origin-to-destiny story that never imagined his own spiral into burnout and depression. Then how the lessons he'd learned from almost three decades as a journalist, brand storyteller and successful entrepreneur helped him create a new storytelling scaffold out of self-doubt and limiting beliefs. 

 

Drawing on his radical new take on corporate brand storytelling principles applied to individual life and leadership narratives, Mark equips audiences with practical strategies to reframe their inner voice and lead with purpose, clarity and confidence.

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What audiences learn:

• How to silence their inner critic and identify stories holding them back

• Leadership strategies for clarity, confidence, and purpose – even under pressure

• Storytelling skills to build resilience and real momentum.

 

Ideal for:

• Sales kick-off events

• Leadership and professional development events

• HR, L&D and People & Culture teams: wellbeing, mindset and performance

• Individuals and teams navigating change, burnout, or transition

• Leaders committed to unlocking the full potential of every hero in their corporate story.

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Categories & themes:

Leadership development,  storytelling & communication,  mental wellbeing,  personal growth,  self-leadership,  purpose & culture,  narrative psychology, mindset storytelling.

 

Perfect for:

Corporate teams,  government agencies,  education providers,  healthcare professionals, not-for-profits,  fundraising organisations,  values-driven businesses.