Sub-title: Silence your inner critic and rewrite your life from the inside out.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or just someone looking to make a change in your life, Kindra Hall’s book Choose Your Story, Change Your Life is definitely worth a read. In her book, Hall explores the idea that our stories have the power to shape our lives and our businesses. Drawing on her own experience as a screenwriter and storyteller, she walks readers through the process of understanding their own stories and how they can use them to create positive change.
I really enjoyed this book, it was so engaging in audiobook form, and I had a bit of an epiphany as I didn’t think I had any stories I told myself, and this is a story in itself. I realised a few while I was listening to this book. It will be a concept I explore more.
In the first part of the book, Hall discusses the science behind why stories are so powerful. She explains how our brains are wired for story and why we remember stories better than facts and figures. She also shares some of the most memorable stories from her own career and breaks down what made them so effective.
In the second part, Hall provides readers with practical exercises for finding and crafting their own stories. This includes advice on how to identify your audience, capture attention, deliver a clear message, and leave a lasting impression.
The final section of the book is all about using stories to build relationships. Hall offers tips on using stories to build trust, foster collaboration, resolve conflict, and more. She also includes advice on how to overcome some common challenges that storytellers face, such as stage fright and impostor syndrome.
The fundamental premise of the book is that it’s never too late to change the story. Just as we can choose to turn to a different page in a choose-your-own-adventure book, we can also choose to make different decisions in our lives that will lead us down a different path. In her book, Hall offers readers a framework for making better decisions that will help them write the story they want to read.
The framework is CATCH, ANALYSE, CHOOSE and INSTALL. The concept is to catch or identify good stories, analyse and magnify them, build better stories, and instal them by using them. In practice, when faced with a challenge or a decision we are likely reminded of an occurrence that had a negative impact on our past experience and this story is pre-installed to talk us out of action. If we are aware of this, we can stop ourselves and look back and select positive stories where challenges have been overcome and decide to use these instead.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to any business owner looking to create positive change in their business. Hall’s practical advice and exercises can help you identify and change negative thinking patterns and behaviours. Additionally, her tips on using storytelling to connect with your customers and promote your products or services are sure to leave a lasting impression. If you’re looking for a book that can help you change your business for the better, check out Choose Your Story, Change Your Life by Kindra Hall.
Image: chooseyourstorychangeyourlife.com
