Sharing and Adapting Pieces of Your Origin Story

We've all heard time and time again the importance of storytelling in our businesses...

And, I'm sure you don't need ME to tell you that there are an endless number of stories a business owner can tell:

• Individual client stories
• Case study stories
• Stories from a day-in-the-life
• Stuff that happened at the grocery store that we creatively weave into an analogy
• Lessons you learn along the way
• Stories of how you started, why you started, and what inspired you to go for it!

That last one is where I want to bring your attention today. Some call it the Origin Story, the WHY Story, the Founder Story... I like to call it the Stories Behind the "I".

The "I" in this case being the YOU! The human being behind the business you're building.

When I ask people to tell me their stories, they sometimes like to slap on a sneaky-not-at-all-sneaky disclaimer:

"Oh, it's not that exciting..."

"My story isn't really much..."

"Yeah, it's not that interesting..."

Look, the truth is, you may NOT have some wildly life-altering origin story. I certainly don’t!

Mine's more in line with Hansel and Gretel… following a bunch of breadcrumbs into pending disaster most of the time.

No matter how you've traveled along this road, it’s no less important or exciting! In this article, I'm sharing 7 writing prompts to spark pieces of your business origin story. If you want to go deeper on the topic, make sure to check out this week's Content with Character episode where we really dive in and bring these stories to life + show you how and where to start sharing them!

7 Writing Prompts to Get You Started when Crafting Your Origin Story

1. Why did you decide to start the company, business, or brand? Why did it have to be YOU??
2. What are 3-4 distinct moments or experiences that shaped you on your life journey? What happened and how did they change you?
3. Did you have an "aha" moment? If so, what was it and what did you do next?
4. Who are 3 key players who’ve influenced your journey? Mentors, friends, family, inspirers, uninspirers, cheerleaders, teachers, etc. How have they shaped you?
5. What challenges have you faced? What obstacles have you overcome and how did you overcome them? Did you have a moment you wanted to throw in the towel, how did you stop yourself? Or perhaps someone else intervened?
6. What curiosity, passion, or interest has driven you to your work??
7. What's the most important lesson you've learned along the way?

I hope these questions bring your creativity to life around your stories. Your answers to these prompts can be the start of just about anything you want to create in your content. And who knows... maybe even that book you've been wanting to write!

Consider turning one of your answers into: a blog, a podcast (or two), a social media post, the beginning of your next email, and a conversation starter!

Oh, and in case you decided you want in on that episode I told you about...

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