“For above all else, beyond imagination and skill, what the world asks of you is courage, courage to risk rejection, ridicule and failure. As you follow the quest for stories told with meaning and beauty, study thoughtfully but write boldly. Then, like the hero of the fable, your dance will dazzle the world.” Robert McKee
This arrangement of thoughts and words speaks deeply to me. It’s so important I want to repeat it for you and explain why storytelling is so important to our future.
The quote again:
“For above all else, beyond imagination and skill, what the world asks of you is courage, courage to risk rejection, ridicule and failure. As you follow the quest for stories told with meaning and beauty, study thoughtfully but write boldly. Then, like the hero of the fable, your dance will dazzle the world.” Robert McKee
We are all storytellers, so this does not only apply to writers only. We all have an audience whether we know it or not. Friends and family, strangers passing by, and onlookers from afar are watching the stories we are telling with our lives.
Stories underpin everything we do in life: our work, our pleasure, our faith, or lack thereof. We tell ourselves stories throughout the day, every day. Stories about who we are and what we believe. The stories come from somewhere. They are a co-labor between us and someone else’s story we were told, watched, or a story we absorbed in life.
At the end of every day, we can reflect on the day and see a story we told, whether or not it was active or passive. We could even write a one-line synopsis of our day if we wanted to.
We hear a story at the end of one’s life—it’s a very condensed synopsis. If the story is good enough, it makes people laugh or cry. Some of the stories, if they are good enough, are remembered forever.
The stories we tell ourselves and allow into our minds create our future, they shape who we are, and collectively, stories make up culture. They build societies. Stories inform life.
We need more good people telling stories. Our future depends on this. The collective stories of people will shape the minds of future generations, then go on to shape the world.
This is the power of story.
If this Bit of Wisdom spoke to you, share it with someone who might benefit from it.
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