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the neverending story

Writer's picture: iwan joosteiwan jooste

Last week had me thinking a lot about how storytelling is inextricably woven into the fabric of who we are.


What is this life if not an intricate story unfolding moment by moment?


There's this ongoing, beautiful tension between those moments we're the author, penning out awe-inspiring scenes of our own creation - liberated, unlimited, powerful - balanced against those crushing, hopeless, heartbreaking chapters where it seems like some cruel penman is shaping our fate.


Are we writing?


Or are we being written?


Even the rise of a platform like TikTok, for all of its soulless, self-aggrandizing prowess and hilariously cringeable content, is a prime example of everyone's need to tell their story.


From bizarre dance challenges, lip-syncing to Roddy Ricch, punting talentless talent, playing tricks on unsuspecting family members, every TikTok user is desperate for an audience.


Afterall, what is a story without a witness?


In these early days of creating my own copywriting business, I'm constantly reminded about the privilege - and responsibility - of positioning myself to help other people tell their story.


This is why I love doing what I do.


I'm invited into the secret world behind my client's eyes, into the very heart of their dreams. As much as we love telling stories, we're also creators.


Each of us has a need to bring something unique, of our own design, into being. Helping brands and entrepreneurs serve the world by bringing their story to life is sweetly rewarding.


Business storytelling shouldn't be underestimated.


Storytelling provides you with tools to clearly communicate how you can help potential customers and describes benefits they will see as a result of working with you.


If you know how to effectively tell your story, then potential customers will see you as the logical solution to their problems.


It's is an ongoing process. Each day, your business and brand grows, shifts, and adds new chapters to its story.


When done well, business storytelling gives a compelling reason for consumers to connect with you. A good brand inspires trust between your business and customers, employees, and suppliers.


It's amazing, really, to walk that journey with an entrepreneur or creative visionary.


With all the vulnerability, fear, faith, and head-knocking it takes to start your own business, I'm hyper aware of all the stories I tell myself encountering the highs - and especially lows - while I bring The Pen Haus to life.


My mind is the master storyteller and I really can't say I'm a fan of the fiction it often churns out! I'm talking Stephen-King-Pennywise-the-Clown-horror.


It's only my relationship with The Master Storyteller that keeps me grounded - and with the right perspective I need. In those dark moments when I think I'm alone at the keyboard, a simple prayer reminds me I'm really just co-telling my story with something much greater than me.


Every moment of your life is a story. You and 7.8 billion other humans share one planet - but each of us experiences our own, unique, individual world.


7.8 billion people. One planet. 7.8 billion worlds.


What a story we share.


Andy Warhol's prediction from the sixties has certainly come to pass, "in the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."


Modern society's demand for instant gratification has certainly upped the stakes on this - you've only got 15 seconds on Tiktok, for example, to win that all-important follow!


Hours of painstakingly crafted content by eager storytellers bypassed with one cruel thumb swipe - or, get it right, and you're a digital, cyberspace superstar.


We'll always be storytellers.


And in the way that we bring to life wars, pandemics, and revolutions, we so too birth miracles, magic, and wonders.


Which do you choose?


What's the next story you'll write?


Love writing,

Iwan





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