There are times in our life, particularly when we’re young and oblivious to the ways of the world, when our future seems clear. The path is direct and is directly in front of us. We can’t see beyond the horizon, so there is always a sense of mystery as to how it will unfold, but we’re not anticipating a lot of twists and turns.
I’ve actually met some folks whose life, for the most part, followed such a scenario, and once they set their sights, they kept moving in a generally straight forward direction to reach their goals. But for most of us, life is about direct paths that are much too short, and we end up dodging bullets or dealing with unexpected curve balls.
World Domination Summit
As you know by now, I am something of a storytelling junkie, or to put it in the proper context, I’m a storylistening junkie. It’s also no secret that a lot of my storylistening is derived from the various TED & TEDx events I’ve attended over the years. But when a dear friend said, “Drop what you’re doing and join me at World Domination Summit.” I booked a flight. Founded by Chris Guillebeau, their view of the world spoke to me.
How do we live a remarkable life in a conventional world?
One name on the list of speakers that caught my eye was Tess Vigeland. I assumed her story would be an upbeat chronicle of success. One triumph after another. But she was going to deliver a different sort of narrative at the event. One that was all too human.
Tess was living the dream, working in broadcast journalism and hosting the personal finance show Marketplace Money. Life was good. But one day she decided to leave it all behind. Not for a better position, as you might expect. In fact, she had no Plan B. Wasn’t sure what was waiting for her around the next corner.
As revealed during her talk, Tess loved the people she worked with, but she had been unhappy for a while and bored with the repetition of reporting. In the end, she had to exit stage left for a simple, yet profound reason. She had too much self-respect to stay.
Even without a clear vision of the future, events unfolded with hope and it seemed as though things would work out in her favor, with a storybook ending, but her life took an expected twist, and Tess found herself in a professional abyss of sorts.
It has been terrifying, it has been awful, it has been heartbreaking.
What makes this story so impactful is her vulnerability. Facing up to all the self-doubt and uncertainty and ultimately admitting to herself that life no longer felt remarkable.
Clients often ask me how vulnerable they should be on stage, how much of themselves they should (or need to) share with an audience for their story to have impact. While it varies for each speaker, the bottom line is that an audience often knows when you are playing it safe. When there’s something not being said. A gap in the storyline.
But admitting failure in a public setting is not the easiest thing to do. It can be rather embarrassing. Which is the reason many people are uncomfortable on stage to begin with - they don’t want to make a mistake and embarrass themselves. But impact only happens when we step across the line of safety, when we become vulnerable.
Another memorable aspect of Tess Vigeland’s talk is how she used just enough humor to entertain the audience and change the tone of her story, yet maintain the insightful narrative that inspired those listening to examine their life, and consider their ability to take a risk, to jump into the unknown without a safety net.
As we all know, life can be messy. But within the chaos lies truth, if we’re willing to explore it, and story it, despite outward appearances.
I hope that you enjoyed this post. If so, please share your wisdom and insights below. And don’t forget to subscribe. You can also find me on LinkedIn and Twitter or even drop me a line with any thoughts or questions you may have about storytelling.