Stolen Stories

I love telling other people’s stories.

Every story shared with me becomes a part of my story, and vice versa. When I tell those stories, I’m sharing learned wisdom with a larger group, helping to increase an entire community’s wisdom. I’m an amplifier – if a colleague or a client uses an innovative idea to overcome a challenge, now that idea can propagate to many more people. I love being able to respond to a request for advice with a success story from someone else who’s faced the challenge.

Sometimes I even build new connections this way. I’ll share a story with someone, and they’ll find great value in it, and ask follow-up questions – questions I might not have answers for, since I didn’t live the experience. So I’ll make an introduction instead, putting the two people together, and now the great network effects are multiplied even further.

When you hear a good story, it’s a gift. It’s not meant to be hoarded!