12 Months Ago I Rewrote My Story. Here's How.

This time last year, I didn’t feel right. I was running my business and doing my thing, yet it didn’t feel like my thing. Yes, I was super grateful that I’d been able to build a successful, profitable business in a year. That's a win by any standard.

But, deep down, it didn’t feel that way to me.

From the outside looking in, you would have seen me running events, winning clients and building a strong personal brand. You would have seen lots of shiny things, all the ingredients for the perfect 'look at me' LinkedIn post. But you wouldn’t have seen ME. The real me. The REAL Amanda. The truth is, I wasn’t happy. I was settling for things that didn’t feel true to me. I won't lie, it scared me a bit.

Why? Because listening to yourself is scary. You might hear or learn something about yourself that you don't like. Something that doesn't feel comfortable. Something that pushes you out of your cosy little comfort bubble.

Everywhere we look we see and hear narratives telling us that who we are right now isn’t enough. You need to keep climbing! You need to work harder. You need more money, a bigger house, a dog, a husband, kids, a promotion. You need to toughen up, keep moving, hustle harder, show up every-fucking-where looking and feeling your best, talk better, sit still, stand up straight, be polite, wear makeup, brush your hair, wear a dress, wear a suit, wear uncomfortable heels, remove our tattoos (yeah, I’ve been asked to do that). Whoaaaa, ok. Let’s take a breath break for a minute. Deep breath in, long breath out.

LEAVE. US. ALONE. Leave us to BE US.

"Being awake to our lives is a daily process" (I LOVE this line from a podcast with Cheryl Strayed). Being awake to our lives is the BEST THING. It’s freeing in so many ways because it’s living. So, what happened when I started listening to myself?

I became clear about who I was, what I wanted and what I needed. I saw things and felt things that were signs for me. Hidden messages in my day-to-day life started bringing up questions for me to answer: Is this enough for me? Is this way of showing up ENOUGH for the people I exist for? Am I focused? Am I connected to the work I’m doing? What fills me with joy every day? All these questions were coming up for me HARD AND FAST, so I slowed down a bit. I made it my mission to figure out the answers!

Throughout my 10+ year career as an entrepreneur, I’ve been avoiding myself with hard work and filling up all my space with it. I’ve been surrounded by a lot of intense “speed to succeed” energy, too; energy that’s fast and busy and heavy and in a rush all the time. I’ve been absorbed into this way of working for so long. So much so that it started to feel normal, like, this is just how business is. Not anymore though.

HELL NO!

That way of working isn't for me.

RIP to the Amanda I used to be.

Old me would be grateful for what I have and roll with it. New me is grateful for what I have but will still demand more.

This is MY life. This is my time and energy and I DESERVE to spend it the way I want to. I deserve to work freely and fairly with peace and purpose. I deserve to work with people who lift, celebrate and encourage me as much as I do for them. I’m grateful for the journey that I’ve had so far and where I am right now, BUT I demand more because I deserve more.?

AND SO DO YOU!

I’m here now. Clearer. Calmer. More Focused. I don’t think I’ve ever been this focused. I now know what I want and what I need because I stopped and listened to myself. I learned that I needed more space in my days. Space to write more and share my stories (hiiiiii newsletter). Not just for me, but for you too! Because these are OUR stories. I learned that I needed one singular focus that I could pour all my energy into. I learned that I needed to surround myself with people that see me BIGGER than I see myself (YESSS Luvvie Ajayi — you taught me this). I learned that I needed to move away from anything and everything that distracted me from my soul work. My conscious contribution to the world... The 5 Stories.

This is where I am now.

A place of fairness, freedom, purpose and peace. Those are the foundations that I’m building my business on. Those are the things I’m demanding from here on out.

Let this give YOU the strength to demand more too.

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?? Hiiiii! I’m Amanda, founder & creator of?5 Stories?—?a methodology that helps businesses tell stories that connect with people.?I work closely with founders and marketing leaders to help them?fulfil their vision through storytelling.

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