| Hi, everyone. |
| In this lesson, you'll practice your listening skills with one classic story told in two |
| surprising ways. |
| Listen carefully and tell us which version you prefer. |
| Let's begin. |
| The Bundle of Sticks 2.0: The Build |
| Five high school friends. |
| All with offers—big companies, big paychecks. |
| It was their last night together. |
| "I’ll miss you all," said Tom. |
| Then he overheard a toast from another table: |
| "Sticking together is strength. Strength with purpose is power." |
| It was Mira. |
| He paused. Then said: |
| "Let’s turn them down." |
| "Let’s build something of our own." |
| "Let’s not compete—because together, we’re unbeatable." |
| They rented a house. |
| Shared groceries. |
| Took turns doing dishes. |
| Pitched, coded, and crashed—together. |
| Everyone said they were wasting time. |
| "You could’ve been rich already." |
| But they kept going. |
| Late nights. Cheap coffee. Long meetings. |
| Always together. |
| They fought, but they listened. |
| They failed, but they stayed. |
| And they grew. |
| Three years later, their app hit a million users. |
| The house was still theirs— |
| now a headquarters. A home. |
| At a panel, someone asked: |
| "What made your startup different?" |
| Tom smiled. |
| "Bar room advice: together you’re stronger." |
| The Bundle of Sticks 2.0: The Solo Exit |
| Five friends had a fantastic idea. |
| They started a business—and it grew. |
| But soon, the team fought constantly. |
| Meetings went in circles. |
| No one listened. Nothing moved. |
| One afternoon, Erica sat in a café, scrolling her phone. |
| She felt tired. Frustrated. Stuck. |
| Then she saw a post from Life Coach Dorian: |
| "Bundled sticks don’t break— |
| but first you have to tie them together. |
| Alone, you’re free to move fast." |
| She read it once. Then again. |
| She closed her laptop. |
| At the next meeting, the arguing started again. |
| Erica stood. |
| "I’m leaving." |
| Her teammates laughed. |
| "You’ll break alone." |
| But she left anyway. |
| She built her own thing from scratch. |
| Moved fast. |
| Cut features. |
| Found her niche. |
| Launched in two months. |
| It exploded. |
| Her old team was still in the group chat— |
| still tweaking the pitch deck. |
| A year later, Erica stood on stage at a startup summit. |
| When her talk finished, she smiled and said, |
| "I want to thank my life coach, Dorian." |
| Someone asked, |
| "What happened to your old team?" |
| She smiled and said, |
| "Still tied up." |
| Great listening! |
| Which version did you prefer and why? |
| Share your thoughts in the comments below. |
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