I believe that story is at the center of our existence and it intersects every aspect of life. From creativity, to community, to culture and overall meaning in life, story is where it’s at. And so I’ve created a process to become my best self that has STORY right at the center. In fact, I use the word story as an acronym to detail the steps I take in creating my future and becoming my best self.

Main character energy became a trend on social media platforms just off the cusp of quarantined life. It points to living a life, carefully curated almost like the protagonist in a film. It’s a creative way to romanticize your life. It advocates being the main character in our life’s story. It’s living one’s life on our own terms, doing the things we love, and doing so, confidently.

Have you ever been in conversation with someone and as they’re sharing their piece you intuitively know that there has to be more to the story? You hear what’s being said and you’re paying attention to the details yet you just know, there’s more to it than that. We humans innately know that there’s always more, to a story.

Listen in and leave a comment!

Photographers understand the work in editing. Film makers also edit extensively. Writers, artist, editors, poets…even students are constantly editing.

The point of editing isn’t necessarily to change the thing being editing but to make certain tweaks, and adjustments to bring the best work out.

So it is with life.

Finding ourselves in a liminal space from time to time is essential for our own transformation and evolution. 

Although it may not be obvious at first, liminal space has an agenda for us. 

And that agenda is usually about letting something dissolve so that we can then discover the next for our lives that is waiting for us.

No one arrives at this very moment in time without a past. In story development, we call it a backstory. Backstory is the stuff that went on before the story begins. It’s the story before the story. It helps us understand the characters and why they are the way the are.  Let’s talk a little bit about backstory.

When we fully embrace and live in the reality of our story, it influences and even shapes every single aspect of our lives. Our work, our careers, our creative calling, our craft—when we realize that everything in life is part of our story, our lives begin to become and feel meaningful.

Let’s talk about why story—our story—matters.

-Joel

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The human experience is a collection of stories we’ve lived to tell, for better or worse. Stories help us make meaning of life by connecting the moments of life. Join me on this story telling podcast for makers, creators, innovators and influencers—that means you!