What does it mean to own your story?
Our life stories don’t occur with the beginnings, middles, and ends neatly labeled. And it’s not always easy to pinpoint the turning points in your life that led you to where you are right now. But when you’re able to identify those things and assemble the seemingly random events of your life in a way that makes sense — you’ve got a story.
Crafting your story and “owning” it means that acknowledging what’s happened in your life, taking responsibility for your choices, accepting the consequences you’ve faced, and learning some hard lessons along the way. It means accepting who you are, understanding the roots of your values, and telling the TRUTH.
Women of color who convey those things with confidence have a kind of power no one can take away.
Why Own Your Story?
Owning your story can transform old shame into new confidence, and self-doubt into certainty. But it can also play an essential role in growing your business or fulfilling your mission. Whether you are a social entrepreneur, consultant, nonprofit leader, or activist, owning your story builds:
* Authentic connections
Whether you want to cultivate connection with an audience, an investor, or a potential client, storytelling humanizes you in their eyes, making you more relatable and fostering their trust.
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* Emotional Engagement
As much as the more rational folks our there like to think people make decisions with their heads, data does not win customers, raise money, or change the world — stirring people’s emotions does. That’s what stories do.
* Unique Identity
In Patriarchal White Supremacist culture, storytelling by women of color — especially Black women — is an inherently radical act. Our culture has countless strategies for stereotyping, silencing, and discrediting women of color; by telling your story, you defy that oppression and assert your unique identity.
How can you own your story?
From 10am - 12pm (PT) on June 6 and 13, branding strategist Donaji Mejia will host a small group of values and community-focused women of color as I guide them through the process of owning their stories. Together we’ll identify beginnings, middles, and ends, look at key turning points, and distinguish the wisdom we’ve gained along the way. You can reach out to me for more information at [email protected], learn more here, or register right now.