291 The Stories We Keep
As much as we all may wish for life to be sunshine and daisies we can often end up focusing on the storms and trials that accompany them. It can be easy to lose yourself to grief and bitterness when viewing your life through those storm clouds, however it is important to remember that it is only a passing thing that shadow and even darkness must pass, and how you tell your story after those times can reframe how you see your life and give hope to others who may be going through something similar.
In this episode Sarah Elkins and the esteemed Rob Kugler discuss the importance of stories involving grief and sorrow, while also acknowledging the great acts of kindness and courage it takes to survive through these times in life.
Highlights
Spite can be a great motivator in certain circumstances.
Stay mindful of how you tell your story so that you tell it in a way that can be appreciated and reflect your values.
Doing your best in situations where things feel out of control.
It’s important to know that what you’re going through is not uncommon and to tell those stories brings comfort and acknowledgement to others. No story is too mundane to tell.
Quotes
“People keep on asking, “Hey are you going to write another book?” And I tell people, “Yes, I’d love to but I haven’t done the things I want to do to write about yet.”.”
“There’s not alot to complain about if you don’t look at the one thing you can’t have.”
“When is that moment, or when is that conversation that starts your story? There’s times when, even to get to the other side as we mentioned earlier, just moving forward with confidence of knowing the value of the story that already exists. So if we’re like to say “Hey I want to look at making a second edition.” But also following through on the ideas of the calendars and prints from the photos that I took along the journey.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
The first thing I’m going to ask you to do is when you read a book that you really like, leave a review. You can do it on Amazon, on Good Reads, maybe share it because those of us who have written books know that writing a review really is meaningful, so if you really liked a book leave a review even if you kind of liked a book write a review and leave three or four stars. But write a review because that means people are reading the book and that matters to us.
The second thing I’m going to ask you to do is to consider what struggles you’ve experienced in your life, what grief you’ve experienced in your life, and how you can frame that story so that somebody else can feel what you’re feeling and see what it’s like to come out the other side.
That’s what I’m asking you to do because your stories don’t define you, but how you tell them will.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Rob from his LinkedIn
Through experiences from teaching Pre-K to leading Marines, from acting in Los Angeles to field marketing, from leading volunteers in Disaster Relief Operations to finishing a degree in Fire Protection Technology, from traveling the country taking photographs with my three-legged labrador to publishing a book with a major publisher, well rounded life experience is my biggest asset.
I am currently bringing those experiences into classwork at Washington State University where I am obtaining a degree in Strategic Communications.
My goal at WSU is to learn new ways that my writing and photography can not only tell stories of my experiences, but the stories of brands, companies, organizations and people I believe in.
Be sure to check out Rob’s LinkedIn, his photography Instagram, and Facebook! As well as Marcus Brotherton and Rob’s website Life Illustrated!
Pick up a copy of his book A Dog Named Beautiful! And be sure to check out No Vet Alone where you can help veterans in need.
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Job Interview Storytelling Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!