Growing up as a young child, I loved reading stories. I would visit the library and go from one storybook to the other, feeding my eyes with all the words and pictures that I could find.
However, the way the stories ended usually made me dissatisfied. I always had my own opinions, “The prince should have taken his princess home on a chariot", "the wicked lady should not have been forgiven" and "the tortoise should have taken back his bone’’. I always wanted the stories to end this way or that way, but there was nothing I could do because I did not own those stories.
Well, it was not long before I began to write my own stories. Since I was the one writing, I was in charge, and guess what, the characters could do exactly what I wanted them to do. The story could end exactly the way I wanted it to.
As funny and simple as this sounds, remembering this entire experience gave me more insight into an important lesson that I would love to share with you today.
- Have you ever sat down wishing that you could change how your life played out?
- Have you ever told yourself that you would not do something because of a reason or the other?
- Have you ever wished that you were better than you are now or that your story differed from the way it is now?
- Have you ever regretted an incident or factor that you feel is responsible for who you are now and where you are not?
Well, over time, I have evolved from writing stories just because I wanted to determine how the stories end, to writing stories for brands, and this has made me realize that everyone is a storyteller. Although this is true literally as we all can communicate in stories, I do not mean storytelling as an art.
"Immediately we all gain access into the earth, we were given a blank sheet and a pen"
The disadvantage with everyone having a pen, is that even as we were growing, people contributed their words into our sheet. They told us what we could be and what we could not. They defined our limitations and programmed our minds to think in a certain way. When we saw the way our story had started, we followed that order. They conditioned us to think in such a way that it influenced how we reacted to situations. Our friends and environment played its role, and so, our story began to unfold.
However, many people finally get to that point in their lives where they predict the end of the story based on the current page they are on and they realize that they don’t like their story. Do you remember the questions I asked at the beginning of this article? This is where they begin to wish that things could be better.
They blame certain people or events that contributed to the negative turnout of their stories. Some people wallow in self-pity and self-imposed limitations and continue their story in the same way that it has been on. Eventually, they end up like they had predicted.
If you observe correctly, you would realize that the set of people I just mentioned have one thing in common. They let their story own them. They refused to take up their pen and start writing a new ending for their lives.
Is this where you are now?
Have you told yourself that you were not capable of achieving certain feats?
I struggled with low self-esteem for a long time and for as long as I let my story own me, there was very little to what I could accomplish.
"Yes, you cannot re-write your past, but there is something you can do, you can write the next line"
You can influence how your story ends, and it begins today. So the big question is, What are you going to do from now henceforth?
I had mastered the art of storytelling, but I did not know how to use it in the biggest story, the story of my life. Immediately, I began to own my story. I took up my pen and wrote all that I want to see at the end of my story. I designed all that I wanted to see at the end of my story and just as I would do when I was a little child; I wrote all that the characters needed to do to get to that end that I had described.
From there, I began to live my story; I am a storyteller and with each day that comes, with each book I read, with each client I connect with, with each article I write, with each individual I impart, with each action that I take, I am telling my story.
So here is what I want you to do for me.
- Determine how you want your story to end.
- What awards do you want to win?
- What friends do you want to have?
- What pieces of art do you want to create?
- How many individuals do you want to impact?
Write them all down.
If you have done that, now determine where you are. This is the crucial part of owning your story; embracing where you are.
"Until you gain awareness, change is difficult to implement"
Begin to gain awareness of your current situation. What are you doing wrong? What weaknesses do you have? What excuse is keeping you back? What is that one thing that, if eliminated, would grant you the greatest access to freedom and success? Begin to accept that you are responsible for where you are now.
If you have answered those questions and determined your current level, now move to the next and final step. This next stage may require that you spend more time and focus.
Now, having determined where you are and where you want to go to, write down how you can get there. What books do you need to read? What friends do you need to connect with? What event do you need to register for? What course do you need to buy? What action step do you need to take that would take you there? Do you need a mentor? What resource do you need?
If you have followed each of the steps above, you just took the pen in your hand and wrote your own story. Now begin to act on the action point that you determined.
Finally, know that writing your story is difficult. Along the way, certain challenges may come your way but always remember who has the pen. Don’t let anybody tell you what you can or what you can’t do. Begin to see yourself for the powerful and unlimited person that you are and live your story because you own it.
About The Author...
Miracle Patricks is a business trainer, a writing consultant, a brand storyteller, and a personal and brand evolution consultant. As a business trainer, she helps evolving entrepreneurs position themselves online for more impact, influence, and income by teaching them how to acquire intentional brand skills.
As a writing consultant, she provides services such as ghostwriting, proofreading services, editorial services, book consultation services, and others. She is the founder of the evolving tribe Africa, a Facebook tribe dedicated to helping evolving entrepreneurs gain access to the right information, connection, and opportunity that would enable them to become the best version of themselves.
She is also the lead facilitator of The Entrepreneurs Bootcamp (TEB). TEB is a virtual session for entrepreneurs of all fields to gather and learn brand skills that would help them reinvent their brands, re-strategize, and position their brands to build the three I's. She loves to help individuals gain clarity and find purpose, achieve their business goals, build their visibility, drive profitability and equip them with the skills that would help them become more intentional in their brand journey. Her one word is EVOLVE.