How We Built Our World with Only Words (The Power of Story pt. 1)

In the early ages of history, humanity had one goal. Survive. How did we, small, pale, clawless, creatures overcome the most challenging foe on the planet? It wasn't easy. We struggled for centuries, scrounging to survive in this strange world until we discovered our secret weapon.

The weapon of story.

When I hear the word story, my mind goes to the tales of adventure and bravery in the likes of Indiana Jones. Humans love stories, which is why we've streamed countless hours of movies and TV in quarantine. But story is much more than a source of entertainment. Story helps us make sense of who we are and the world around us.

Humans can imagine realities, share them with others, and bring them to life! While these systems are unseen (politics, religion, business), it's our shared recognition that gives them power. In essence, the stories we listen to, and tell ourselves, create our reality. As we evolved, our ability to communicate rapidly improved beyond other species. One author, Yuval Harari, (Sapiens) credits this growth as a primary reason for human flourishing. It was through our ability to communicate that we began to share ideas and start building the world we know now.

After studying story for a decade, I've found that great stories follow a framework. In reality, most stories are quite formulaic. It's easy to hear the word formulaic and dismiss it as inauthentic, but all this means is that story has rules.

"Story" has become a bit of buzzword in recent years, so much so that you're probably tired of hearing it. Yet, the power of story as a tool is anything but novel. To quote ancient wisdom, "There is nothing new under the sun." Story has helped us make sense of the world since the time of Aristotle (330 BCE). In his book Poetics, he lays the groundwork for what we now know as literary theory and genres. For centuries we've used story as a tool for persuasion, organization, and entertainment. Now I want to show you how to use story as a tool to grow your business.

Here is how we'll get there:

Learn the elements of story
Create a plan for the story we're telling
Reach your personal and professional goals (Strong CTA)

If you want to learn how to use story to grow your business, sign up here to get “The Power of Story" sent to your inbox.

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