When I was a wide eyed twenty something wannabe-preneur, I heard a story that impacted me profoundly. This tall busty, beautiful, blond woman shared from stage about the horrific abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of man she believed to be her father.
Abuse stories always rip my heart out but this story had me gripped for a different reason. The tale went the way it typically does. Finding love in all the wrong places, pregnant at seventeen, homeless…
Just when you’re left wondering how in the world this person could have overcome such terrible circumstances (and you know she did because she’s standing on stage telling the story), hope bursts onto the scene. From homeless to millionaire in two short years and now she was helping people who were struggling in the same industry she prospered in.
What that story did for me was show me that no matter what someone has been through, they can overcome. It also demonstrated to me the power of reaching back and helping others who are struggling through something you overcame.
That story is still with me fifteen years later because it had what every powerful tale has. Overcoming terrible odds, a refusal to give up despite the atrocious circumstances, and the key ingredient that holds us all together; hope.
We saw it in the Hunger Games when Katniss inspired a revolution by sparking hope in the districts when all hope seemed lost. We saw it in Schindler’s List when he went to great lengths to save as many jewish people as he could from the Holocaust. And we saw it in Rudy when he refused to accept the limitations others were putting on him and rose up in spite of them.
What do all of these stories have in common? One person’s refusal to give up in spite of the circumstances stacked against them. This is one of the main things that makes a story impactful and the good news is, everyone has a story like this—including you.
I guarantee there have been times you’ve wanted to give up but didn’t. And I promise you that there are people facing the same hurdle who don’t see a way around it yet. You know the way because you’ve done it and you can show them how.
This is the ripple effect friends. You just need to find your story.
If you need help finding the right story to impact others, grab my free course Discover, Outline, and Plan You Book Like a Pro right here.
