“A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.”
— Raymond Chandler
What is your story?
You do have one, don’t you? Well, in fact, you should probably have at least three.
And they better be written out, polished, and perfected. Distilled from your life experiences.
Your first story is your origin story. People need to know how you got started. They need a relatable “before” in your “before and after,” because that’s where they see themselves. And they need to be able to tell themselves that they can achieve your “after.”
After that, you’re going to need your mission story. That’s the story that tells people why you do what you do. That you have a deeper meaning behind your work; a purpose that’s bigger than wanting to make money. People need your mission story to feel good about you and trust you.
You’ll also need your “victory over hardship” story. People don’t need to hear how you’ve stair stepped from one success to the next. They need to hear about when things went wrong. They need to hear about mistakes. They need to hear about the obstacles you’ve overcome. They have all of those things in their lives, and they need to know that you do, too.
I didn’t say that they “want” these stories, although they do. I said they “need” these stories.
There are other stories, as well, and I cover all the stories and the story types when you and I work together to build your Authority Assets.
Want to kill your audience in a hurry? Don’t relate to them. Look perfect. Don’t be genuine. Don’t be interesting. Don’t tell stories.
They’ll be gone before you know it.