Program Success 9 January 2020
In 2020
No One Can Tell Your Story Better Than You Can
As we enter this New Year, many of you will have inevitably made
New Years’ resolutions. I am not a fan! The main reason that I am not
a fan of traditional New Year’s resolutions is that they focus too much
on the result without much thought on the journey needed to achieve
them. So instead of resolutions, think about making new commitments,
and take the time to map out how you are going to achieve the results
you want in both your personal and professional life. It is a fact that if
you cannot define yourself, what you do and who you are, others will
do that for you. And that is not what you want, because no one can tell
your story better than you can.
To determine my commitment for the New Year, I reflected on my
writing career. It was this very publication that offered me the
opportunity to become a published writer. Our publisher provided me
with one of the first pieces that I wrote for this magazine. It was a take
on an assignment that I used in my classroom as a Professor. Linda
Ellis wrote a poem entitled The Dash. We do not play much of a role
in our entrance into this life and we have minimal to say about how
and when we will depart. However, we do have a major influence on
the time and experience in between, written as the dash (-) between the
dates of our birth and our death. It is what you do with your Dash that
makes the difference. I challenged my students to write the story of
their Dash. In this article, I wrote my Dash and, as you can imagine in
over 10 years, the story has changed. It is now time for me to write a
new chapter in my Dash. I challenge you, as I challenged my students,
write your Dash, tell your story!
Telling your story may be hard work, but it is the most important
thing that you will ever do. You were put on this earth to feel, live
and tell. Whatever you share might be what helps someone else heal.
The tragedies and the joys that you have experienced could become
someone else’s hope, the star they look to for comfort and guidance
while they continue their journey. Who are you NOT to offer the truths
that might help others heal? “Tell the story of the mountains that you
climbed. Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival
guide” wrote Morgan Nichols. Telling your story is your obligation to
the next generation. If we do not, we are doing a disservice, not only
to our professions but to our children and their children.
If you are not ready to tell your entire story, start small. Update your
bio on your business website; update your LinkedIn profile; update
your Facebook profile; change your Instagram bio. If you do not know
where to start, contact me. I am the Master Storyteller and as I do for
many of my clients, I can help you tell your story. At the end of the
day, it is YOUR story and even though I can help, no one will ever tell
your story better than you can!
www.lauradorsey.net