How My Time in Major League Baseball Showed Me The Way
Hi Reader,
With October upon us, I can’t help but think about baseball.
I spent many Octobers during my Cardinals years focused on what was happening on the field.
Looking back, though, some of the lessons that stayed with me had very little to do with wins and losses.
They were lessons about building value, creating experiences and developing deeper relationships with an audience we considered our community.
Those ideas are influencing what we are building today at STORYSMART®. This month’s edition explores that connection, but it also gives you a chance to see some of that work firsthand.
We have two upcoming events, including the first STORYSMART® Preview Series screening, where we will invite an audience to help us make Steak Guerrillas better before we finish the film.
I’ve also included several articles about the business of professional storytelling, from Anthony Bourdain and Silo to brand logos on television and Netflix’s experiment with near-real-time documentaries.
There is a lot happening in our STORYSMART® community.
I’m grateful to have you part of it as we continue to build it together.
Ron
#RatifyBelonging
OUR UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday, October 16th - Hi-Pointe Theatre St. Louis
October 16, 2026: 40 Years Later, Seeing One Film Can Help Us Finish Another
If you are in St. Louis, please join us Friday October 16th at the Hi-Pointe Theatre for a special screening of Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll with all proceeds benefiting Johnny Be Good, our upcoming documentary about music legend Johnnie Johnson.
A First Look Before the Final Cut - Steak Guerrillas Private Invitation-Only Screening
STORYSMART® Preview Series 1: Steak Guerrillas
On November 4, we will host our first STORYSMART® Preview Series screening with a private, invitation-only preview of Steak Guerrillas, our feature documentary about a St. Louis doctor's unlikely role in the fight to restore democracy in the Philippines.
This is not a premiere or a public screening.
We are inviting a select group of friends, collaborators and supporters to see the film before we complete the final cut, then join us for a filmmaker conversation and audience discussion.
The screening begins at 7:00 PM at Galleria 6 Cinemas in Richmond Heights.
Our invited guest list is nearly complete, but we may have a limited number of seats available.
If you are part of our STORYSMART® community (ex. you receive The STORYSMART® Way) and would genuinely like to attend, please email me directly at ron@storysmart.net.
If space permits, I would be delighted to include you.
1. Feature Article
Filmmaking FOR ALL® - Building STORYSMART® STUDIOS Part One
How Baseball Showed Me The Way.
The Insight Was Right. The Model Was Wrong.
Some of the most important business lessons of my life came from an old ballpark.
More than twenty years ago, I helped monetize the final season of an iconic baseball stadium – Busch Stadium II.
We were shameless in selling off whatever we could that final season.
We were so successful that we developed a whole new memorabilia business for the team called Cardinals Authentics. I had so much fun working on that project and I learned lessons that profoundly influence me to this day.
Looking back now, it’s clear to me that baseball showed me the way to build a modern media company. Those lessons are the foundation for the studio we are building.
I have watched Heartland for years, and somewhere along the way I started playing a little game of looking for the brand logos.
A character would open what was unmistakably an Apple MacBook, except something was missing. Instead of the familiar Apple logo, there might be a circle, a different symbol, or appropriately enough for a show about a family on a horse ranch, something resembling a horse's head.
STORYSMART® MEDIA LENS: Netflix's INSTADOCS: Why Speed Isn't the Real Story
Netflix's INSTADOCS: Why Speed Isn't the Real Story
Friday, September 4, 2026 - Something strange happened on Air Force One on July 8th.
President Donald Trump had just finished a NATO summit in Turkey and was preparing to return to the United States. Reporters watched him get on board Air Force One.
Then, unbeknownst to the traveling press corps and even some White House staff, Trump left the plane, hid inside a catering truck and was transported to another military aircraft because of a reported security threat from Iran.
The reporters flew home on Air Force One believing the president was still aboard.
It was a remarkable story when the details eventually emerged. What caught my attention this week, however, was something else.
There is already a documentary about it.
Instadocs: The Decoy Plane premieres on Netflix today - September 4. The incident happened July 8. Deadline announced the film on September 1.
When I saw the headline, my immediate reaction was simple. How in the world did they make a documentary that fast?
The answer turns out to be more interesting than the film itself.
6. Want to Learn More about the STORYSMART® Framework?
Hollywood Insiders Know the Playbook. Now You Can Too.
7. Archive of Newsletters
About My STORYSMART® Perspective
We approach storytelling and filmmaking as a long-term, rights-first business rather than a project-by-project creative exercise. Our focus is on understanding how stories create value over time through ownership, disciplined development, and thoughtful risk management.
The ideas shared here are intended to contribute to a broader conversation about sustainable, independent media, not to promote specific projects or investment opportunities.
About Ron Watermon
Learn More About Ron Watermon @ronwatermon.com & storysmart.net
Ron Watermon is a creator, builder, filmmaker, media entrepreneur and the founder of STORYSMART. Ron writes about professional storytelling, media entrepreneurship, filmmaking, and the business of turning stories into a valuable assets.
Ron is the author of STORYSMART Storytelling for ALL and is currently building STORYSMART STUDIOS, an independent media company dedicated to developing, producing, and owning profitable enduring original media properties.
