#142 – Three Years Later 😮
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#142 – Three Years Later 😮
The adventure continues and a small treat for you inside.
This is Adventures in Storytelling your weekly note with resources, insights, and actionable tools for better communication through storytelling. Enjoy.
It’s been three years, two weeks, and three days since I started this weekly newsletter. Yes. That’s right. I missed my (our?) anniversary. As my friends at my favourite podcast right now, Vibe Check, said last week, life has been lifing lately and I’ve just been focusing on keeping up.
But, I’ve also had a strange influx of new subscribers this week (if this is your first note from me, welcome). It seemed like the right time to reshare some of my (our?) favourite posts from the first year of the newsletter. Specifically, the posts focused on tools and insights to make your stories better. But also, the ones folks read the most, or sent replies to me about, or shared. The process for choosing was not scientific and came down to what I remember and what the stats on some of them said.
A lot of the older posts for the newsletter are now for paid subscribers only, but I’ll unlock these few for this week only so you can peruse even if you aren’t a paid subscriber. And if you’re a paid subscriber you can enjoy ALL the other locked posts which I think are still valuable and worth referring to. So here they are.
A Few Posts Worth Going Back to:
The Intro Post – The popularity of this one makes sense, it’s a bit of a welcome and let’s you know who I am—or who I was when I started writing this newsletter. I still haven’t written that note about exclamation points, but it’s been on my list of possible posts for three years. One day, someday, soon.
What Makes a Good Story – I think this one is important. I refer back to it often. It dives into the idea of tension and includes a lesson I teach in my storytelling workshops often, how to infuse tension into your story. If you missed it, I highly encourage the read, it is such a simple way to improve any story.
Where to Begin – This was all about a lesson I learned in journalism school, which is to not bury the lede in your story. Reading back, it’s also a good lesson helping to ground you in what your story is all about. Another lesson I try to share in my workshops.
How to Craft a Resume – This one is a gem. It is long, it is well shared, and I still get notes from folks who it has helped in crafting a better resume. I feel bad that it’s locked, but I guess it also reassures me that subscribers are getting additional value so… It’s also where I finally started sharing about career storytelling and now I do quarterly webinars on it, so a bit of nostalgia here too.
A (My) Story of Burnout – This one was a doozy to live through and write. But it also really resonated with folks. It’s been among my top post since I shared it in early 2021. This experience sparked many other posts and an entire organization built around helping others avoid burnout and develop more sustainable relationships to work (my passion project Re-Work). Fewer practical lessons, but I think a lot to take away and think about.
I think I’ll leave you with these, five feels like a good number and there’s a lot to dive into in each of them. Let me know what you think of sharing some of these older, paid posts from time to time. I’m happy to do it again if folks like it. Remember, they’re only available for a week, then they go back behind the paywall.
If you’re a long-time subscriber and have a favourite older post I didn’t mention, let me know in the comments or reply to this note with your thoughts. I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for being here and for choosing to continue on this particular adventure in storytelling with me.
A Story Well Told
In the spirit of harkening back to posts from my first year of sharing, I thought I’d share this oldie but goodie from that year (early pandemic). In it The Galactic Federation interviews Earth for membership. Let’s just say I don’t think we’re getting a callback. It makes me laugh every time. Because if you don’t laugh sometimes, you’ll cry. Where are our teleporters and flying cars?!
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