Why your personal story is the one thing you can’t outsource

Hey friends, so I was actually on my way to my studio to record a video today, and honestly, in Rochester, New York, it is just an absolutely gorgeous winter day. It's super cold this time of year, but we’ve had the sun out for the third day in a row. We got six inches of snow last night, and then the sun came out. I'm in a park right now, and it's just beautiful. I saw someone on a snowblower wearing flip-flops, people are out snowshoeing, and I'm here with the dogs.

I wanted to record a quick video and share some thoughts that are on my mind today. Last night, I woke up at five in the morning with this thought in my head: I’ve been in business for about eight years, and I’ve never put an "About" page on my website. Why haven’t I? Because I didn’t know what to say. I know what I do, I know the value I provide, but I’ve had a hard time crafting my personal story about how I got here. My story has been nonlinear. It hasn’t been a straight line, and it’s personal.

Before I got into the work I do now, I had a completely different career. I actually studied to be a pastor for a decade, worked in a large church setting, and ultimately discovered a new career path in marketing and communications. I was able to take what I learned in that setting and apply it to working with all kinds of different organizations. Maybe you can relate. Maybe your own experience led you through a difficult time at a previous company. Maybe telling people what you do forces you to dive into personal experiences, like your family background or a major career shift.

It took me eight years to tell my story. What I didn’t share is that when I woke up at five this morning, I finally wrote it and published it on my website. Something I had thought about for nearly a decade took me an hour to actually do. That got me thinking—there are so many things in business and marketing that you can delegate and outsource, but you can’t outsource your personal story. You can’t delegate the process of reflecting on your life, what led you to this point, and how to communicate that in a meaningful way.

If you can’t hire someone to do it, how do you make it happen? What I’ve found is that community helps. Working through your personal story in the context of community goes so much further than trying to figure it out alone. For the past eight years, in one way or another, I’ve had a business coach, mentor, or group of like-minded people around me, helping me work through challenges.

One of my mentors, Mike Kim, has a saying: Clarity comes through a marriage of movement and meditation. I’ve done a lot of both. It feels good to finally reach some resolution with this. And the biggest realization I had? For years, I felt ashamed that my career path wasn’t linear. I was sensitive about the fact that my work history didn’t follow a clear progression. But now, I see that my mix of experiences is actually my superpower. Having worked in different contexts allows me to bring unique insights into my work as a strategist and consultant.

Moving forward, I want to be more comfortable sharing my story. And something I’ve been wanting to do for a while is build a space for community—connecting people who are either launching something new or have been at it for a while but still don’t feel like they have the systems and processes in place to grow. Maybe they haven’t found success in marketing their work, or they just feel like they need support.

I’m organizing a group of entrepreneurs, changemakers, and nonprofit leaders who are in that stage—people who need community. Of course, I’ll share training, coaching, and strategy, but the biggest part of it will be simply connecting with others. Over the years, I’ve met incredible people through mentorship and coaching, and it has changed everything for me. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t have a few people I could call in a moment’s notice—people I trust, who give me the advice I need when things are difficult.

So yeah, if that sounds like you—if you're at a stage in your work where you're looking for support, ready to build systems and processes, and want to scale your impact—just comment below, “I’m interested.” I’d love to have a conversation with you. The big thing about this group is that it’s for people who see their work as something bigger than just making money. It’s for people who believe their work is about creating real impact. If that resonates with you, let’s connect.

Thanks, friends.