SPOTLIGHT: Shannon Rafalowski
There's a story prompt I teach called, "Trials to Triumph"... and this month's spotlight feature certainly fits that storyline.
I first met Shannon Rafalowski when she attended our very first Storytelling Symposium in Dallas, Texas.
I could sense immediately her story was raw and fresh. She was at the very beginning stage of healing from a 35+ year battle with an eating disorder and body image issues.
She had just finished up her life coaching certification and was searching for a way to share her story in hopes of helping others.
That was in May of 2019.
Over the past 2 years, I've had a front row seat as Shannon has unraveled and rebuilt her life from the ground up.
This work isn't for the faint of heart, but it's worth it when you are able to look back on your story and see how beneficial it can be to share it with others.
These days, Shannon pours her energy into her Tush Tribe Community, where she is helping women recover from their own...
SPOTLIGHT: Deb Cummins Stellato
That's how I feel about Deb Cummins Stellato.
A little over a year ago, I received a private message on Facebook from Deb. We weren't connected. We weren't friends. She wasn't a member of the LIGHTbeamers Community. And we didn't have any friends in common.
Yet, she was reaching out to me saying someone had referred her to me. She needed a Storytelling Coach, and could she please book a call with me?
When we got on our first call, within about 2-seconds, I felt like I was talking to my long-lost sister.
There was immediate synergy and connection between us, and needless to say, Deb became one of my private 1:1 clients and we immediately got to work working on her story (that would eventually be shared heavily on her Podcast, another project we built together).
Deb has embraced storytelling like the A+ student she is, and she's approached all of her work as a Certified Life...
Pivoting Your Business
Did someone say PIVOT?? For the last 2 months, we've done a lot of pivoting, or at least attempting to Pivot. Some of us have done this well, while others are feeling left behind.
Today's guest has made it her business to Pivot, and she's sitting in the hot seat today to share her story and help others figure out their next move!
Tune into this FB live episode with Podcaster, Coach, and Mentor, Deb Cummins Stellato.
Be sure to check out her podcast, Think Courageously
10 Year Challenge
Listen to our daily blog-casts on Amazon. Enable our "What's Your Story" daily flash briefing and listen using your Alexa device!
So there's this viral challenge making its way through the social media at the moment called the 10 year challenge where you post your profile picture from 10 years ago and compare it to the one of today. Now all over the internet people are posting side by side pictures, some in which there are noticeable drastic changes in appearance while others look relatively the same. And of course, you know the point being we all age differently. We all may look different after a 10 year span while others age a little bit better and look the same.
But the point is this is a golden opportunity to sprinkle some storytelling to your audience by taking this challenge a step further. And instead of just focusing on how well you aged, focus on how much your story has changed. This is an actual exercise and story prompt. I give a lot of my storytelling students to look...
The Foundations of Storytelling: Your Transformation Story
Listen to our daily blog-casts on Amazon. Enable our "What's Your Story" daily flash briefing and listen using your Alexa device!
Yesterday, I took you through an exercise to help you work on your origin story — one of the 3 foundational pieces of storytelling you need to share with your audience. Your origin story is a piece of historical context that you can trace back to the beginning of your own story iIf you missed it, you can get the replay and full transcript on my blog.
I’m going to take you through all 3 pieces— next is the 2nd foundational tool, which is your Transformation Story.
With each of these foundational stories, you want to consider the message you are spreading to your audience with your work. Whatever it is you do, however you have an impact on others, that’s what you want to keep in mind as you evaluate your stories.
Your Transformation story is that moment or series of events in your life & business when you experienced a big...
Amy's Story
Listen to our daily blog-casts on Amazon. Enable our "What's Your Story" daily flash briefing and listen using your Alexa device!
Amy Minyard first landed in LIGHTbeamers Community lost and confused about what to do with her story. It was burning a hole inside of her, and once she figured out how to use it, a whole new Amy was born.
I invite you to listen as I share Amy's story.
Interview with Amy Minyard
This girl has a story! Amy Minyard has overcome so much in her life -- a single mom who's victory over abuse, abandonment, and obesity is a testament to the power of a woman determined to rise.
She first appeared in the LIGHTbeamers Community about 3 years ago with a heap of a story, but had no clue what to do with it.
3 Years later, she shares her story with ease and is on a mission to teach other women the power of Self Love!!!
The Stories hiding behind Your Pivotal Moments
Listen to our daily blog-casts on Amazon. Enable our "What's Your Story" daily flash briefing and listen using your Alexa device!
I want you to examine the Pivotal moments of your life. Everyone has pivotal moments they’ve been through that have affected their career, relationships, finances, spirituality…. so take some time today to examine yours.
Where in your life have you experienced big changes, abrupt endings, new experiences that shaped you and shifted you?
I’ve mentioned on this flash briefing before that one of the best ways to sharpen your storytelling skills is to first sharpen your journaling skills.
Taking some time each day to put pen to paper inside a journal helps you mine the stories that are inside of you….. buried behind a lot of day-to-day monotonous details …. but once you excavate...
Buying the Transformation
Listen to our blog-casts on Amazon through your Alexa device.
Subscribe to "What's Your Story" Flash briefing
There’s an aspect of storytelling I want to focus on to help you really hone in on a specific area of your story you shouldn't overlook…. your Transformation.
In telling your story, I suggest you follow this simple formula: Start with your Before (which is some sort of historical context that sets the stage for your story), then you work your way to and through the Transformation, which explains a big shift/ a change/ an 360 in perspective, and then you end with the Other Side, which is where you figure out the lessons you learned in the process and the message you want to share with others.
Most people are pretty good at the Before and After part…. but it’s the Transformation piece they leave out.
The reason why your transformation is so important is because other people are desperately seeking it.
I was listening to...
The 10 Year Challenge
There’s a fun little viral challenge making its way through social media at the moment called the 10 year challenge — where you post your profile picture from 10 years ago and compare it to the one of today. All over the internet, people are posting side by side pictures — some in which there are noticeably drastic changes in appearance, while others look relatively the same. Some people are asking the prolific question, “How well did you age?” This is a golden opportunity to sprinkle some storytelling to your audience by taking it a step further — and instead of focusing on how well you aged, focus on how much your story has changed. This is actually an exercise and story prompt I give a lot of my storytelling students — to look back 10 years ago and write about what their life looked like then, versus what your life likes like now. We often don’t even realize — or give ourselves credit for how much we’ve been able to do...
