The Curse of Storytellers

Hero,

As human beings, we are the sum total of all the stories we’ve experienced. We live stories, breathe stories, relate through stories, and dream in stories. Stories are in our DNA. When everything we know is done and dusted, only our stories will remain.

When our vocal cords vibrate air, what comes out?

Stories.

The ability to tell compelling stories through any medium is an undoubtedly awesome power.

So awesome is this power, it’s actually the power behind all other so-called “high value” skills—selling, persuasion, charisma… you name it.

That being so, understanding what makes stories compelling—story structure—should serve as a cheat code to unlocking your entire raison d’être (reason for being).

Except that’s not really the case.

There is a cliché about writers. Tell me if you’ve heard it:

Writers tend to be a bitter lot, stressed out, carrying demons to spare, and always good friends with their bartender.

In my 20 years in Hollywood I met incredible storytellers of all ages, genders, races, economic brackets, ambition levels, you name it.

I noticed, oddly, that there seemed to be only a tiny correlation between those who understood the art and science of storytelling, and those who actually led vibrant lives, aligned with their highest purpose.

I started to wonder, how come nobody seemed to direct the incredible power of storytelling inward—at themselves?

If you’re a master storyteller, it stands to reason that you should be able to create an amazing life story, or at least understand what you need to do to open up the right choice points that could lead to massive shifts in your reality.

After all, isn’t that what you do for the characters you create, your clients or your customer journeys?

Oddly, there seems to be a firewall between creative output and creative input.

Put another way, we storytellers are good at applying the Hero’s Journey to just about everyone BUT ourselves.

Why is this?

Just as a teenager who plays Fortnite all the time thinks they’re forging real connections with avatars and voices on their headsets, storytellers who apply the hero’s journey to their creations get the residual effect of thinking they’re applying it to themselves, when reality, they have merely created a dramatic proxy.

This is the blind spot of storytellers.

For those who have been living under a rock for the last 5,000 years, the Hero’s Journey is:

A story in which the main character is thrust from familiarity and comfort and somehow compelled into a special world where the old rules don’t apply.

To survive in that world, they must overcome a need, block, hurt, insecurity or shame using force of will or courage that was heretofore inaccessible in the ordinary world, so they can become the version of themselves that finally has the ability to overcome their Great Personal Trial, achieving At-One-Ment with their highest purpose.

At this point they are able to share the insight – or “medicine” they gained from the special world and bring it back to their familiar world, so the tribe can be healed, or evolve in some positive, substantial way.

This dramatic structure predates written language.

Every enduring myth and religion you’ve ever heard of is based on it.

It’s present in every blockbuster movie you have ever seen.

I believe it is incumbent upon us as creators to start looking at our lives from the perspective of someone who is creating our story instead of merely starring in it, and then focusing our storymaking insight inward.

If we do that, we can start to apply the time tested rules of storytelling to our own lives and create epic versions of our journeys—for the benefit of our entire tribe.

I’ll see you on the path.

Warmest regards,

Patrick Christell

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I am a professional storyteller. I’ve been doing it for over two decades. I’ve synthesized everything I’ve learned into a self-actualization framework wherein anyone can apply the structure of epic storytelling toward becoming not only a master of storytelling, but also their own lives. For more storytelling manna, browse the rest of my newsletter here, follow me on Twitter or check out my website. If you have any questions, or just want to chat, feel free to reach out on twitter DMs or via the email link on my website.