Have you ever listened to someone else’s story and thought, Wow, they’re amazing! If only I could be like them, then I could have the impact they do.
I really want to be more influential like them, but…I just don’t have that kind of a story. I don’t have that important of a message. I’m just, well, me.
I call this kind of thinking The Confidence Trap: We tend to deify others and diminish ourselves. We think other people have something worth saying, because they’re special, but we downplay our own experiences, message, and story.
But here’s the thing. We get this all flipped around and we put ourselves down because we lack the confidence to share our story.
I used to think this same thing about my own story. But then one day I told the story of how I walked away from a safe secure job with benefits. I told how my wife and I went a year with six kids and no income to follow my dream of writing and story telling. I shared the challenges we faced along the way and how we persisted to found StoryBuilders.
I didn’t think much of it because it was my story. Afterwards, someone came up to me and said, “I never knew that about your story, Bill. I’ve been thinking of stepping out and going all in on my dreams. And if you can do it with six kids, then I can do it too!
That’s the power of your story. It may not resonate with everyone, but it will connect with some people. And those people may only connect with you and your message and not the ones you tend to deify.
A lot of people hold back because they don’t believe their story is meaningful. I’ve worked with people whose names you would easily recognize and learned that they still struggle with the same thing.
For example, I had lunch with someone in New York City once whose name you would immediately recognize. She shared with me that she struggled at times to think anyone might really want to listen to what she has to say and not just because of her last name.
So, know you are not alone. This confidence struggle is part of being human and that’s okay. The same is true for the people you deify. Their stories feel normal to them too. But that didn’t stop them from putting their stories out there and experiencing breakthrough success as a result. And it shouldn’t stop you.
The key is to push through the resistance you feel. Your story might feel ordinary to you because you’re the one who lived it. What feels normal for you on the inside has the potential to be powerful for others on the outside.
The impact comes from having the courage to share your story anyway. Because someone in the world needs to hear what you have to say.
Your Story Advantage Question:
Do you struggle to believe your story matters sometimes? What meaningful message are you holding inside because you think someone else could say it better?
