I was just getting started on my dream of living a "laptop lifestyle" and I watched countless of people sharing with me their "big secret" to success. I wanted, just like many people, to "live the dream", dip my toes into the hot sand and work wherever I want around the world.
I was 25. Some would have said that I was gullible or innocent, but if you are like me, you like to listen to people who are where you want to be. As I listened I couldn't kept myself from noticing a pattern.
This is what I'm going to be sharing with you today as you read this article. The secret sauce, the pattern, that seems to elude us, the small hinges that moves big doors, the key that unlock the doors that were previously closed.
You don't need power(or steempower)...you need influence
What?!
If you have been following my series so far, I have been very specific when it comes to escaping the minnow zone. I talked about commenting and upvoting the comment section of your blog, to invest in SP, to find ways to add value to other people, etc.
But all of this is not enough. There is a secret sauce and that sauce is Influence. Now, what you need to know is what are the ingredient of that sauce...and this is it:
Learn how to tell your story
Some might be tempted to discard what I am saying and just go back to the "nuts and bolts" that I've previously shared. That would be a big mistake. Nuts and bolts only get you so far.
- If you have want to create a bond with people who follow your writing, they need to know your story
- If you want them to remember what you said in your article, they need to know your story.
- If you want other people to believe in you and back your project, they need to know your story.
I'm talking to you, someone who want to get a lot of upvotes on their content to eventually make it to the top on steemit.com
Take what I am saying here seriously
Why Stories?
That's because, for one reason or another, we are wired for stories. I'm pretty sure you don't remember 95% of what you've learned in school, but you remember some of the bedtime stories you've been told. That's because stories is the link between emotions and content. Information embedded within a story will be remembered through generations sometimes. This is how the oral traditions were preserve before the invention of writing.
When you tell your story, people "feel" the content that you are providing them.
How to tell your story
If you want to tell your story, you have to embody in a way the Hero's Journey. You don't have to have all the elements of the plot lie above but people need to know that you are on a quest, that you have been called to adventure and that you are moving toward your treasure.
If you are not living that journey, it may be time to ask yourself if you are simply stuck in the status quo part of the hero's journey and that you haven't had your call to adventure yet.
Here is the hero's journey schema if you need it for future reference...
Give me an example!
If you don't believe you have a story, you need to think hard because I can't recall someone who doesn't have a story. You have it, but sometimes it is how you remember your past and frame it that keeps you from harnessing it's power. EVERYONE HAS ONE. But to help you out, I will share you mine.
If you've been following my blog for a bit, you've probably heard my story either in full or in part. But here it is...If you can, try to recognize the pattern of the Hero's Journey.
My story is simple...I was a drifter until the age of about 25, where I sometimes slept on park benches, pick cherries and trying new jobs while traveling to and fro across Canada. All this time, I was looking for "the perfect job". Since I didn't know what it was, I kept trying new jobs and after a few months, completely get bored of it and quit.
I was desperate, I had no formal education past grade 11, I didn't have a career, no money, no purpose or goals. I remember hitch hiking on the highway 117 in Quebec...crying about how I was aimless in life.
After reading in some strange couple astrology book, that a women shouldn't trust a man that doesn't have a plan for his life by age 25, I decided that I would changed my life. Wisdom comes from strange places sometimes and somehow, that advice hit me like a ton of bricks.
I've read Tony Robbins "Unleash the Giant Within", listened to Jim Rohn talks and decided to sort myself out...to write goals for myself and to stick to them. I decided to reframe the big question of my life from "What is the perfect job for me?" to "What is the ideal lifestyle I would like to live". From there I decided that I wanted to live a mobile lifestyle and escape the matrix.
That's all good but I had no clue how to make money online and therefore I failed...I failed miserably for a long time. I tried direct sales and network marketing, I tried online network marketing, I tried affiliate marketing with clickbank, I spend thousands of dollars on courses about sales copy, facebook ads, conversion optimization and others. I blogged everyday for a year and a half and spending every dollar earned on courses.
Three years later, I was still at square one. I almost quit. I was living in Ucluelet doing housekeeping...at age 28. "Living the dream" alright. (nope)
But then I met a partner that completed my skills perfectly. We built an amazing business together and fast forward 3 years and I am well on my way to achieve the new big goal of my life: build a family with my wife. I have a big vision for the future and steemit is a part of it. I couldn't think of a better way to get there and this is why I do what I do here. I'm far from being done.
Conclusion
Tell your story in your blogpost and comments when you can, share how what you are doing right now is part of that journey. The right people will want to lock arm with you and walk by your sides. Feel free to share your story below and I will be very happy to upvote the best ones.
Yeah i remember the bedtime stories. But i did not know that it is part of the life and others will also like to hear others as a story. Thanks a lot and this tip will surely increase my writing skills.
This post received a 1.5% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @scorpionking! For more information, click here!
I also read the books you mentioned in this story. One thing that really stood out for me was that one has to get out of their comfort zone in order to achieve and move ahead. One day I would like to be brave enough to tell my story, I have been told my story could help a good many people. Perhaps the encouragement I received reading this will help me finally do it.
very nice post @cryptoctopus sir, i am 24 years old on that day when my father kick me out of the house along with my wife, at that time i have no job, no money to live, no experience on how to live practically, so i grab the hand of my wife and start walking towards unknown path, but i just won't give up and decided to prove to my father that i am capable of live this life, so i go to one of my relative house and get one room on rent, On the next day i wake up and go outside to find a job, i walk all the day, go to petrol pumps, go to grocery shops but couldn't find job at last i found one on a wheel alignment shop and decided to join it and i continue to work hard, by doing this hard work every day, so much thoughts comes in my mind why not i grab a pistol or a gun and snatch money from other peoples but one suggestion from my teachers comes in my way, my teacher said to me son there are two paths in this world one is right and one is wrong if you walk on a wrong path you might get lot's of success early on but you fails in the end and if you walk on a right path you should get lots of problems and worries but you will win at the end of the day, so i decided to walk on the right path and continue to align the wheels of peoples vehicles, then one day my friend told me that you have a computer diploma why not you try to get a job in education department, so i gave a test and interview in that department and got selected as an computer operator i am very happy and join that new job, my father and my family was very surprised that how he becomes successful he don't have guts to become successful, so in short i think if a person have self believe and true dedication to become successful in this life he eventually gets it no matter how difficult the conditions are one with a true vision and goal at the end wins.
Here I am again, reading your work and thinking to myself, 'this shit is absolutely possible!'. I have used more than a fair amount of your advice in my posts and have been seeing gains on a daily basis (I'm up to $7.53 account value organically). I have $2 in the bank right now (if they haven't taken that for fees) and I'm gambling everything on my writing. I was born adventurous, as you can see from my latest post, and have been sharing real life stories since I landed here in the fishbowl. We have a lot in common, the only difference it seems is that I am starting to realize my full potential a little later in life - I'm 43. Thank you ever so much for yet another smashing post about how to realize your dreams effectively. Upvoted!
Storytelling is as old as we are, our brains are wired for it. When you say "Once upon a time..." people automatically pull up a chair. When you describe what you experienced, the listener will imagine themselves as its happening to them. We all tell stories. I have more of my story to tell as well.
Motivating post as always :) I think the story is an essential part of account indeed and it when I check other users here I am always wondering who is this guy, how is he doing, what is his story.
Now about my story :
It might sound fun but we have some similarities in our stories :) I guess you will see it yourself.
In the age of 16 I went abroad for a work - I was picking strawberries and to be honest this job motivated me for the whole life. The question appears - what was so special about it? The answer is easy - conditions at work were like in the hell. We were living 10 people in a small trailer, we were working from 6am to 10pm. Everyday your back and hands did hurt so much you can't even imagine. However, these were my first bloody money and I was very proud of myself. The most important part of this experience was that I saw a job and life which I don't want to have in the future. It motivated me to finish my studyings and learn on how to use my brain properly.
The funny thing about this story is how I was going back with money I earned:
Even though it was not a lot: like 1000 EUR. I did not want to spend any extra cents, I wanted to save as much as possible and because of that I decided to sleep on a bench instead of booking a hotel.
Saving extra 50$ taught me a great lesson too, every cent is important and you need to be wise on how to spend or invest it.
This little work experience made me totally rethink my lifestyle and now thanks to it I am also doing great.
Honestly, I am not sure where my story is leading to, but I feel like it just started since a few years ago (actually the real start might be now that I started with Steemit, a few months ago). I'm kind of stuck into this situation of "recovering" and although I don't see this really improve that much further, I feel like I can develop myself in this new world that is just starting. If I look a few years from now I hope to have build a solid network, a return of my small (but hopefully wise) investments, and be able to participate on a higher level where I can eventually be freely independent and go wherever my ambitions take me...
That's smart. It seems like your post can be distilled into two main points: people are more likely to like you if they can relate to your journey, and they're more likely to remember what your write when they know who you are.
It's that second point that really resonates with me. The story provides a scaffolding of context on which people can hang your ideas. When you are known, instead of just "some guy on the internet", it's easier to learn from your words and even to just recall them. I think it's a phenomenon closely related to the pedagogical "zone of proximal development" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_proximal_development).
"I've read Tony Robbins "Unleash the Giant Within", listened to Jim Rohn talks and decided to sort myself out...to write goals for myself and to stick to them" That book and Jim Rohn's teachings are magic. When I rocked bottom not so long ago, these two guys helped me getting out of the trash (literally) and put me where I am today, on an unstoppable run for my dreams. Thank you for sharing @cryptoctopus ^^
Wow.. Excellent article @cryptoctopus..😊
It gave me a very good punch to grow in steemit.. Also, I'm expecting your great support for me.. I'm blogging in steemit from the last two months.. Look into my blog if you have a free.. Upvoted for you..😊👌👍
You have a way with words @cyptoctopus. I am newcomer to Steemit and it is enlightening to see posts like these. I look forward to taking some of the advice you shared in this post and using it while I write my content. I just posted an introduction post if you would like to look at it. Thanks for sharing, keep steeming.
Where are you located? I'm looking for an accountant that can help me with my crypto :-)
Orlando, Fl. If I can be of any assistance to you, please let me know.
It is so interesting you posted this today @cryptoctopus. Just this week, I have been talking to a few guys at my job and we were discussing the "story" of our company. I was trying to explain to them we needed to package our story in a more compelling way so it sticks with people--the company has a compelling story, they just haven't told it very well yet. I'm going to get them to sit down and watch the attached video to this post--thanks again for another amazing post. I think this is the best yet in an already incredible series.
Your vision of how to start writing your story is very objective, we all who want to achieve success must represent, what we want to convey to our readers and know this perfectly well. After reading your story about the main character and your personal story, I realized that it is not necessary to run and grab everything in the corners and carry it to the audience in the hope of surprising it, but it's enough just to be sincere with your reader and he will believe in you and come back again. Thank you @cryptoctopus, I will still think over your words and draw conclusions!
Sharing our stories connects one another on a different level . It helps us build a better bond with the platform itself too. Once I told my story , man, things have changed ever since . I became friends with indivuals a lot higher than me that helped me and guided me to a better future .
We all have struggles that come along in life but the goal is to never give up, keep striving because our goals and our dreams are always a path that is not easy . If things could be handed to us then it wouldn't be rewarding .
And your story inspires me , that we shouldn't ever settle for less , people going , keep moving , keep Steeming
Thank you for this post @cryptoctopus , I want to start mine journey with steemit one day , but i don't feel ready yet becouse i'm still learning the language , until then I'm glad that I can find so motivational and helpful information down to the road
And here's me trying to keep too much personal stuff out of my writing (and failing because it seems natural to me to include more about myself) because I think people won't be interested or won't be able to relate! Great advice.
We're writers, @catonwheels, it's all personal ;) I for one love your work and I'm glad that you share it with us.
Thank you <3
I have thought quite a bit about how I could keep myself out of my writing and have determined it is impossible. I can't keep myself from exposing myself when I write, because the only things that I have to share are my thoughts and experiences and those are uniquely mine. We can keep certain aspects of our lives hidden, but I do think that as we open up people will be more interested in our stories.
@n4t3w Wise words. I am always worried about revealing too much online for various reasons, but your right if you want to gain an audience opening up more is inevitable!
I hope this helps. People love true and genuine stories.
It does, thank you so much.
Cool post, full of hope and strenght! I like your way of thinking and your tips about influence!
Thanks for another awesome advice @cryptoctopus with heart touching story,I really like the style of your writing,you explore the words from the core of your heart. Appreciate your fruitful efforts
Wonderful post indeed @cryptoctopus ....thanks for the motivation... blessings
Thanks again for your wonderful words of motivation. I have began my story and for the first time in my life i feel like i can build a future for myself. With this also comes fear...fear of something going wrong along the way. But for now i am taking baby steps, day by day and making progress to the dolphin level :P
Definitely agree with your tips .These are great guidelines to follow! Аs a minnow , I feel very flattered that people like you care and want to help about their audience growing smartly :)
I must say i was touched with this post of yours. I can feel you on the highway 117 bit man and I think many people need to hear these stories to get motivated and to rediscover strength in themselves. Thank you for this motivation, I am definitely going to write one of my stories now.
Very well written. I think you hit the nail on the head here. It is hard sometimes to write about yourself or personal journeys taken. Sometimes, taking a step back to re-evaluate makes more sense in our journeys. I am glad you found your way. I wish you luck with your continued journeys. Thank you for sharing.
You are an amazing person. I am currently working on how the surgeries i do is changing lives and will be posting it soon. Your guidelines are best. Yes we minnows do not get lot of readers to read it, but even if 1 other person - not the bot - reads it..i feel happy that it reached someone! Thank you for your support and suggestions. You are the best!
Wonderful write up again @cryptoctopus, you are absolutely right about stories, everyone has his own unique one and we can share it to the whole world. And i am sure so many people out there want to read such real life stories!
My story is little like this : I'm a Moroccan but living in Mauritius as I'm married with a Mauritian! It was a great change for me, as the culture change is just enormous! It took me quite some years to adapt! And now I am happy to be able to live well as i've adapted to practically everything and i also have a cute daughter!
I think I can write quite some interesting post on my story!
Thanks for telling us your story, my own story telling skills are a bit choppy but I will take your advice and start doing more story telling in order to get better at it. Practise makes perfect!
So the courses weren't helpful at all? I'm into internet marketing but I've not tried any courses yet. I feel like most of the information on ebooks/courses will just be regurgitated information which are available for free.
they are great, don't get me wrong. I use everything I learned now in my current business...but I only got the fruits of it years later. I don't believe people follow free advice that much. Believe me, when you shell out $1000 for a course...you pay attention!
my best earning post ever was one that I made about my first few weeks on steemit and what I had learned at that point. people do appreciate having some background info on whatever a person is posting about.
Even with my colorchallenge and photography posts I always make a point to include at least a short paragraph to give the reader some background info about the picture, when I took it, how long ago, etc.
But you're right about stories being an integral part of our lives. I often get long-winded and feel that sometimes I'm putting too much info in a post or comment but I prefer to err on the side of too much info and people usually don't seem to mind it. I tend to make more when I explain more in general.
Great thoughts, I agree with you, to share our story and communicate with the steemit community will bring the success to become a good blogger! Well written post! thanks for sharing
Thanks @cryptoctopus, this is something that I forget to do in my posts sometimes, even though the flow of my posts make sense in my head, I can see why it would become difficult for a reader to follow along when they don't know my story.
I'm a 27 year old from Honolulu that's lived here my entire life. I was able to travel through several states a few years back, but learning how to relate to others came from my diverse cultural surroundings and upbringing, and playing games online where everyone was from different time zones. Being in a place where everyone is a foreigner allows for unique cultral fusion and otherwise unlikely inspirations to take place.
I love figuring things out and learning, as growth resonates strongly in me. I attend college for computer Information Systems, and repair laptops as a hobby because technology is always changing, so there's always new things to learn.
In coming to Steemit, my goal is an attempt to capture things that would only occur from such a bizarre range of experiences that burns in me, and build a link toward deeper understanding, while expanding my own.
Putting experiences and emotions that are left field into another's mind's eye is the ultimate endevor, and that's what I want to do.
Mahalo,
@shello
I spent 25 years in fast food as a manager and I hated it. I was good at developing management, which was the only part I enjoyed.
Since I was still working in my first job from high school, I didn't believe I could support myself anywhere else. That has since changed, but now I want freedom.
I'm debt free, but I too want to be able to travel, and I want to develop wealth. True wealth. I see steemit as a part of that equation.
You are right. I like your story. Mine did not require sleeping on the benches, just migration from Poland to Ireland. I worked as architect but needed something creative in my free time. I started making models and figurines, posted them online. After few months somebody commissioned me to make him custom model. I started doing that, bulding my online portfolio and few years forward, I make toys and models almost full time :) I found this platform as another way to show my work to people. So here is my short story :) The new journey is starting here, I see it will take lot of time, but I am courious where it leads. Thanks for advice!
Very helpful and honest information. I know in writing that I have done over the years I want to be honest and transparent but I don't want too many "warts" showing. LOL
I feel if we can't share our journey openly we are like the member of a big family that has the annual family reunion but we never attend.
Yes you are right
I think you have shared it in one of the parts
I started sharing my story in my motivation talk and i can see people commenting there heart directly to me
Although the comments might just be one or two but i can feel the impulse
This is more than a post
It is a life teaching
Have learned alot from you
Your words have a way of reaching my heart
My story
I have tried several business
Engage in some many online business training
But it was all wastes
Thumbs up
Thanks alot
Hey @cryptoctopus
When I started using internet I was curious how people earn money and I started searching about it. I got to know about PTCs paid to click sites and obviously got victim of scams. Later I got to know about Mylot which pays us to discuss, I started using it because I was poor in English. Our content needs to be understandable on Mylot.
Then I started to learn about blogging and other ways to earn money online.
I started my blog and accepting freelancing writing projects. I was quite disappointed with blogging earning but decided not to quit.
Freelancing is an income source but it require an active participation and hard-work. We have to work to earn more, it doesn't provide any passive income.
Now I am blogging om Steemit and my blog and also freelance in my spare time.
Thank you @cryptoctopus for sharing your story. I always look forward to your posts because they are captivating. And they're captivating because they are genuine. So it makes a lot of sense that story telling is what creates the bond between the person and their audience. I completely agree with you, and I have participated in many marketing webinars that do highlight the importance of story telling. People love stories and want to relate to others through shared common grounds as you mentioned in your conclusion. Personally, I knew exactly what I wanted from my early twenties. I was always in the 'Self-Help' section of bookshops reading about success stories, personal development etc And thankfully, they shaped my outlook on life including how to expect only the good. I remember once requesting the floor plan of a beautiful mansion in Vancouver overlooking the ocean which was at that time around 1 million and half. Nothing wrong with that except that I am from London, was living in London and still at university)! But for me, there was nothing ridiculous about that. Why couldn't I have the life I wanted if I worked towards it? I had my own business in my mid twenties, then that become financially unsustainable. So over the last few years, what's called 'reality' took over and I had to get a 'proper' job. But I never lost sight of what I wanted, and I am still working towards it, especially now that I work for myself. For me, it's not about if, but when 💪 and that's the exciting part!
Your content is always worth reading. You have a wonderful story
Thanks a lot for bringing this to our attention. I had have never had thought of of telling my story to be that important. On top of that, the example really helps to understand the message you are trying to send!!
Cheers!!
Great idea. I decided when I started at Steemit that the weekends would be for posts about non-political topics. On Saturdays, I try to post about whatever the highlight of that day is. On Sunday, well, "Sunday's With Brody" is a thing I do. My dog's name is Brody and post one of the many ridiculous photos of my dog.
Very well written . I like your way of thinking . . . Thanks for share such wonderful topic with us .
:-) :-)
It's a good tip, and I'll use it when time comes for it. Right now I wanna explore, learn and tell about it and I think it's not the right time for me to tell about myself :/ I'm not even sure if I could survive on this platform, sol enough I'll be cut in time and powers to write posts, it's also a struggle for me bc I have to use words I don't even know to express my thought or fact :/ It's good because i train my English, but sometimes I can't spent time on it, university doesn't let me sleep sometimes :( So yeah, if I'll make it through, maybe in a month I'll write about myself. Even if I like to write and explore, it's hard to accept that my work may not be even seen, I tried to spread word, but it might not help too much. Okay, I took enough of your time, so, thank you for tip, I'll try to use it :)
I love the Hero's Journey. I have read the book by Joseph Campbell so many times. I think story is the key to every great success--it is almost as if our minds are wired for this specific circle of growth. Thanks, I upvoted and resteemed this.
So true man, people always remember stories and these always mark them for life!
My story goes on briefly like this; I started working in the hotel industry at the lowest level in 2001 at the Hilton and 9 years after I became sous chef then I moved to another big company, the Starwood, until I became the executive chef for both St Regis and The Westin Mauritius!
I thought that was my goal in life, but once up there with a great salary for my country- 6000usd per month, I was not feeling that inner satisfaction!
I quit the job and took some time to think about what i really wanted in life!
Then some months back I met steemit, oh yes I'm starting back to zero again but i'm confident in me and I am actually feeling a great satisfaction within me!
It can take me years to succeed here, but i'll go for it!
So I can resume my story like that From 6000usd to 100usd per month!!!
@cryptoctopus,
Wow friend this is absolutely brilliant work! Actually your experiences are helping us to build ourselves day by day! And you are giving such inspiration via every post of yours and helping us by your upvotes as well! It's very rare thing in this platform!
Therefore, I am really appreciate your effort and thank you very much for sharing such wonderful experiences with us!
Cheers~
I had trouble trying to tell my stories in a creative way for the reader to understAnd. I so simple sometimes and it is a cursed sigh
Thank you for this part 5.
You are so right - we are by nature nosy little things us humans, so to hear (read) stories about people's lives, it's like nosing about in a diary.
Of course we are interested in personal stories. We cannot help it!
Thanks for your incouragement@cryptoctopus!! Happy to know that u can write my real life stories on Steemit.I will do my best.Blessings.
Hey, great post. i actually read all of it. even watched the video. I have a lot to say, but briefly- i thought you were older, because the way you write seems very mature. This whole posts is great i think from the first letter to the last one. Bottom line, great post, thank You so much for it, i am your new follower and voter. Hopefully soon my votes will worth something to others. And i also have a great story to tell, i guess i think it is too early to tell... to that few people who might read it. i am not sure ... anyhow, Best wishes! See you around! :-)