Open This Book: The Podcast

You have a story. Actually, you have a lot of them. The problem is, you probably don’t think they’re worth telling.

I’m Sara Lohse, and Open This Book is the podcast adaptation of my award-winning book, Open This Book: The Art of Storytelling for Aspiring Thought Leaders. This isn’t a traditional audiobook. It’s an invitation to look differently at the moments that made you who you are—and learn how to turn them into stories that connect, build trust, and make your ideas worth remembering.

I don’t believe everybody has a story. I believe everybody is a story. We’re anthologies filled with beginnings and endings, plot twists, supporting characters, conflicts, questionable decisions, and lessons we might not recognize until much later.

And you don’t need a dramatic origin story, a life-changing tragedy, or a future biopic to have something worth saying. Some of our most powerful stories are the little ones: the embarrassing mistakes, unexpected detours, small wins, and seemingly ordinary moments that changed us in ways we didn’t recognize at the time.

Throughout this podcast, I’ll share my own stories—sometimes more of them than my dignity would probably prefer—as we explore how to find your voice, uncover the value in your experiences, overcome imposter syndrome, build genuine connections, develop your personal brand, and establish yourself as a thought leader.

There will be career failures, bad decisions, unexpected successes, lessons I learned the hard way, and, yes, an unfortunately shaped tattoo from a solo trip to Ireland.

But ultimately, this isn’t really about my stories. It’s about helping you find yours.

The original book includes writing prompts and exercises designed to help you dig into your own experiences and start putting your stories on paper. As you listen, you can follow along with the free accompanying journal, which includes all of the writing prompts from the book. Download it at openthisbookpodcast.com.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, creator, speaker, podcast host, professional, or simply someone who has ever thought, “I don’t have a story,” I’m here to prove that you do.

Your story doesn’t have to be extraordinary to be valuable. You just have to learn how to tell it.

So, open this book.

Oh good. You did.