How to Embrace and Share Your Story

Learn how to own your past, transform your experiences into strengths, and share your journey in a powerful way.

Your story is your greatest asset. It’s the one thing that is uniquely you. No one can take it from you or replicate it. It is your competitive advantage.

When I first started blogging in 2009, I did so anonymously. My blog, Thoughts.Stories.Life., was the one place I could be entirely myself—unfiltered and real. It was where I sorted my thoughts and tried to make sense of my past. I was honest about how hard things were, how much I was struggling to put my life back together, and where I started sharing my dreams and plans for the future. All of that was terrifyingly personal, and I never intended for anyone to discover it was me.

Then one day, on my first business trip to New York City, an article I’d written and submitted (I thought anonymously) to a huge website was published with my name. It was my whole story—my divorce, the fact that I was really a broke single mom struggling to make ends meet, that I had all these dreams, and how some of them were beginning to manifest. The article went viral almost immediately. I remember sitting in my hotel room, panicking as the Google alert popped up. I felt exposed and terrified of the repercussions. I just knew I’d lose my job.

But I was there to work, so I pulled myself together and went downstairs to meet a favorite client for lunch. For whatever reason (the Universe knew what it was doing), I opened up to Bill. I told him the whole story, sharing my fear that the public knowing my story would ruin me.

He looked at me and said, “Sarah, that is your story? I had no idea. That is an incredible story!”

“Thanks, but what do I do about it?” I asked. I trusted his advice—he was a big-time lawyer, after all. I knew he’d give it to me straight.

“You own it!” he said. “You own your story, Sarah. You don’t run from it—you embrace it. It’s incredible what you’ve been through and how you’re trying to put your life back together. It makes me respect your hustle and character even more. That is your asset. Own it.”

I’ve received a lot of incredible advice in my life—times when I’ve sat across from someone and knew I was receiving life-changing wisdom. But this was, by far, the #1 piece of advice anyone has ever given me. It changed my life. I would not be here today without it.

That advice helped me get comfortable with my story and changed how I viewed it. It was no longer something I was trying to run from or hide. It wasn’t this giant, embarrassing secret—it was my past, and I was intentionally creating a new future in spite of it. I learned how to be proud of that, not ashamed.

It takes time to see your own story in this light, but when you do, things shift in the best possible way. We all have a story. Maybe yours is dramatic like mine, maybe not—it doesn’t matter. Either way, you have a past that has taught you something. What is it? How have you grown or evolved from it?

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How to Own and Share Your Story

In my life coach training program, I teach new coaches how to identify and share their unique personal story. If you have a business, your story can attract clients and set you apart from the competition. People want to buy from those they trust, and sharing your personal story helps build that trust with your audience or clients.

Here are some ways to find and refine your story into one you feel comfortable sharing—one that can inspire others. This will help you find your story, if you’re not sure what it is, or refine it if you already know which part of your pastt you’d like to focus on. Grab a notebook and answer these questions.

• What are the big highlights of my life so far?

• What’s the thing I’m most proud of? What’s my greatest accomplishment?

• Was there adversity I had to overcome to achieve that goal? If so, what?

• Have I accomplished something unique, great, or special? How did I do it?

• What are some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from past experiences?

• Did something happen to me in my past that I had to learn how to heal from? How did I heal, what did that journey consist of?

• Is there something in my pas that I’ve been afraid to admit or share, but feel that now is the time, because it might help someone else?

• What is my before and after? (Looking at your story from this angle may help you put it together).

• Or, what is my before, and what is my dream-case after? (That can help you identify your desired outcomes).

• What part of my story could others relate to or learn from? How can I share it in a way that others see a reflection of themselves?

• How can my story help someone else?

• How does my story help others to relate to me and vs?

Answering these questions will help you create a framework for your story. Then, write it as a two-page descriptive essay. This will help you include details and make it more captivating. Start with the before—how things used to be, how you used to feel. Then describe how things are now (or how you want them to be). Re-read and re-write this story many times. Leave it for a week or two and rewrite it again. Once you’ve condensed it into a strong, powerful two-page version, then write a one-paragraph version. Do the same—tighten it, make it strong.

Read it aloud. Send it to a friend who will provide meaningful feedback and adjust if needed.

And then at some point, you must set it free. Put it out into the world and trust that everything will be okay. It will feel uncomfortable, exposing, raw, maybe even embarrassing—but those feelings soon fade. Once you own your story, it’s only hard to share the first few times.

• The first time it’s out there in print (like a blog or social media post).

• The first time you speak it out loud (to someone, on a podcast, or in front of an audience).

• The first time you see or hear someone else share your story (like in a bio, intro synopsis, interview, or article).

These are the hardest moments, but believe me—it gets easier. Now, I can talk about my story with no emotional attachment whatsoever. I’ve shared it so many times that it just rolls off my lips. That was certainly not the case in the beginning, so give it time.

Whatever your story is—whatever you’ve overcome—chances are millions of people have been through the same thing and will take comfort, relate, or learn something from your bravery in sharing your truth.

Pro Tip: Sharing Specific Parts of Your Journey

You can also do this for specific parts of your journey. For example, with my coaches, they start by writing their story as it relates to before they learned the Centrella Method™ (the tools I teach) and after. This helps identify and convey where they were before—how they felt, what they struggled with, what they wanted to change—and then how their lives have changed as a result.

I’ve spent the last 16 years sharing my post-divorce story with the world, but it was never my whole story. That story was one I knew I eventually wanted to tell, but wasn’t sure how. Now, for the first time in my life I am sharing my WHOLE story in my memoir, Anomaly. READ IT HERE.

Your story is your power. It’s your credibility. It’s your connection to the people you’re meant to help. Own it.

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Thoughts? Have you shared your personal story with the world? If so, how did it go? If not, what’s holding you back? I’d love to know in the comments.

If you’d like to work with me personally, I take a limited number of coaching clients, learn more and book a consultation here.