Is Your Story Worth Reading?
Imagine this…
Sometime in the future, they have the technology to peer back in time to more accurately record biographies. The person assigned to you has chosen this moment as being the start of the next section of your biography.
Can this be a seminal moment in your life? Going forward, can you look back on what you are doing now and say “that’s when things really started to get going?”
Of course, this is just a thought experiment. But what if it were real?
- Is your story interesting? Something you’d read or watch?
- What does your story say about your life?
- Would you do things differently going forward if you knew you were being “read” or “watched?”
Better Than Fiction
In the movie “Stranger than Fiction,” Harold Crick, played by Will Farrell, discovers he is a character in a novel being written by a famous author. He begins to hear her narration in his head, and comes to realize his life is being told as a story.
In reality all of our lives are stories. Some people are part of your story, others aren’t. But it’s always our story, the narrative of our lives.
Many of us have pretended that our lives were a book or movie. Maybe you’ve even imagined a narrator telling your story as you go about your day.
What it all comes down to is this…
Is the story worth reading? Not to anyone else necessarily, but is your story something you’d like to read?
Section Two – The Next Chapters
Every moment of your life is a turning point. Some are more memorable than others, but every decision you make influences how the next chapter of your story will read. No matter what’s happened in your story so far, the next section, and the chapters it contains, can be different. They can be better.
There comes a point where you have to look at what’s been written and decide if you want to continue with the story as it’s shaped up so far. Kind of like your own personal “Choose Your Own Adventure” book.
As you contemplate becoming a home-based entrepreneur, or explore taking your business to the next level, look back on how your story has come together. See what have been the central moments, the ones you have consciously written, and those that seemed to “just happen to you.”
Every author has the task, and the responsibility, to make sure that the next chapters continue to move the narrative forward.
Where will the next chapters in your story take you?
Tony, I love this!
It’s kind of like imagining what the person giving your eulogy would say, but much more positive.
It also goes to one of my most powerful beliefs, courtesy of Tony Robbins: the past does not equal the future!
Yesterday was yesterday, tomorrow isn’t here yet. The only time is now.
Hey Tony,
This post reminds me of an TV commercial we have here for the Singapore Navy. The TV commercial starts when a man flipped open the papers and realised that hey, there is a movie going on and the title of the movie is “Nick’s Life Story” (his name is Nick)
The next scene shows him in the cinema, and while he is watching the show, he notices that the rest of the cinema is fast asleep because his life is too boring~! haha!
After that comes the part where they introduce the excitement and all the battleships and stuff. So the message was to like “Get a life and join the Navy” kinda thing.
I think we all need to take a step back sometimes to examine if we are really designing our own lives, or falling into the systems put in place for us. Since everyone thinks differently, it really makes no sense that everyone must follow the same system. If our lives were written in a book, what category in the bookstore would you like it to be shelved in? Would it be a best seller?
In life, I guess it goes both ways. Either you control your life, or let others step in to control you. This is the same from the point you were on this Earth till you leave. Your teacher at school will tell you that (e.g. Hand in your work, behave yourself or I shall step in), your boss at work, or for that matter anything else.
It is important to think far, yet also to reflect back on the past. Some people only ponder about the past, or daydream about the future. Only when one actually grasp the importance of both, and stand firmly on the ground, will he then be able to proudly write his own life chapters.
Steve – I agree — the eulogy thing was always a bit morbid to me. That’s one of my favorite Robbins’ quotes too. It’s also cool that you saw the underlying perspective of the NOW. Even though you’re viewing it as a possible future, all futures are possible. Focusing on what you’re doing now creates the future you want.
Kian Ann – Great story and analogy. “Since everyone thinks differently, it really makes no sense that everyone must follow the same system.” That’s so true, and is something a lot of folks may miss.
Lyndon – Good point. There are always those willing to step in and write your story for you. Rarely will they have your interest in mind over their own. Taking control of your own story guarantees that it gets written the way you want it.
That’s an interesting way to measure the importance of what you’re doing. If we looked at every action we take through this filter, we probably wouldn’t waste near as much time…
Kian Ann – I think I would have to be in the self help section. I believe in helping myself that I will in turn be able to help more people.
The world belongs to dreamers who take consistent and persistent action!
Tony, definitely so. It is not far from the truth that it is a Man ‘eat’ Man world out there, and one has to seriously consider looking out for himself in that sense. Better to depend on yourself than others.
Bradley,
“The world belongs to dreamers who take consistent and persistent action!”
Thanks! I love this! Hahaha
Dreaming is part of success, action is the other part!