Stolaroid Stories

In this episode, I'm talking with Paul Duke, The English Grammar Detective.

Paul helps English teachers and learners understand the complexities and nuances of grammar. He's an English Instructor, online tutor, and content creator based in Vancouver, Canada.

Paul was a private investigator and executive security specialist. In that profession, he learned a lot about asking questions and acquiring information and he has found a clever way to adapt these techniques into an inductive method of teaching grammar.

In this 2-part conversation, you'll hear us talk about:

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Part 2 of the interesting conversation about anxiety and fears with Samantha Lantagne, an English language coach, and facilitator from Canada who has a background in psychology and mental health.

Samantha delivers workshops and presentations on psychology and mental health topics for workplaces and she's a polyglot herself. She speaks English, French, Italian, and Spanish.

It was a long conversation so I split the episode into 2 parts.

In Part 1 you'll hear us talk about:

In Part 2 you'll hear us talk about:

Episode Links

An interesting conversation about anxiety and fears with Samantha Lantagne, an English language coach, and facilitator from Canada who has a background in psychology and mental health.

Samantha delivers workshops and presentations on psychology and mental health topics for workplaces and she's a polyglot herself. She speaks English, French, Italian, and Spanish.

It was a long conversation so I split the episode into 2 parts.

In Part 1 you'll hear us talk about:

In Part 2 you'll hear us talk about:

Episode Links

Some personal stories about why knowing your "why" is helpful when learning.

A 10-week book club for strong B2 (upper-intermediate) and above nonfiction book lovers who want to:

Ambra is one of my best friends and she's one of the most fascinating people I know. She's been to 75 countries. She hitchhikes, falls from buildings and takes the most amazing photos.

I interviewed her in my house a few weeks ago and in this episode you'll hear her talk about:

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Lucia Matuonto is a book author, podcaster, and children’s physiotherapist from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, who speaks English, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

During the global lockdown she started The Relatable Voice Podcast as a way to connect with others and share stories.

On her show she interviews people from all walks of life. Her guests range from book authors, life coaches, and public speakers, to survivors, healers, and storytellers. She invites them to talk about life, books, goals and, in Lucia’s own words, “whatever else comes up.”

At the time of writing, The Relatable Voice Podcast counts over 300 episodes.

Imagine how much speaking practice Lucia has done over the past few years. In fact, she says that since she launched her show in 2020, she’s been making noticeable progress in her English speaking skills and she’s now more confident in her ability to communicate.

You'll hear her talk about her experience with podcasting as a learner of English and I hope this conversation will inspire you to start your own podcast.

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Do you have to finish reading a book just because you started it? Should you avoid using subtitles when watching a movie in another language just because someone says so? If something works for everybody, but not for you, what should you do? Here are my thoughts on this.

A couple of weeks ago I posted an article about war. It's an article I wrote to myself. In this episode I read it out to you and share my reflections.

In this episode, I talk with Lyn, a learner of English from Taiwan. Lyn has been learning English for a few years.

She also worked with me because she needed some help with her speaking.

You'll hear us talk about:

I think Lyn is a brave learner who's doing a great job to improve and I hope this conversation will motivate you. Episode Links

When I was learning English, I wanted to have a native English accent. I had 5 good reasons for this. Looking back, though, I realize that 3 of these reasons were stupid.  I’ll share all 5 of them with you. 

In this episode, I play a personal storytelling game with Martin from Rock n' Roll English, the funniest English teacher and podcaster out there (in my opinion).

The game is called "3-2-1." Martin and I give each other 3 concrete nouns (e.g. pen, book, glass). We then choose one of these nouns and have 2 minutes to prepare to tell a 1-minute personal story about it.

"3-2-1" is a game that Matthew Dicks, a master storyteller from the US, plays in his storytelling workshops. I decided to play it with Martin as I know he loves telling stories.

You'll hear 6 stories including not wanting to marry Aloha, my partner, and acting like Homer Simpson. Some of these stories are not bad, some others are great. This is a light-hearted episode that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

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Falling in love with learning English is what helped me master it. Can this happen to you too?

In this episode, I talk with Philip Charter, an award-winning British writer and writing coach who loves helping multilingual writers share what they have got to say.

You'll hear us talk about:

Episode Links

Please find 5 minutes a day to sit down and read a book. It's essential.

I'm re-reading "Ego is The Enemy" by Ryan Holiday and in this episode I share some of my reflections on ego and learning.

I'm thinking of opening a book club to read this great book together.

In this episode, I tell you about my speaking program, how it works, and how it can help you. It's called "4 Weeks With Fabio" and it's a speaking course to help you improve your speaking.

In this episode, I talk with Roman Mironov, a Russian porn detox coach based in Toronto, Canada.

Roman discovered porn in 1996 when he was 14 and quickly became a porn addict. He felt alone and miserable. This nasty addiction even made his marriage fall apart in 2012.

At 32, he committed to quitting porn forever. He's 40 now and hasn't consumed porn for 8 years. He feels in charge of his life.

When Roman shared his story online, he discovered he was not alone. Many people resonated with his experience and they kept reaching out to him asking for guidance. He decided to help these people and in 2019 he became a full-time porn detox coach.

In this episode, you'll hear him talk about:

- his story (including how he learned English).

- porn addiction.

- how he helps people who're addicted to porn.

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Should you compare yourself to other people when you're learning English (or learning anything)? I used to do it and it helped me. I explore this in this episode.

I hope this helps.

In this episode, I talk with Trisha Traughber from Vagabond English.

Trisha is a Californian writing coach based in France who helps book lovers and readers capture their own experiences, tell their stories and connect with others. She has a community of multilingual writers, Vagabond English, and a beautiful voice too.

Trisha is also my writing coach. She's been helping me write Any Language You Want, a collection of conflicting personal stories on how I learned English, my second language. Her comments, tips, and advice have helped me improve my narrative.

You'll hear us talk about:

I hope you'll find our conversation useful.

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In this episode, I talk with Antonello Zanini, an English language learner, software engineer, blogger, and technical writer from Italy.

Antonello fell in love with learning languages and transformed his freelance business as a software engineer into Writech, a company that provides technical writing content in multiple languages. He has clients from all 6 continents and says achieving this goal would have been impossible without his language learner mindset.

Antonello is one of the most motivated language learners I've met in my life. 

You'll hear him talk about:

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Start a podcast in English.

It'll help you develop your language skills in so many ways.

This list could go on forever.

Podcasting can help you solve language problems without spending money on courses, classes, and programs. And I’m saying this against my own interest as I sell courses, classes and programs, so I hope you believe me when I say that podcasting can take your English not to the next level, but to the top level.

It's free, doesn't require any expensive audio equipment and it can make learning English fun and motivating. Anyone can do it. 

You may say, "I don't have enough English!" No worries. You don't need to have mastered English to start a podcast in English. But you'll master English as a result of having a podcast.

Daniel Goodson, a learner of English who started a podcast to get more fluent, said to me, "It's 100% sure that you'll improve drastically if you start your own podcast. Guaranteed. If you do it on a regular basis, of course. 100% guaranteed."

Start a podcast. I really hope you’ll do it.

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In this episode, I have a conversation with Daniel Goodson. Daniel is a learner of English from Switzerland who started podcasting back in 2016 as a way to improve his fluency. 

On his show, My Fluent Podcast, he chats with language learners, teachers, friends and polyglots. He's interviewed dozens of people, including Luke from Luke’s English Podcast.

I used to be shy", Daniel said, "but having lots of conversations on my show made me more confident with handling personal relationships in real life too."

My Fluent Podcast is not the only show he has. He's also the host of The Vocab Man, a podcast where he teaches new English expressions he learns. 

Have you ever heard of a more interesting way to learn vocabulary than this? I haven't.

You'll hear us talk about:

I hope you'll be inspired to start your own show too.

Episode Links

Most people I know don't read enough. I never read enough either. But I think that if you're not reading you're missing out on something that can really help you improve yourself and your life.

I hope this is helpful.

My thoughts on making language mistakes.  I hope this is helpful.  

A few thoughts on reading books in English. 

A student recently asked me what I did to go from an intermediate level of English to an advanced level. This is what I replied. I hope it helps.

There are language teachers who make inspiring and educational content, and Christian Saunders from Canguro English is one of them.

Christian is my favorite English teacher on YouTube, not least because we share the same teaching philosophy.

His YouTube channel has over 300,000 subscribers and Christian uses it to "change the way the world learns English". 

He's always told his learners the truth: learning a language is hard and it takes many years. I agree. Let me add that learning a second language is one of the most rewarding things you could ever do in your life.

In this episode, which is part 1 of the conversation I had with him, Christian and I talk about:

Any comments? Questions? Feedback? Feel free to get in touch with me. All my contact details are on my website - www.fabiocerpelloni.com 

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In this episode, I tell a personal story that might make you reflect on how you try to avoid uncomfortable situations. Listen to what happened to me in August 2022 while I was camping in Portugal. It might give you something to think about. 

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In this episode, you'll hear me talk about how I came up with the idea of writing "Any Language You Want", a collection of personal true stories on how I learned English.

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In this episode I talk with Tania, a highly experienced English teacher from Melbourne, Australia. Tania moved from Australia to Italy in 2006 and for the first time in her life she understood what it meant to not be able to speak a language and communicate. "It was horrible and frustrating," Tania says. 

Tania has been teaching English to Italians for nearly 2 decades and even had her own language school for many years. Teaching gives her a huge amount of satisfaction and she says that she has found her purpose in life in helping others communicate effectively in English.

You'll hear her talk about:

Would like to support the show for free?

If you'd like to support the show, then you could do one of these things:

In this episode I interview Brenden Kumarasamy, a public speaking coach based in Montreal, Canada. Brenden is the CEO of MasterTalk, a company that helps people master their communication skills and give effective presentations. He's also a YouTuber. At the time of publishing this (January 2023) his YouTube channel has nearly 30,000 subscribers. Brenden uses it to help people communicate their ideas to the world in the best possible way.

You'll hear me and Brenden talk about:

I think you will find this episode especially useful if you give presentations in English, host workshops, present at events, give talks for work or if you need to speak in public for whatever other reason.

Would like to support the show for free?

If you'd like to support the show, then you could do one of these things:

In this episode, I'm reading out one of my blog posts.

In this episode I tell a personal story about a time I was leaving a language school in New Zealand. It took place in 2016 but I still remember that moment very well. I hope this story will somehow help you get through those life situations in which you feel you need to show everyone how good you are.

In this episode, I'm reading out one of my blog posts.

In this episode I'm joined by Urmi Hossain. Urmi is a proponent of self-development and continuous learning. She's also an author. She was born and raised in Italy by Bengali parents, who wanted her to be the typical Bengali girl: obedient and perfect for the community. In her book called "Discovering Your Identity: A Rebirth From Interracial Struggle", she narrates what she had to go through in her childhood. She does this through reflections and confessions about what it felt like growing up in a household that wanted her to be someone she didn't want to be.

She's also a polyglot as she speaks 4 languages: Bengali, Italian, English and French.

You'll hear us talk about:

In this episode, I'm reading out one of my blog posts.

This is one of my favourite episodes. It's a conversation between me and Christopher, a US Army veteran from Texas. Chris served in the army for over 20 years. He fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, has a degree in psychology and one in philosophy, and he's the host of Wandering Vibes, a podcast about life and personal growth that I think you'll like.

You'll hear us talk about:

In this episode, I'm reading out one of my blog posts.

In this episode, I'm joined by Craig Wealand from Ingles Podcast. Craig is a super friendly and experienced English teacher, Cambridge examiner and podcaster from the UK. He's based in Valencia and has been living in Spain for more than two decades. 

You'll hear us talk about:

At the end of the episode I explain a word that Craig used while he was talking to me.

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In this episode, I'm reading out one of my blog posts.

In this episode, I tell you a story about having children and being a parent. It’s a story that can connect with you if you have or want kids, but I think you’ll find it even more interesting if you don’t have or want them. At the end of the episode, you’ll hear me talk about a verb I used in my story.

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In this episode, I talk with Clare Whitmell, an English teacher and coach from Smart English Coach. Her beautiful accent is from Oxford, England, and I could listen to it all day! It's so nice and relaxing to hear. 

You'll hear us talk about:

Clare also shares a personal story about a time she found a personal connection with the Italian culture. This is inspired by a photo of a memorial she took in Italy (link below).

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In this episode, I tell a personal story about a trip to the Sahara I made while I was in Morocco in the summer of 2022. This is a story that might make you look at negative situations in a different way. I promise you don't need to go to the Sahara to learn why I learned. I can't say anything more than this otherwise I'll spoil the story! I uploaded some photos of that trip on my website (link below).

WARNING: I used the F-word a few times in the episode!

You can now get 3 episode transcripts so you won't miss any words while listening to my stories. Link below👇!

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In this episode, I tell you three personal stories from my four-week trip to Morocco. You won't hear me talk about places I visited or the food I tried. Instead, you'll hear me rambling on about what I learned by solo travelling for a month. I talk about personal realisation moments, culture, getting old, interesting people, mental limits and Italy. You can see some of the photos I took there on my website (link below).

Some exciting news: you can now get 3 episode transcripts so you won't miss any words while listening to my stories. Link below!

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In this episode, I'm joined by Mary Glazunova, an English teacher, coach and author from Kyiv, Ukraine. I met Mary at the beginning of 2021 in an online teacher training course on how to teach without coursebooks and we've been sharing lots of teaching ideas since then. In the episode, you'll hear us talk about: 

At the beginning of the episode, I talk about the 'Storyworthy Book Program', an English storytelling course I'm offering in September (link below). I say there are 5 spots available. That was true at the time of recording but there are now ONLY 4 SPOTS LEFT, as another participant booked one. So...book yours today! Listen to the full episode because at the end of it I briefly focus on a very common idiom I used while chatting with Mary.

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In this episode, you'll hear one of my own true stories from April 2022. It's a story inspired by a photo of my car. Head to my website if you'd like to see it (link below).

At the beginning of the episode, you'll hear me talk about the 'Storyworthy Book Club', an online group program I'm opening again in September that will help you become a better storyteller, communicator and English speaker. At the end of the episode, you'll hear me briefly explain a phrasal verb I used in my story. 

Episode Links

In this episode, I'm joined by Cara Leopold from Leo Listening. Cara is an online English listening skills coach, and movie fan who helps adventurous expats and intrepid travellers harness their love of movies to understand authentic English, so they can connect with the cultures behind the films and other movie lovers around the world.

Cara has an amazing community called 'Movie Club'. 'Movie Club' is a community for movie lovers who want to understand authentic spoken English and speak it too. You’ll find new confidence in your listening, speaking and pronunciation skills because you’ll use short, regular activities that work to help you improve. And you’ll have a native speaker (Cara) watching alongside you to offer a quick explanation…or a little feedback when you need it.

She is a language learner herself as she's from Scotland but speaks fluent French, so you'll hear us talk about:

She also shared her own story about a photo of a dinner with her colleagues she took in Turkey (link below)

Given that this is mainly an episode about listening skills, at the end of it I decided to focus on a little pronunciation feature I'd noticed in Cara's speech: the glottal stop. This is a type of consonant sound that might make native speakers of English hard to understand. You'll find a link to a YouTube video below if you want to explore this in more detail.

When I think of superpowers, I usually think of flight, invisibility, x-ray vision or supernatural speed, but in this episode I tell a personal story about a more simple one that could really change my life. This is a story from 2022 inspired by a photo of my dad. Head to my website if you'd like to see it (link below). At the end of the episode, I also talk about a grammatical structure I used in the story (get someone/something to do something).

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In this episode, I talk with Alessio Garavello, a professional Italian guitarist, singer, songwriter, vocal coach, sound engineer and music producer based in London. Alessio has been working as a session musician for over two decades and has performed live all across Europe with A New Tomorrow, his hard rock band.

I first met Alessio in the UK in 2011. We worked together in a popular coffee chain shop and what immediately impressed me was his English pronunciation. He didn't sound Italian at all. I didn't think it was possible for an Italian to speak English without an Italian accent until I met him.

Another remarkable thing about Alessio is his sunny temperament. Although we were working in a very stressful and nerve-racking environment, I never heard him complain about anything. Never. He was always cheerful, positive and full of energy. His approach to life is just beautiful. I'm sure you'll notice this when listening to him and I hope you'll find his stories inspiring.

You'll hear him talk about:

You'll also hear three of his songs (Spotify listeners only): A New Tomorrow, A Million Stars and Leaving All Behind (links below).

Episode Links

In this episode, I talk with Alessio Garavello, a professional Italian guitarist, singer, songwriter, vocal coach, sound engineer and music producer based in London. Alessio has been working as a session musician for over two decades and has performed live all across Europe with A New Tomorrow, his hard rock band.

I first met Alessio in the UK in 2011. We worked together in a popular coffee chain shop and what immediately impressed me was his English pronunciation. He didn't sound Italian at all. I didn't think it was possible for an Italian to speak English without an Italian accent until I met him. 

Another remarkable thing about Alessio is his sunny temperament. Although we were working in a very stressful and nerve-racking environment, I never heard him complain about anything. Never. He was always cheerful, positive and full of energy. His approach to life is just beautiful. I'm sure you'll notice this when listening to him and I hope you'll find his stories inspiring.

You'll hear him talk about:

You'll also hear three of his songs: A New Tomorrow, A Million Stars and Leaving All Behind (links below).

Episode Links

In this episode, you'll hear a personal story that reveals an aspect of my personality which I believe is common in most people. Perhaps it's an aspect of your personality too. The story takes place in Fiji, a beautiful country in the South Pacific I visited in 2016, and it's inspired by a picture of a Fijian man I took while I was there. You can see this photo on my website (link below). At the end of the episode, you'll also hear me analyse a complex grammatical structure (third conditional) I used in the story. Below you'll find the links to a couple of videos from BBC Learning English if you'd like to investigate this language point further.

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In this episode, you'll hear the second half of Vale's story. If you haven't listened to the first half, this episode might not make a lot of sense to you, so I'd suggest you listen to Episode 22 first and then come back to this one.

In Part 2, Vale talks about how some people reacted to what she's been doing on Instagram and explains how she uses social media to help women in Iran discover their true potential. She also tells the story behind the photo that she had decided to bring to the show. It's fascinating. 

At the end of the episode, you'll hear me talk about two very useful communication strategies that she used while she was speaking with me. These are speaking strategies that you too can use to maintain fluency in a conversation so...don't miss them! 

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In this episode, you'll hear a true story about oppression, rebellion, freedom and discovery. You'll hear me speaking with Vale, a young Iranian woman who left her country because she was feeling oppressed there. She comes from a traditionalist Iranian family but discovered a world she'd never seen before when she saw some pictures in her English textbooks. She's now living in Italy and uses social media to help other Iranian women discover who they are and what it means to be a woman. This is truly one of the most inspiring stories someone has ever told me. 

In this episode, you'll hear the first half of the conversation. You'll hear the second part in episode 23.

Vale's story was inspired by a picture she took in Iran. You can see it on my website (link below).

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In this episode, I share a personal story from 2011, when I started working in a café in Central London. Living in the UK was my first experience abroad. I was 24 at the time, spoke little English and was very insecure. But writing this story gave me the chance to reflect on how much progress I've made, both as a person and as an English speaker and I hope this episode might inspire you to keep growing as well as stand up to those people who are not treating you the way they should. The story was inspired by a photo of the sign of the café I was working in (link below)

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In this episode, I talk with the legendary Martin Johnston from Rock n' Roll English. We talk about learning languages as he's from the UK but speaks fluent Italian! We also speak about having kids because Martin shares his own true story inspired by a photo of his Italian wife holding up a very important piece of paper ;)

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In this episode, I have a chat with Lara, the English teacher who founded enbooo.com. You'll hear talk about learning English, pronunciation and accent. Lara also shares her own true story about her first date with Marcos, her Spanish boyfriend. It's exactly like the title of the episode describes it: insane!

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In this episode, I tell my own true story about a time I told my partner, Aloha, that I was going to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp. This is a story inspired by a photo of us two on top of Mount Igen, an Indonesian Volcano (link below). Confusing, right? I know, but things will become clear as you listen, I promise! :) 

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No stories today. Just an unplanned reflection on war and the current situation in Ukraine. 

In this episode, I talk with Zdenek, an amazing English teacher and podcaster from the Czech Republic who teaches English through football. Zdenek talks about how he learned English and shares his own true story about his first English lesson at a language school where he'd just been hired in the centre of London. His story is inspired by a photo of him in a changing room. You'll find it on my website (link below).

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In this episode, I tell my own true story about being an Italian abroad. This is a story that might make you think about your country and people, and it's inspired by a photo of a pizza I took in 2016.  Head to my website if you'd like to see it (link below).  

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In this episode, I talk with my friend Rebecca, the owner of Inglês Express, a language school in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Rebecca shared her own true story inspired by a picture of her US passport (link below). You'll also hear us talk about travel problems, tropical fruit, falling teeth and being robbed at gunpoint. 

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In this episode, I tell a true story about a time I went shopping with my girlfriend Aloha. It's a story I briefly told in Italian as a vocal message on Whatsapp to some of my friends. When they heard it, most of them replied, "You MUST tell this story on your podcast!". So, here it is. It's inspired by a photo of me that Aloha took in the shopping mall. Head to my website if you'd like to see it (link below).   

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In this episode, I tell a true story about an aspect of the relationship I have with dad. We're very different but so similar at the same time. This is a story that might make you think about your dad or, why not, your mom. The photo that inspired this story is a picture of my dad's hands. Head to my website if you'd like to see it (link below).

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In this episode, I tell a true story about a time I was bullied. I was a kid but I still remember what happened very well. I then discovered something about the bully that had humiliated me. This is a story that might make you think about a time you felt humiliated or, maybe, a time you humiliated someone!

The photo that inspired this story is from 2001. Head to my website if you'd like to see it (link below) 

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I spent years of my life far from my family and friends. If you did this too, or if you live far from your dear ones, I think this story will very much resonate with you. If you didn't, this is still a story that might make you think about the place that you call home.

What and where is home? Some people say that home is where your family is. Others say that the whole world is our home. Telling this story made me realise what home means for me and I hope it will help you find your own answers too.

The story is inspired by a photo of an Australian sunset and one of an Italian sunset (link below).

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In this episode, I share a personal story about Susy, a person that changed my life forever. This was a very hard story for me to tell but I'm glad I had the courage to share it. By crafting this story I reflected on many things and, I won't lie to you, I even cried. Some people told me it made them cry too, so it's probably a good idea to have some tissues at hand :) I hope you'll find this episode somehow inspiring and if you want to 'meet' Susy, you can see her on my website (link below).

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In this episode, I tell a personal story about discovering what freedom might really mean for me. It's a story from 2013, when I was living and travelling around Australia. What happened in this story is probably one of the most important things I've learned in life and it's something that might make you reflect on your idea of freedom. What does being free really mean for you? Think about this question after you've listened to this episode, which was inspired by a photo of Ivan, our amazing van. You'll see 'him' on my website (link below).

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In this episode, I tell a personal story about two people I met while I was backpacking in Bulgaria: Sasho, a cool Bulgarian guy, and Emma, a lovely girl from Greece. Meeting this couple made me reflect on the type of people I like hanging out with and I hope this story will inspire you to do the same. You'll see a lovely photo of Sasho and Emma on my website (link below).

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In this episode, I tell a personal story about a 10-day Vipassana silent meditation retreat I took in South Korea in 2017. I was isolated from the world for 10 days. No internet. No smartphones. No books. Nothing! I meditated all day every day and discovered what/who my biggest enemy in life is. This is a story that, I think, will really make you reflect a lot on yourself.  I'm not religious at all, but I highly recommend taking a spiritual retreat. It's an awesome eye-opening experience.

The photo that inspired 'The Enemy' is a picture of the meditation centre I took when I arrived there. You can see it on my website (link below).

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In this episode, I tell a personal story about the way I tend to form impressions about people I don't know. It takes place in the summer of 2021 while I was buying a souvenir in Greece and it's a story that might make you think about the way you make judgments about strangers. The photo that inspired this story is not particularly special. It's not a picture of that moment but one of the souvenir I bought. You'll also hear me talk about another photo. You can see both of them on my website (link below).

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In this episode, I tell a personal story about a time I was running in the woods near my hometown. I often go out running as this is a way for me to release stress, stop worrying about problems and reflect. As I was running, I started wondering if I was living my life on autopilot. This is a story that might make you reflect on how you live your life. If you feel you're going through the same routine day after day, this is a story you might want to hear. It was inspired by a photo of the track I was running on, which you can see on my website (link below).

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In this episode, I tell a true story about doing something that scared me. I was solo travelling from Romania to Bulgaria and found myself in a situation where the only option I had was to do something I was afraid of. This is a story that might remind you of a time you did something you were scared of, but it could also be a story that will inspire you to get out of your comfort zone and take more risks in your life. Comfort is very addictive and doesn't help you grow. Doing something that scares you is one way to step out of it and discover your true potential. 

The story was inspired by a selfie I took as I was doing this scary thing. You can see this on my website (link below). In the story I also mention a book by Derek Sivers, one of my favourite writers (link below).

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In this episode, I tell a very short story about a time I went for a slow mindful walk in my neighbourhood and noticed little things around me that made me feel grateful. One of the reasons I sometimes feel sad and frustrated is because I focus on what I don't have rather than appreciating what I already have. Appreciation, this is what this story is all about. It's a simple story that might inspire you to have a walk in your neighbourhood and pay attention to what's around you, so you feel happier. Being grateful is one way to feel happy. 

I took a photo while I was walking. It's not the greatest photo you'll ever see, but it very much reminds me of that day. You can see it on my website (link below).

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In Episode 1 of Stolaroid Stories, I tell a personal story about travel, love and separation. It's a true story from 2013. I was 25 back then and I was moving from Italy to Adelaide, Australia. The story was inspired by a photo that my mother took while I was getting ready to go to the airport and I think it's one that might make you think about a time you left someone you really loved. At the end of the story, I refer to another photo that I took in 2021. You can see these photos on my website (link below). 

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