May 21, 2025 • 36 mins
Claire Pedrick is in conversation with Elizabeth Uviebinené about her guided journaling app, Storia. Liz shares her journey from being an author to creating an app that helps users reflect on their lives. We delve into the impact of Storia on its users, the role of AI in journaling, and the importance of gratitude and community in personal growth. Liz emphasizes the need for tools that empower individuals to unlock their potential and navigate life's challenges.
Takeaways
- Storia is designed for those who struggle with traditional journaling.
- The app uses AI to help users identify patterns in their thoughts.
- Gratitude is essential for mental well-being and reflection.
- Community and connection are vital for personal growth.
- The app aims to make journaling accessible and engaging.
- The app is currently available on Apple devices.
- Users can track their journaling streaks for motivation.
Sound Bites
"I want to create a tool that helps you."
"The world has become very unpredictable."
"You can't do this life alone. You need people."
"Gratitude is the bedrock of surviving."
"Storia feels more like a calling than a job."
"It's humbling to see the app used worldwide."
"It's like your own coach in an app."
Contact Liz by email: elizabeth@storia.world
Access the App
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/storia-daily-journal/id6455785300
Some of Liz’s books:
- Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible
- The Reset: Ideas to Change How We Work and Live
- Loud Black Girls: 20 Black Women Writers Ask: What’s Next?
Contact Claire by emailing info@3dcoaching.com or check out our Substack where you can talk with other listeners.
If you like this episode, subscribe or follow The Coaching Inn on your podcast platform or our YouTube Channel to hear or see new episodes as they drop.
If you’d like to find out more about 3D Coaching, you can get all our new ideas and offers in our weekly email.
Coming Up:
- Rachel Philpotts on Burnout
- Open Table: Who you were to who you are becoming
Keywords:
journaling, app development, personal growth, AI, mental health, coaching, self-reflection, user experience, storytelling, empowerment
We love having a variety of guests join us! Please remember that inviting someone to participate does not mean we necessarily endorse their views or opinions. We believe in open conversation and sharing different perspectives.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:15):
Hello and welcome to this week's edition of The Coaching Inn.
I'm your host, Claire Pedrick, and it's a delight to have you here in The Inn today, wheremy guest is Liz Uviebinene who's here to talk about her app.
Now, I think it was Maria Fernandez who said, it was Maria Fernandez who went, you've gotto talk to Liz.
(00:40):
So Liz, welcome to The Coaching Inn.
Thank you for responding to Maria.
Claire.
So I'm really curious, what did Maria see that made her say you must come talk to me?
So Maria is a user of our product.
So there was a day when she just was having a user interview and just having aconversation around how she finds the actual product.
(01:08):
And she just was like, wow, I think more coaches could benefit from using it with theirclients and encouraging their clients to use it as well.
I know this amazing woman who lives on the other side of the world who would be and she'sgot a great podcast.
think you'd be because I she's been on your podcast before.
(01:28):
Maria, yeah.
Yeah, so she said that yeah, she had a great time and she wanted, she thought we shouldconnect.
Brilliant.
So where in the world are you Liz?
Okay, cool.
Excellent.
I won't go into where because I've lived in South London.
OK.
So tell me about your product.
Tell us about your product Storia.
(01:51):
So Storya is a guided journaling app for people who don't really maybe know how to journalor where to start.
I'm a very chaotic person.
I'm not someone who wakes up in the morning with a perfect routine or journals, likemorning pages or anything like that.
So I created a product for, I guess, other people who were like me who wanted to reflecton their lives, have gratitude, ground themselves in something.
(02:20):
and help and with the help of AI, you know, pick up patterns in their thoughts and intheir thought processes in order to move forward and make really informed decisions around
their lives.
So, yeah, so I'm an author.
I publish five books and I would regularly have people come up to me at events or just inmy DMs talking about, you know, their dreams, hopes and ambitions and some of the
(02:46):
challenges that they're experiencing in their lives.
And they all had this common thread around almost kind of like looking to me, likesomebody who had the answers.
And I think authors or anybody who has a forward-facing profile, there's this assumptionthat they have all the answers and I'm such a big believer that you, as in every
(03:07):
individual knows what their heart says, you just need a tool to unlock it and to give youthat clarity and to give you that confidence.
And I've always been fortunate.
I have amazing people around me who encourage me and have a strong sense of self based onjust being a young black woman growing up in South London.
And I really wanted to create a tool that just helped you go from point A to point B topoint B to C.
(03:32):
So Storia is like the most, I would call it, yeah, people describe it as very simple andit's very hard to make something as powerful as Storia to be simple, but it is.
And yes, it's simple, delightful and playful.
we don't take us, I have this saying that you take life seriously, but don't take yourselfseriously.
(03:55):
And I think story is like the embodiment of that.
Nice.
So many questions.
Hehehehe
You said you'd written five books.
Yeah, yeah, I've published five books, yeah.
So it would be lovely to hear a little bit about your journey to this point.
I know you say you're a chaotic kind of person, but if you could just give us a little bitof a sense of what got you to the point of writing five books and creating the app, it
(04:23):
would be lovely to hear the human side of you.
Yeah, so I graduated politics international studies at university.
Didn't obviously like want to go into anything to do with race politics.
probably everyone can probably guess why.
But I always just had a I studied politics.
just love like the like the comp.
(04:45):
I love the just the dynamics of power and people and society and all of those types ofthings.
So I
I graduated and I wanted to sort of like take everything I've learned around people,systems into a field that one, gave me some sort of financial stability, but also
(05:05):
something that I found quite interesting.
So I stumbled upon marketing and I ended up working in marketing for a bank and I enjoyedit.
It was the best of times, the worst of times and everything in between.
But upon my being there for like maybe like a year, I...
kind of less than a year because I started that role October 2014 and then the idea of myfirst book came March 2015.
(05:33):
literally very, like, I don't know, like, you know, less than a year, obviously.
This feeling of, OK I'm in this like really corporate workspace.
I like, what does the future hold for me?
Like, how do I navigate it?
And what was going, what was happening around the time?
And I think this is so important when it comes to like coming up with ideas or, justgenerally in the world, it's like what I was seeing was the conversation about what it is
(05:59):
to be a woman in the workplace being opened up by Sheryl Sandberg.
So that conversation around like, OK, what it is, what is it to be a woman navigating theworkplace and, and, and like going and going from, you know, going for a promotion or
balancing, you know, all the different facets of your life.
So for me, I was just like,
Okay, we're having a conversation what it is to be a white woman in the workplace,essentially, but we're missing, we're missing and a privileged woman at that.
(06:25):
And I really enjoyed watching, or not watching, reading Lienin.
Or it could be turned into a film, who knows, in the future.
So that was, yeah, so I was, that conversation was like, what is it to be a woman in aworkplace?
And for me, was like, OK, no one's having a conversation what it's to a black woman in aworkplace because...
(06:46):
where white women fear like the invisible ceiling, there is a difference when it comes tohow your race intersects with your gender and how people perceive you and how you sort of
like have interactions in a workplace.
So I had the idea and I called my best friend and I said, well, I think you should writethis book because I know, you know, she's a journalist, I know she's always wants to write
a book.
So I said, you know, I think you should write this book.
(07:07):
And she just said, well, we should both do it together because it's not just gonna be abook, it's gonna be a movement.
with my background in marketing and...
and our background and her background in writing and telling stories, we kind of started amovement.
over the last, like, so from 2015 to 20, no, not 2018, 2022, my career was very muchwrote, know, I published five books in five years, did a whole load of panels, podcasts,
(07:37):
events.
Yeah, my life was very much, you know, very much forward, front facing.
and I enjoyed it very much, I definitely did, for me, because I got to a point where I wasjust like, I know I can go and write another five books, but I don't enjoy the process of
(07:57):
writing books, I really don't, but I love the idea process.
I love the idea process, I love everything that comes with it, and I've done it with mywork touching thousands of people and tech, and I've spotted this problem around...
how people can utilise journaling to kind of get them and supercharge them to who theywant to be.
(08:21):
I want to create a tool that helps that.
So yeah, so it was, yeah, so I think the last, it's what, 10 years now?
Yeah, like pretty much 10 years since the idea of my first book.
So the last 10 years have been like crazy, chaotic, wonderful, delightful, and veryinteresting.
That's it.
(08:42):
I love that.
And very interesting.
So are you full time doing story an hour?
Are you still multitasking?
no, I think I know I've been doing story full time for the past two years.
Yeah.
great.
So say more about very interesting Liz.
(09:04):
just, I think that the world has become the world, like from where I started, I'm 32 now,23 and I was 22 when I came up with idea.
feels as if the world has changed so much.
It's like, it's a boomerang, like it feels like the years is like a boomerang from, yeah,it just feels like a very, like, you know, very interesting, sort of landscape for
(09:24):
everyone, to be honest, economically, politically, socially.
but I, I think that
It just feels very unpredictable.
I was, I think I posted on threads the other day that we're living in the funniest,chaotic and craziest era ever.
Like funny because I think social media and meme culture and TikTok, you you you realizewhy people are so creative.
(09:52):
People have such like imaginations.
so the content that's out there, just, you know, it's like you open your phone and you'reported to like...
so like comedy, it's just you know, there's so people are so witty and interesting intheir various lives and you realize wow I'm not alone, there's you know, there's the more
there's that same um in literature the more specific the story the more universal it is sothere is this you know you know dark humor sometimes that I like it's just yeah um and
(10:22):
then chaotic because of just you know politically and where we are you just you know inclimate change you just don't know what's going to happen tomorrow um
And yeah, so that's what I deem quite interesting.
Every day feels different.
And I think being a founder of a business or startup, you feel it because you're workingon a product that you hope will reach millions of people one day.
(10:47):
You care about the people that are using the products.
You care about how they feel about it, how they feel using it.
So there's a high degree of empathy that comes from...
from that and I credit that to being an author and working in marketing.
So working in marketing, being an author has really helped me hone in on like the peoplewho use our app who've never journaled before but are hitting streaks of like 50, you
(11:15):
know, 50 days, 100 days, 200.
So I think it's just that empathy.
Like it's not, it's very hard.
I think it's one of the hardest things, especially, you know, in a time where everyone'sjust so like.
you know, it's all about the self, like, you know, that real rise of individualism.
(11:35):
So, you know, we're not dialing into this communal community.
We are all one world.
And it does sound very airy, but reality is like, you know, I always say this, you can'tdo this life alone.
You need people.
You need your health.
You need like your mentor and your physical.
So, so yeah, I hope that story does that for many people where, you know, you're
(11:57):
It gives you hope, like the world is bleak.
like in my first book, write like story, not story, my God, story on the brain.
Slaying Your Lane, which was my first book, you know, the best seller, the introduction, Iwrite something, the opening line was like, know, Slaying Your Lane came from a place of
(12:20):
optimism and exasperation.
And I think that like,
with all good ideas, with all good intentions that you need, you need to see the good ofthe world, the bad of the world and the ugly and sort of like make sense of it.
So yeah, that's what I mean by interesting essentially.
Yeah.
So do you get points for getting 50 day streak?
Is it like Duolingo?
(12:41):
So you know what, we're introducing points soon, but right now it's all focused onstreaks.
So yes, right now you get us, you hold your streak when you're doing a day, two days,three days, people really love that.
It helps them build discipline and this real sense of confidence as well.
So we're seeing that, well, and to really describe it like Duolingo, that's exactly wherewe want to be essentially.
(13:09):
And in terms of like points, like we have three daily journals on the app and these kindof form the basis of like what I would say to ground someone.
The daily story is a life lesson from someone like anybody, it doesn't have to be anyonefamous, but someone I guess noteworthy.
That's just what I've described it as, noteworthy.
(13:31):
So on the random day you might get, I don't know, Beyonce nestled with
like a famous chef, not even a not even a sort of famous there's a chef that I came acrossrecently, I thought she was so cool.
She's the first chef, mission and star chef to reach three three mission and stars inAmerica.
So I, you know, put her story in there.
(13:52):
So you've got that storytelling element on the daily story.
And then we give you a prompt just to kind of, you know, based on that life lesson, right?
For example, today is Simone Biles, and talks about and that life lesson is about, youknow,
listening to your body and your mind because I'm not sure you know about when a few yearsago she was at the height of her career winning everything and she took a step back
(14:17):
because her mental health was something that she wanted to sort of double down and focuson so it was very courageous of her and so we kind of we play that back to our users and
people who use the app and we give them a prompt so it's kind of like what does your whatdoes your body feel like it needs right now?
Is it more hydration?
Is it more sleep?
Is it more rest?
Is it more nutritious food?
So it just gets people thinking.
(14:38):
And then we've got the daily check-in, which is just checking in on how you are.
So you can use your voice to kind of just, you know, ask you how you're feeling.
And, you know, it comes back to you with a preset question, like, what do you need rightnow?
And that question is very interesting because people don't, sometimes you don't know how,like, goes back to my, one of my thesis around, like, we all know what we need deep down.
(15:01):
Sometimes you might not be able to articulate it, but there's this real sense of like,nobody has a full context of who you are, your body, your mind, your soul, than you and
then yourself.
And we just really encouraged that on the app.
And then in a fun and delightful and sort of simple way as well, because if you're havinga long day, you might not want to have the most deepest quote either.
(15:27):
You just want to kind of just get through the day.
so we accommodate for that.
And then we've got our final daily journal, which is a daily gratitude.
And gratitude is the bedrock of surviving, I would say.
Like when it's all said and done, like this life, it's my own personal opinion anyway,like it's a lottery and I didn't earn being able to, you know.
(15:54):
Wake up in the world in the West and have running water.
I didn't earn that.
There are just things that we should, there's little things that when you really thinkexpansively about how lucky you are and how great, it just grounds you in the little
things.
Because when it's all said and done, those are the things you look back on in your life,right?
(16:17):
Especially the old you get, you look back on like, wow, so grateful for this person, sograteful that.
I'm in my bedroom now, like 10 years ago when I thought of the idea of staying in Lane.
I was in a financial state, financial point in my life where I was like, wow, am I goingto able to afford a house one day?
Because all this stuff is going on in the world, young people can't afford this, da da dada.
(16:39):
And it's amazing that I've been able to kind of fulfill that.
And it's not the biggest house in the world.
It's not the most, it's got nothing to do with that.
It's just something that I can call my own or something that.
know, keeps me safe.
just that groundedness and just that reminds you of just being, it's not, yeah, just tokind be focused on the present and be grounded in like, you know, what is around you and
(17:03):
what's good about what is around you.
I love that you're giving people something to bounce off so that they can make their ownmeaning.
Completely recommend another woman chef.
I think her name's Tamar Adler.
She wrote The Everlasting Meal.
The Ever.
(17:24):
actually, that's a great title.
The everlasting meal is meant to be about cooking, but it's not, it's actually about life.
I think she wrote it about cooking, but it's...
I've got it in I've got it in my notebook.
Gonna, gonna look into her.
Yeah.
streaks, it made me think it's a great way of journaling for, for example, people who areneurodivergent and looking for a dopamine hit.
(17:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
it's a fine line between something that's going to be engaging and something that's goingto help you.
I'm, as an author and someone who is not, well, I'm in the tech world now, but I didn'twake up at 18 wanting to kind of be a tech person or tech mogul.
(18:15):
So I do feel like there's, I've always had a responsibility.
to even when you're an author, you're writing something, you have a responsibility to thereader.
And so I think that were the way we've created the app and we were so thoughtful about howwe've integrated AI.
(18:38):
We're not just doing it, we're not just adding things in there just to kind of make youjust be engaged with products and not get something out of it.
And that's my biggest, I'm so proud.
honestly, you when people look back on it, people are, and obviously as like, I'm notgoing to say that, you know, I don't have days of, of being full of self doubt.
Like I had it this morning.
I have it every single day, possibly.
(18:58):
Like that's what, like life, that's what life can be like when you're chasing big goals.
and you might not always feel like, you know, confident every day.
I definitely do not.
but I, I, I am so in shock and I'm not in shock.
I think I'm always in awe, to this day.
that something I created has a very positive impact on someone's life in the United Statesor, I don't know, Cambodia.
(19:26):
Like, we have users all around the world and it is humbling.
And I always, it's so weird because I don't see myself, like, I don't know.
Me and my best friend, we think I'm chaotic.
Both of us were together, we're like the most chaotic people ever.
And she's an author as well and she's writing TV at the moment.
and we are super close like sisters and we've met each other when we were 18 at universityand and we We it's like yeah, we we didn't necessarily see ourselves as like being on a
(20:00):
forefront of you know writing a book like Slay Your Name and the sort of impact it hadBecause it did kind of like thrust you into a particular sort of like
leadership role, you know, you're leading a movement.
And it's not because I didn't have leadership skills, I was a pre-fed school, I loved thattype of stuff.
(20:22):
Like I was naughty, but I also loved responsibilities, So was a bit of a teacher's petsometimes, and sometimes I was rebellious.
So it was very, you know, yeah, two different dynamics.
But the point I'm trying to make ultimately is like, you know, there's a lot ofconversation around purpose and calling, and I would definitely say that like,
(20:42):
Storia feels more like a calling than a job.
Like, it definitely does.
It found me and I'm so humbled every single day when, you know, even when people read mybooks and they take them, very much like, wow, it helped me.
It's just, yeah, for me, it's just like, I feel like a servant.
you know, for me, to be a good leader or to be something like, it's about being, it'sabout serving, right?
(21:05):
I don't think about being in the front and being loud and being all those types of things.
So I hope by building Storia,
I'm telling more of my story out there in the world and wherever it would take me orwhatever, that people, they can relate.
I'm not some tech bro who doesn't care about what she's building.
I had a great life being an author.
(21:28):
I could have done another five books and my life would have been fantastic in a particularway.
But being a founder has definitely stretched me and it has made me question so much ofmyself, so much of my ability, but I'm so proud of the product we've built.
and yeah and I'm humbled by people using it every single day.
(21:50):
So it sounds like it's being used across the world.
Yeah, yeah, it's honestly like, it really is like, I'm a girl from South London, I grew upin Peckham, now I live in Croydon.
And I, you know, when I wake up in the morning and I see like our dashboard and we can seean overview of like, you know, where the app is being used in the world and things like
(22:12):
that.
It's just, it's humbling, like, you know, everything from, you know, Nebraska and theUnited States.
And I've never been to all these places as well.
So it's like, wow.
great, I don't need a visa to get there, I need a passport to get there, to Australia, to,you know, to, I don't know, like Brazil, like it's just, you know, an amazing feeling,
(22:32):
yeah.
So we have listeners in 128 countries, Liz.
So listeners, let's see if we can match the countries all our listeners are in with theusers of the Storya app.
That would be amazing.
I didn't realise how many countries there were.
Like honestly, on twice I was just like, you look at these countries like, wow, this is acountry.
(22:54):
Yeah.
198 countries in the world.
And the reason I know that is that my friend April has gone to all, has been to 197.
wow!
What's the conscious she hasn't gone to yet?
She hasn't been to Slovenia and she's going to Slovenia this month and she's having aparty to celebrate the fact, well she's actually having a five day party to celebrate the
(23:22):
fact that she's been to all 198 countries and I was invited but I'm just not sure I can doa five day party.
No, as she should.
That's an amazing achievement.
That's so amazing.
You know those people that...
Does she do it full time?
She had a job, I'm hoping to get her as a guest on the podcast.
She had a job where she did shifts.
(23:44):
So one week she'd be working and the next week she'd travel around the world to differentplaces.
That's an amazing achievement.
That's so cool.
You should give her a free copy of your app.
Wow.
Wow.
And so it's available on Android and on Apple.
(24:05):
Okay.
only on Apple for now.
We're light on our resource, so we just have to focus on like one channel first, yeah,until we sort of like do more, do better, and then we can prove that we're allowed to be
on Android.
Nice.
So what made you decide to go full time Liz?
(24:30):
I haven't had a proper job for like 10 years, not 10 years since, a proper job I mean Idon't want to say proper job because everything is a proper job but I think there's
practical reasons but it's also like just emotional reasons I think so practical I canbecause I don't really have I don't have a family as an I don't have children I don't have
(24:50):
a husband so I can just focus on it I don't have like you know dependents in that way
So there's that, practically.
I can take the risk and I think that, you know, part of life is, you know, it's timing.
So think the timing was right and the opportunity felt right as well.
(25:11):
And yeah, like I've, yeah, I left my job in 2018, like May, like literally like May 2018.
So I don't know how that was when I was working at the bank.
So I've kind of been doing all this stuff for the past
Wait, 2018, five, six, seven years basically.
(25:32):
So yeah, seven years.
So, so yeah, I don't, think you get, I'm not, it's so funny because people think when Isay this, people get, they're so confused, but I'm not a risky person.
Like I, I'm, I avoid risk.
I don't know how I've ended up as a startup founder.
I actually do not know how, like I know, but in theory, but in practice, I'm just like,I'm not someone who.
(26:00):
I like to play it safe because that's who I am.
Like the core of me is like, just play it safe, but I can't help it.
It's like, I can't help but be rebellious.
It's just, it's just like, I can't help but think of things and say like, why?
Like, you know, when you, when you're younger and it's like your child and you're askingyour parent, like, why, why, why this, why this?
(26:24):
And you know, children go through that like annoying stage where all they want to do isyap.
All they want to do is talk about
Ask questions about, as a parent, like, you my nieces are getting to that age.
So you'll just, they just ask, they're they're so inquisitive.
I think that inquisitive nature has never left me.
Yeah, it's never left me.
(26:45):
And I can't help but ask why doesn't this exist?
Why, you know, why isn't there a book that, you know, that speaks to my experiences as ablack woman?
Why isn't anyone talking about this in this way?
Why doesn't the product help me?
ground myself in a simple way, like why do I have to do morning pages where I'm not, likeI'm never gonna get up early enough to do three pages of writing, like personally for me.
(27:07):
So for me it's like why, like so by asking the questions why has kind of that child, thatchildhood, that childlike curiosity is probably the bit that keeps me like not safe, if
that makes sense.
Because if I'm honest with you, the older you get, you're just more like, it's just belike,
I don't care why, I'm just trying to get by.
(27:28):
And I still have that sort of like, I'm just trying to get by, plate safe, just take onefoot in front of the other.
But I think, yeah, and I think a lot of us, the older we get as well, you know, and Itotally understand because I'm like this as well, like that childlike curiosity fades,
fades, fades.
So I'm such a big believer in sort of like, you know, doing hobbies and doing new things.
(27:48):
And it doesn't have to be about turning, making it into a business or it's just aboutgetting to know yourself.
at every point.
And I think the times when I've come up with, you know, amazing ideas is because I've hadto kind of, I've had to rediscover myself, if that makes sense.
Off the back of maybe like, I don't know, traumatic event or something that, you know, abroken heart or, you know, whatever it is, there's this life change that's happened
(28:15):
internally and I have to sort of like channel it somewhere.
And that can be, you know, it's always sometimes a new book, an app and...
you know, like, you know, whatever it is, I just have to chat.
Right now, I have so much clothes, like it's just, like, over the years, you just, youknow, you just kind of like accumulate stuff and I've got this bee in my bonnet, like,
(28:38):
obviously it's spring, so I'm just like, I have to sort of, like, sort of clear it.
Like, I'm just, I'm just very focused on, like, I need to channel this, this big feelinginto something.
So yeah, that's, yeah.
I love the courage that you have to make these ideas come alive.
Thank you.
Can we just dive into the app a bit more?
(29:01):
You said it tells you what themes you're writing about.
Is that an AI thing?
Yeah, so every Monday, you have a weekly review.
So think of it as you know, Spotify wrapped, right?
It gives you an overview about the end of the year, you're, you know, what you listen to,da da da.
That's where that's what story is.
(29:22):
That's what story is like every week.
So when you're doing all these three daily journals, so daily check-in, it just gives youlike, what was your top mood that week?
It's so sad, not so sad.
I had a very hard March.
So for like two weeks, was like, your top mood was, you were sad.
You were sad.
(29:46):
So it was very much like, and then the next week was like, content.
And I was like, great, we've got content.
We've got content.
And then now, and it's so funny, think last week it was, I think it was like, hopeful.
Yeah, I think last week was hopeful.
And I said I was most grateful for connection.
(30:08):
And I think when you have hard moments in your life, like it's weird, like you startdialing into the people, the people that get you through stuff, right?
So I think it was so apt, like, oh yeah, connections, connections is what, yeah, so thisweek's one was connection.
And I think it's because it's just by the end of the month, it's like, right, OK, yourpeople have helped you sort of get through the hard time.
we, so yes, you have like a weekly review that gives you sort of like, you know.
(30:32):
what I've just said.
then we've got like a bit that it's just like, so we use the daily story.
So that one prompt a day that you get that's linked to like a like a famous person's likea life lesson, right?
We take all the different AI with your permission, obviously, like, you know, you have toopt into this stuff takes all that takes all your your answers, and gives you like a
(30:58):
reading around like, you know, what like
your week and then can I read out my one from last week for this week?
Yeah, my god, this is so, like this is, do you know what it is?
Like I'm not, but of course like there's certain things that I'm very like, you know,vulnerable, but I see my vulnerability as a strength and, and sometimes of course there
(31:23):
are things that, OK, I might not share because, but I, but ultimately we're all doing lifefor the first time.
So I don't,
I'm not really, yeah, I tend not to, feel like, yeah, I'm very happy to share basically.
That's the point I'm trying to make.
Okay, and you can listen to it as well, but I'll read mine out.
So the headline is, Chasing Butterflies and Dreams, Feeling Alive and Ready for More.
(31:48):
So that's like the headline, which is so cute and so apt because I started, yeah, yeah,that's the headline.
So it's like chasing butterflies and dreams.
feeling alive and ready for more.
So reflecting on your journal entries, a poignant theme of personal growth intertwinedwith an awareness of impermanence emerges.
(32:10):
Expressions like grown into being braver, acknowledging that people come and go and yourquest for feeling alive and accomplished.
no, sorry, I think it's because it cut off.
no, sorry, sorry.
Let me go back and know where I can find it.
(32:30):
OK, expressions like grown into being braver, acknowledging that people come and go andyour quest for feeling alive and accomplish underscore a journey of embracing life's
transitionary nature while seeking depth and fulfillment.
That was so true to me because like March was like I had a breakup.
So there was just all these different things going on and it picked up on the fact thatlike, you know, there's a transitional.
(32:56):
transitionary nature of like, you know, and the daily story, the reason why it's sointeresting for me anyway, is because it asks you questions around your values, you know,
all these different things.
And I think the quite and it pulls your actual words into this summary.
So things like, you know, growing into being braver, acknowledging that people come and gothat people acknowledge that people come and go was because I think there was was a was a
(33:21):
there's a prompt that says what there's a prompt that was like
what is a lesson that is hard, but you've had to like learn it or something.
And I was just, I said something like, you know, people come and go and that's sometimesvery hard to swallow in life, you know, in whatever way.
Cause my mom lost her husband as well in March.
it's just, yeah, it's just a very, yeah.
(33:44):
So anyway, so it also says you value qualities and friendships such as honesty,
integrity and vulnerability, which mirror your internal aspirations to live authenticallyand passionately.
And then it says, considering your reflections, seems like you're cultivating resilienceand appreciative perspective on life's fleeting moments.
How might acknowledging these small yet profound victories each week amplify your sense ofaccomplishment and personal growth?
(34:08):
So it says this week, try to jot down moments where you feel particularly brave orfulfilled.
This small act can help you visualize and affirm your journey's progress.
And that bit where it says, you know, being brave is because
I this journey of being what I'm doing requires me to be braver and braver.
And I need to catch up because I know it requires me to do that, but I'm still kind ofstruggling, if that makes sense.
(34:31):
So it's just saying like, when you feel particularly brave or fulfilled, which issomething, start of the weekend, I want to feel accomplished.
That's how I want to feel by the end of the week.
yeah, so that's what you get every week.
So it's like a have your own coach in an app
(34:51):
Yeah, it's kind of like, yes, I think it's more, yes, it's like your own, it's like adiary, like, yeah.
it.
So what a delight to talk to you, Liz.
So just remind us for people to go download the app from the Apple Store.
It's called...
Storia Journal.
Story Art Journal, great.
And if they want to talk to you, can they talk to you?
(35:14):
And where will they find you?
is elizabeth at storia.
world.
Perfect.
Elizabeth at storia.world.
I'll put it in the show notes.
Thank you, Liz, for coming.
Thank you everyone for listening.
See you next time.
Bye bye.
Hello and welcome to this week's edition of The Coaching Inn.
I'm your host, Claire Pedrick, and it's a delight to have you here in The Inn today, wheremy guest is Liz Uviebinene who's here to talk about her app.
Now, I think it was Maria Fernandez who said, it was Maria Fernandez who went, you've gotto talk to Liz.
(00:40):
So Liz, welcome to The Coaching Inn.
Thank you for responding to Maria.
Claire.
So I'm really curious, what did Maria see that made her say you must come talk to me?
So Maria is a user of our product.
So there was a day when she just was having a user interview and just having aconversation around how she finds the actual product.
(01:08):
And she just was like, wow, I think more coaches could benefit from using it with theirclients and encouraging their clients to use it as well.
I know this amazing woman who lives on the other side of the world who would be and she'sgot a great podcast.
think you'd be because I she's been on your podcast before.
(01:28):
Maria, yeah.
Yeah, so she said that yeah, she had a great time and she wanted, she thought we shouldconnect.
Brilliant.
So where in the world are you Liz?
Okay, cool.
Excellent.
I won't go into where because I've lived in South London.
OK.
So tell me about your product.
Tell us about your product Storia.
(01:51):
So Storya is a guided journaling app for people who don't really maybe know how to journalor where to start.
I'm a very chaotic person.
I'm not someone who wakes up in the morning with a perfect routine or journals, likemorning pages or anything like that.
So I created a product for, I guess, other people who were like me who wanted to reflecton their lives, have gratitude, ground themselves in something.
(02:20):
and help and with the help of AI, you know, pick up patterns in their thoughts and intheir thought processes in order to move forward and make really informed decisions around
their lives.
So, yeah, so I'm an author.
I publish five books and I would regularly have people come up to me at events or just inmy DMs talking about, you know, their dreams, hopes and ambitions and some of the
(02:46):
challenges that they're experiencing in their lives.
And they all had this common thread around almost kind of like looking to me, likesomebody who had the answers.
And I think authors or anybody who has a forward-facing profile, there's this assumptionthat they have all the answers and I'm such a big believer that you, as in every
(03:07):
individual knows what their heart says, you just need a tool to unlock it and to give youthat clarity and to give you that confidence.
And I've always been fortunate.
I have amazing people around me who encourage me and have a strong sense of self based onjust being a young black woman growing up in South London.
And I really wanted to create a tool that just helped you go from point A to point B topoint B to C.
(03:32):
So Storia is like the most, I would call it, yeah, people describe it as very simple andit's very hard to make something as powerful as Storia to be simple, but it is.
And yes, it's simple, delightful and playful.
we don't take us, I have this saying that you take life seriously, but don't take yourselfseriously.
(03:55):
And I think story is like the embodiment of that.
Nice.
So many questions.
Hehehehe
You said you'd written five books.
Yeah, yeah, I've published five books, yeah.
So it would be lovely to hear a little bit about your journey to this point.
I know you say you're a chaotic kind of person, but if you could just give us a little bitof a sense of what got you to the point of writing five books and creating the app, it
(04:23):
would be lovely to hear the human side of you.
Yeah, so I graduated politics international studies at university.
Didn't obviously like want to go into anything to do with race politics.
probably everyone can probably guess why.
But I always just had a I studied politics.
just love like the like the comp.
(04:45):
I love the just the dynamics of power and people and society and all of those types ofthings.
So I
I graduated and I wanted to sort of like take everything I've learned around people,systems into a field that one, gave me some sort of financial stability, but also
(05:05):
something that I found quite interesting.
So I stumbled upon marketing and I ended up working in marketing for a bank and I enjoyedit.
It was the best of times, the worst of times and everything in between.
But upon my being there for like maybe like a year, I...
kind of less than a year because I started that role October 2014 and then the idea of myfirst book came March 2015.
(05:33):
literally very, like, I don't know, like, you know, less than a year, obviously.
This feeling of, OK I'm in this like really corporate workspace.
I like, what does the future hold for me?
Like, how do I navigate it?
And what was going, what was happening around the time?
And I think this is so important when it comes to like coming up with ideas or, justgenerally in the world, it's like what I was seeing was the conversation about what it is
(05:59):
to be a woman in the workplace being opened up by Sheryl Sandberg.
So that conversation around like, OK, what it is, what is it to be a woman navigating theworkplace and, and, and like going and going from, you know, going for a promotion or
balancing, you know, all the different facets of your life.
So for me, I was just like,
Okay, we're having a conversation what it is to be a white woman in the workplace,essentially, but we're missing, we're missing and a privileged woman at that.
(06:25):
And I really enjoyed watching, or not watching, reading Lienin.
Or it could be turned into a film, who knows, in the future.
So that was, yeah, so I was, that conversation was like, what is it to be a woman in aworkplace?
And for me, was like, OK, no one's having a conversation what it's to a black woman in aworkplace because...
(06:46):
where white women fear like the invisible ceiling, there is a difference when it comes tohow your race intersects with your gender and how people perceive you and how you sort of
like have interactions in a workplace.
So I had the idea and I called my best friend and I said, well, I think you should writethis book because I know, you know, she's a journalist, I know she's always wants to write
a book.
So I said, you know, I think you should write this book.
(07:07):
And she just said, well, we should both do it together because it's not just gonna be abook, it's gonna be a movement.
with my background in marketing and...
and our background and her background in writing and telling stories, we kind of started amovement.
over the last, like, so from 2015 to 20, no, not 2018, 2022, my career was very muchwrote, know, I published five books in five years, did a whole load of panels, podcasts,
(07:37):
events.
Yeah, my life was very much, you know, very much forward, front facing.
and I enjoyed it very much, I definitely did, for me, because I got to a point where I wasjust like, I know I can go and write another five books, but I don't enjoy the process of
(07:57):
writing books, I really don't, but I love the idea process.
I love the idea process, I love everything that comes with it, and I've done it with mywork touching thousands of people and tech, and I've spotted this problem around...
how people can utilise journaling to kind of get them and supercharge them to who theywant to be.
(08:21):
I want to create a tool that helps that.
So yeah, so it was, yeah, so I think the last, it's what, 10 years now?
Yeah, like pretty much 10 years since the idea of my first book.
So the last 10 years have been like crazy, chaotic, wonderful, delightful, and veryinteresting.
That's it.
(08:42):
I love that.
And very interesting.
So are you full time doing story an hour?
Are you still multitasking?
no, I think I know I've been doing story full time for the past two years.
Yeah.
great.
So say more about very interesting Liz.
(09:04):
just, I think that the world has become the world, like from where I started, I'm 32 now,23 and I was 22 when I came up with idea.
feels as if the world has changed so much.
It's like, it's a boomerang, like it feels like the years is like a boomerang from, yeah,it just feels like a very, like, you know, very interesting, sort of landscape for
(09:24):
everyone, to be honest, economically, politically, socially.
but I, I think that
It just feels very unpredictable.
I was, I think I posted on threads the other day that we're living in the funniest,chaotic and craziest era ever.
Like funny because I think social media and meme culture and TikTok, you you you realizewhy people are so creative.
(09:52):
People have such like imaginations.
so the content that's out there, just, you know, it's like you open your phone and you'reported to like...
so like comedy, it's just you know, there's so people are so witty and interesting intheir various lives and you realize wow I'm not alone, there's you know, there's the more
there's that same um in literature the more specific the story the more universal it is sothere is this you know you know dark humor sometimes that I like it's just yeah um and
(10:22):
then chaotic because of just you know politically and where we are you just you know inclimate change you just don't know what's going to happen tomorrow um
And yeah, so that's what I deem quite interesting.
Every day feels different.
And I think being a founder of a business or startup, you feel it because you're workingon a product that you hope will reach millions of people one day.
(10:47):
You care about the people that are using the products.
You care about how they feel about it, how they feel using it.
So there's a high degree of empathy that comes from...
from that and I credit that to being an author and working in marketing.
So working in marketing, being an author has really helped me hone in on like the peoplewho use our app who've never journaled before but are hitting streaks of like 50, you
(11:15):
know, 50 days, 100 days, 200.
So I think it's just that empathy.
Like it's not, it's very hard.
I think it's one of the hardest things, especially, you know, in a time where everyone'sjust so like.
you know, it's all about the self, like, you know, that real rise of individualism.
(11:35):
So, you know, we're not dialing into this communal community.
We are all one world.
And it does sound very airy, but reality is like, you know, I always say this, you can'tdo this life alone.
You need people.
You need your health.
You need like your mentor and your physical.
So, so yeah, I hope that story does that for many people where, you know, you're
(11:57):
It gives you hope, like the world is bleak.
like in my first book, write like story, not story, my God, story on the brain.
Slaying Your Lane, which was my first book, you know, the best seller, the introduction, Iwrite something, the opening line was like, know, Slaying Your Lane came from a place of
(12:20):
optimism and exasperation.
And I think that like,
with all good ideas, with all good intentions that you need, you need to see the good ofthe world, the bad of the world and the ugly and sort of like make sense of it.
So yeah, that's what I mean by interesting essentially.
Yeah.
So do you get points for getting 50 day streak?
Is it like Duolingo?
(12:41):
So you know what, we're introducing points soon, but right now it's all focused onstreaks.
So yes, right now you get us, you hold your streak when you're doing a day, two days,three days, people really love that.
It helps them build discipline and this real sense of confidence as well.
So we're seeing that, well, and to really describe it like Duolingo, that's exactly wherewe want to be essentially.
(13:09):
And in terms of like points, like we have three daily journals on the app and these kindof form the basis of like what I would say to ground someone.
The daily story is a life lesson from someone like anybody, it doesn't have to be anyonefamous, but someone I guess noteworthy.
That's just what I've described it as, noteworthy.
(13:31):
So on the random day you might get, I don't know, Beyonce nestled with
like a famous chef, not even a not even a sort of famous there's a chef that I came acrossrecently, I thought she was so cool.
She's the first chef, mission and star chef to reach three three mission and stars inAmerica.
So I, you know, put her story in there.
(13:52):
So you've got that storytelling element on the daily story.
And then we give you a prompt just to kind of, you know, based on that life lesson, right?
For example, today is Simone Biles, and talks about and that life lesson is about, youknow,
listening to your body and your mind because I'm not sure you know about when a few yearsago she was at the height of her career winning everything and she took a step back
(14:17):
because her mental health was something that she wanted to sort of double down and focuson so it was very courageous of her and so we kind of we play that back to our users and
people who use the app and we give them a prompt so it's kind of like what does your whatdoes your body feel like it needs right now?
Is it more hydration?
Is it more sleep?
Is it more rest?
Is it more nutritious food?
So it just gets people thinking.
(14:38):
And then we've got the daily check-in, which is just checking in on how you are.
So you can use your voice to kind of just, you know, ask you how you're feeling.
And, you know, it comes back to you with a preset question, like, what do you need rightnow?
And that question is very interesting because people don't, sometimes you don't know how,like, goes back to my, one of my thesis around, like, we all know what we need deep down.
(15:01):
Sometimes you might not be able to articulate it, but there's this real sense of like,nobody has a full context of who you are, your body, your mind, your soul, than you and
then yourself.
And we just really encouraged that on the app.
And then in a fun and delightful and sort of simple way as well, because if you're havinga long day, you might not want to have the most deepest quote either.
(15:27):
You just want to kind of just get through the day.
so we accommodate for that.
And then we've got our final daily journal, which is a daily gratitude.
And gratitude is the bedrock of surviving, I would say.
Like when it's all said and done, like this life, it's my own personal opinion anyway,like it's a lottery and I didn't earn being able to, you know.
(15:54):
Wake up in the world in the West and have running water.
I didn't earn that.
There are just things that we should, there's little things that when you really thinkexpansively about how lucky you are and how great, it just grounds you in the little
things.
Because when it's all said and done, those are the things you look back on in your life,right?
(16:17):
Especially the old you get, you look back on like, wow, so grateful for this person, sograteful that.
I'm in my bedroom now, like 10 years ago when I thought of the idea of staying in Lane.
I was in a financial state, financial point in my life where I was like, wow, am I goingto able to afford a house one day?
Because all this stuff is going on in the world, young people can't afford this, da da dada.
(16:39):
And it's amazing that I've been able to kind of fulfill that.
And it's not the biggest house in the world.
It's not the most, it's got nothing to do with that.
It's just something that I can call my own or something that.
know, keeps me safe.
just that groundedness and just that reminds you of just being, it's not, yeah, just tokind be focused on the present and be grounded in like, you know, what is around you and
(17:03):
what's good about what is around you.
I love that you're giving people something to bounce off so that they can make their ownmeaning.
Completely recommend another woman chef.
I think her name's Tamar Adler.
She wrote The Everlasting Meal.
The Ever.
(17:24):
actually, that's a great title.
The everlasting meal is meant to be about cooking, but it's not, it's actually about life.
I think she wrote it about cooking, but it's...
I've got it in I've got it in my notebook.
Gonna, gonna look into her.
Yeah.
streaks, it made me think it's a great way of journaling for, for example, people who areneurodivergent and looking for a dopamine hit.
(17:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
it's a fine line between something that's going to be engaging and something that's goingto help you.
I'm, as an author and someone who is not, well, I'm in the tech world now, but I didn'twake up at 18 wanting to kind of be a tech person or tech mogul.
(18:15):
So I do feel like there's, I've always had a responsibility.
to even when you're an author, you're writing something, you have a responsibility to thereader.
And so I think that were the way we've created the app and we were so thoughtful about howwe've integrated AI.
(18:38):
We're not just doing it, we're not just adding things in there just to kind of make youjust be engaged with products and not get something out of it.
And that's my biggest, I'm so proud.
honestly, you when people look back on it, people are, and obviously as like, I'm notgoing to say that, you know, I don't have days of, of being full of self doubt.
Like I had it this morning.
I have it every single day, possibly.
(18:58):
Like that's what, like life, that's what life can be like when you're chasing big goals.
and you might not always feel like, you know, confident every day.
I definitely do not.
but I, I, I am so in shock and I'm not in shock.
I think I'm always in awe, to this day.
that something I created has a very positive impact on someone's life in the United Statesor, I don't know, Cambodia.
(19:26):
Like, we have users all around the world and it is humbling.
And I always, it's so weird because I don't see myself, like, I don't know.
Me and my best friend, we think I'm chaotic.
Both of us were together, we're like the most chaotic people ever.
And she's an author as well and she's writing TV at the moment.
and we are super close like sisters and we've met each other when we were 18 at universityand and we We it's like yeah, we we didn't necessarily see ourselves as like being on a
(20:00):
forefront of you know writing a book like Slay Your Name and the sort of impact it hadBecause it did kind of like thrust you into a particular sort of like
leadership role, you know, you're leading a movement.
And it's not because I didn't have leadership skills, I was a pre-fed school, I loved thattype of stuff.
(20:22):
Like I was naughty, but I also loved responsibilities, So was a bit of a teacher's petsometimes, and sometimes I was rebellious.
So it was very, you know, yeah, two different dynamics.
But the point I'm trying to make ultimately is like, you know, there's a lot ofconversation around purpose and calling, and I would definitely say that like,
(20:42):
Storia feels more like a calling than a job.
Like, it definitely does.
It found me and I'm so humbled every single day when, you know, even when people read mybooks and they take them, very much like, wow, it helped me.
It's just, yeah, for me, it's just like, I feel like a servant.
you know, for me, to be a good leader or to be something like, it's about being, it'sabout serving, right?
(21:05):
I don't think about being in the front and being loud and being all those types of things.
So I hope by building Storia,
I'm telling more of my story out there in the world and wherever it would take me orwhatever, that people, they can relate.
I'm not some tech bro who doesn't care about what she's building.
I had a great life being an author.
(21:28):
I could have done another five books and my life would have been fantastic in a particularway.
But being a founder has definitely stretched me and it has made me question so much ofmyself, so much of my ability, but I'm so proud of the product we've built.
and yeah and I'm humbled by people using it every single day.
(21:50):
So it sounds like it's being used across the world.
Yeah, yeah, it's honestly like, it really is like, I'm a girl from South London, I grew upin Peckham, now I live in Croydon.
And I, you know, when I wake up in the morning and I see like our dashboard and we can seean overview of like, you know, where the app is being used in the world and things like
(22:12):
that.
It's just, it's humbling, like, you know, everything from, you know, Nebraska and theUnited States.
And I've never been to all these places as well.
So it's like, wow.
great, I don't need a visa to get there, I need a passport to get there, to Australia, to,you know, to, I don't know, like Brazil, like it's just, you know, an amazing feeling,
(22:32):
yeah.
So we have listeners in 128 countries, Liz.
So listeners, let's see if we can match the countries all our listeners are in with theusers of the Storya app.
That would be amazing.
I didn't realise how many countries there were.
Like honestly, on twice I was just like, you look at these countries like, wow, this is acountry.
(22:54):
Yeah.
198 countries in the world.
And the reason I know that is that my friend April has gone to all, has been to 197.
wow!
What's the conscious she hasn't gone to yet?
She hasn't been to Slovenia and she's going to Slovenia this month and she's having aparty to celebrate the fact, well she's actually having a five day party to celebrate the
(23:22):
fact that she's been to all 198 countries and I was invited but I'm just not sure I can doa five day party.
No, as she should.
That's an amazing achievement.
That's so amazing.
You know those people that...
Does she do it full time?
She had a job, I'm hoping to get her as a guest on the podcast.
She had a job where she did shifts.
(23:44):
So one week she'd be working and the next week she'd travel around the world to differentplaces.
That's an amazing achievement.
That's so cool.
You should give her a free copy of your app.
Wow.
Wow.
And so it's available on Android and on Apple.
(24:05):
Okay.
only on Apple for now.
We're light on our resource, so we just have to focus on like one channel first, yeah,until we sort of like do more, do better, and then we can prove that we're allowed to be
on Android.
Nice.
So what made you decide to go full time Liz?
(24:30):
I haven't had a proper job for like 10 years, not 10 years since, a proper job I mean Idon't want to say proper job because everything is a proper job but I think there's
practical reasons but it's also like just emotional reasons I think so practical I canbecause I don't really have I don't have a family as an I don't have children I don't have
(24:50):
a husband so I can just focus on it I don't have like you know dependents in that way
So there's that, practically.
I can take the risk and I think that, you know, part of life is, you know, it's timing.
So think the timing was right and the opportunity felt right as well.
(25:11):
And yeah, like I've, yeah, I left my job in 2018, like May, like literally like May 2018.
So I don't know how that was when I was working at the bank.
So I've kind of been doing all this stuff for the past
Wait, 2018, five, six, seven years basically.
(25:32):
So yeah, seven years.
So, so yeah, I don't, think you get, I'm not, it's so funny because people think when Isay this, people get, they're so confused, but I'm not a risky person.
Like I, I'm, I avoid risk.
I don't know how I've ended up as a startup founder.
I actually do not know how, like I know, but in theory, but in practice, I'm just like,I'm not someone who.
(26:00):
I like to play it safe because that's who I am.
Like the core of me is like, just play it safe, but I can't help it.
It's like, I can't help but be rebellious.
It's just, it's just like, I can't help but think of things and say like, why?
Like, you know, when you, when you're younger and it's like your child and you're askingyour parent, like, why, why, why this, why this?
(26:24):
And you know, children go through that like annoying stage where all they want to do isyap.
All they want to do is talk about
Ask questions about, as a parent, like, you my nieces are getting to that age.
So you'll just, they just ask, they're they're so inquisitive.
I think that inquisitive nature has never left me.
Yeah, it's never left me.
(26:45):
And I can't help but ask why doesn't this exist?
Why, you know, why isn't there a book that, you know, that speaks to my experiences as ablack woman?
Why isn't anyone talking about this in this way?
Why doesn't the product help me?
ground myself in a simple way, like why do I have to do morning pages where I'm not, likeI'm never gonna get up early enough to do three pages of writing, like personally for me.
(27:07):
So for me it's like why, like so by asking the questions why has kind of that child, thatchildhood, that childlike curiosity is probably the bit that keeps me like not safe, if
that makes sense.
Because if I'm honest with you, the older you get, you're just more like, it's just belike,
I don't care why, I'm just trying to get by.
(27:28):
And I still have that sort of like, I'm just trying to get by, plate safe, just take onefoot in front of the other.
But I think, yeah, and I think a lot of us, the older we get as well, you know, and Itotally understand because I'm like this as well, like that childlike curiosity fades,
fades, fades.
So I'm such a big believer in sort of like, you know, doing hobbies and doing new things.
(27:48):
And it doesn't have to be about turning, making it into a business or it's just aboutgetting to know yourself.
at every point.
And I think the times when I've come up with, you know, amazing ideas is because I've hadto kind of, I've had to rediscover myself, if that makes sense.
Off the back of maybe like, I don't know, traumatic event or something that, you know, abroken heart or, you know, whatever it is, there's this life change that's happened
(28:15):
internally and I have to sort of like channel it somewhere.
And that can be, you know, it's always sometimes a new book, an app and...
you know, like, you know, whatever it is, I just have to chat.
Right now, I have so much clothes, like it's just, like, over the years, you just, youknow, you just kind of like accumulate stuff and I've got this bee in my bonnet, like,
(28:38):
obviously it's spring, so I'm just like, I have to sort of, like, sort of clear it.
Like, I'm just, I'm just very focused on, like, I need to channel this, this big feelinginto something.
So yeah, that's, yeah.
I love the courage that you have to make these ideas come alive.
Thank you.
Can we just dive into the app a bit more?
(29:01):
You said it tells you what themes you're writing about.
Is that an AI thing?
Yeah, so every Monday, you have a weekly review.
So think of it as you know, Spotify wrapped, right?
It gives you an overview about the end of the year, you're, you know, what you listen to,da da da.
That's where that's what story is.
(29:22):
That's what story is like every week.
So when you're doing all these three daily journals, so daily check-in, it just gives youlike, what was your top mood that week?
It's so sad, not so sad.
I had a very hard March.
So for like two weeks, was like, your top mood was, you were sad.
You were sad.
(29:46):
So it was very much like, and then the next week was like, content.
And I was like, great, we've got content.
We've got content.
And then now, and it's so funny, think last week it was, I think it was like, hopeful.
Yeah, I think last week was hopeful.
And I said I was most grateful for connection.
(30:08):
And I think when you have hard moments in your life, like it's weird, like you startdialing into the people, the people that get you through stuff, right?
So I think it was so apt, like, oh yeah, connections, connections is what, yeah, so thisweek's one was connection.
And I think it's because it's just by the end of the month, it's like, right, OK, yourpeople have helped you sort of get through the hard time.
we, so yes, you have like a weekly review that gives you sort of like, you know.
(30:32):
what I've just said.
then we've got like a bit that it's just like, so we use the daily story.
So that one prompt a day that you get that's linked to like a like a famous person's likea life lesson, right?
We take all the different AI with your permission, obviously, like, you know, you have toopt into this stuff takes all that takes all your your answers, and gives you like a
(30:58):
reading around like, you know, what like
your week and then can I read out my one from last week for this week?
Yeah, my god, this is so, like this is, do you know what it is?
Like I'm not, but of course like there's certain things that I'm very like, you know,vulnerable, but I see my vulnerability as a strength and, and sometimes of course there
(31:23):
are things that, OK, I might not share because, but I, but ultimately we're all doing lifefor the first time.
So I don't,
I'm not really, yeah, I tend not to, feel like, yeah, I'm very happy to share basically.
That's the point I'm trying to make.
Okay, and you can listen to it as well, but I'll read mine out.
So the headline is, Chasing Butterflies and Dreams, Feeling Alive and Ready for More.
(31:48):
So that's like the headline, which is so cute and so apt because I started, yeah, yeah,that's the headline.
So it's like chasing butterflies and dreams.
feeling alive and ready for more.
So reflecting on your journal entries, a poignant theme of personal growth intertwinedwith an awareness of impermanence emerges.
(32:10):
Expressions like grown into being braver, acknowledging that people come and go and yourquest for feeling alive and accomplished.
no, sorry, I think it's because it cut off.
no, sorry, sorry.
Let me go back and know where I can find it.
(32:30):
OK, expressions like grown into being braver, acknowledging that people come and go andyour quest for feeling alive and accomplish underscore a journey of embracing life's
transitionary nature while seeking depth and fulfillment.
That was so true to me because like March was like I had a breakup.
So there was just all these different things going on and it picked up on the fact thatlike, you know, there's a transitional.
(32:56):
transitionary nature of like, you know, and the daily story, the reason why it's sointeresting for me anyway, is because it asks you questions around your values, you know,
all these different things.
And I think the quite and it pulls your actual words into this summary.
So things like, you know, growing into being braver, acknowledging that people come and gothat people acknowledge that people come and go was because I think there was was a was a
(33:21):
there's a prompt that says what there's a prompt that was like
what is a lesson that is hard, but you've had to like learn it or something.
And I was just, I said something like, you know, people come and go and that's sometimesvery hard to swallow in life, you know, in whatever way.
Cause my mom lost her husband as well in March.
it's just, yeah, it's just a very, yeah.
(33:44):
So anyway, so it also says you value qualities and friendships such as honesty,
integrity and vulnerability, which mirror your internal aspirations to live authenticallyand passionately.
And then it says, considering your reflections, seems like you're cultivating resilienceand appreciative perspective on life's fleeting moments.
How might acknowledging these small yet profound victories each week amplify your sense ofaccomplishment and personal growth?
(34:08):
So it says this week, try to jot down moments where you feel particularly brave orfulfilled.
This small act can help you visualize and affirm your journey's progress.
And that bit where it says, you know, being brave is because
I this journey of being what I'm doing requires me to be braver and braver.
And I need to catch up because I know it requires me to do that, but I'm still kind ofstruggling, if that makes sense.
(34:31):
So it's just saying like, when you feel particularly brave or fulfilled, which issomething, start of the weekend, I want to feel accomplished.
That's how I want to feel by the end of the week.
yeah, so that's what you get every week.
So it's like a have your own coach in an app
(34:51):
Yeah, it's kind of like, yes, I think it's more, yes, it's like your own, it's like adiary, like, yeah.
it.
So what a delight to talk to you, Liz.
So just remind us for people to go download the app from the Apple Store.
It's called...
Storia Journal.
Story Art Journal, great.
And if they want to talk to you, can they talk to you?
(35:14):
And where will they find you?
is elizabeth at storia.
world.
Perfect.
Elizabeth at storia.world.
I'll put it in the show notes.
Thank you, Liz, for coming.
Thank you everyone for listening.
See you next time.
Bye bye.
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