Why Stories Have The Power to Change The World | Ep 3

Send us a text

Stories have immense power to shape beliefs, inspire action, and create empathy in ways that facts alone cannot accomplish. Your personal narrative has the potential to create meaningful change, preserve cultural identity, and disrupt the status quo when shared authentically.

• Stories shape our beliefs and help us make sense of the world through narrative
• Research shows stories increase oxytocin in our brains, creating powerful connections
• Personal stories inspire others to take action and see issues from new perspectives
• Narratives preserve cultural identity and knowledge across generations
• The American "rags to riches" story has shaped national identity for millions
• Individual stories like those in the Me Too movement can create tidal waves of change
• Your story has the power to create a more empathetic and caring world
• Now is a critical time in history where stories matter more than ever.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Story Lab.
Today I'm going to talk aboutsomething I'm very passionate
about and it's something that Iwant you to understand, because
I often say that a story welltold can change the world.
And I know that stories canchange the world because I've

(00:20):
had the opportunity to doexactly that.
I've shared my story, and thoseof you that have listened to
that episode episode oneunderstand that I know stories
can change the world because Ihad the opportunity to do it.
I did it and I want you to beable to do it, because stories

(00:41):
are powerful.
Stories create connection.
Stories create passion andempathy, and they're the thing
that we're built on as humans.
They're how we understand theworld, and I'm going to share
some of the reasons why theyhave that power and some

(01:03):
examples of what they've done inthe past Some of my own, some
of others, but stories.
What I want you to get fromthis episode is that stories
matter, that your story matters,that sharing your story can
help people, can move people,can inspire people and can

(01:26):
change the world.
Your story, the one theyremember, the truth that ignites
the reason they stay.
This is your time.
You're brighter than ever.
You've got something to say.
What I want you to get fromthis episode is that stories

(01:47):
matter, that your story matters,that sharing your story can
help people, can move people,can inspire people and can
change the world, because I knowit can and I know your story
can.
So we're going to talk aboutsome of the reasons that stories

(02:09):
are so powerful, and we'regoing to start with the fact
that stories shape beliefs.
What we think about this worldis based on the stories that
we've heard, the stories that weunderstand.
Humans were wired to make senseof everything through narrative
.
That's how our brain works.
Facts alone are great, but theydon't move people.

(02:30):
Stories are what move people.
They lodge themselves in ourhearts, in our minds, and we
feel something that is powerful,and that's what allows stories
to inspire others.
Stories inspire people.

(02:50):
They inspire people to takeaction.
I know this through my story,because I shared my story and it
inspired others to look at theworld in a different way, to
look at what it would feel liketo be somebody who had gone
through what I went through, andinspired them to take action.
It inspired them to say it isnot okay for this hatred to

(03:13):
exist.
It inspired them to act uponthose feelings and move things
forward, because stories, theyspark action, they spark
revolutions.
Stories, even everyday things,can make a huge difference
because people hear a story thatmakes them say enough is a

(03:36):
fucking enough.
A great story doesn't justinform people, it doesn't just
shape their beliefs, it compelsthem to take action and see.
That's where your story has themost power.
You can inspire people.
You can inspire people to takeaction and take that next step

(03:56):
and help you make a differencein this world.
Stories are powerful, butstories can also be quiet,
because stories can createempathy.
They get people to seesomething from a different
viewpoint.
They hear about somebody'sstruggle or their triumph or

(04:17):
heartbreak and you care becausethey're connecting to that
person.
You're more likely to help whenyou feel this empathy.
And research literally showsthat stories will increase the
oxytocin in your brain, make usall feel connected and a story
well told.

(04:37):
You will be on the samewavelength as the storyteller.
You will be in that moment withthe storyteller.
That is a powerful thing.
Stories also preserve cultureand our knowledge.

(05:00):
Stories, oral histories, folktales, fairy tales, family lore,
things that have been passeddown for generations.
That's our culture, that's ourknowledge and that is told
through stories.
The story of my mother comingover from Cuba and my

(05:26):
grandfather working a store andmy grandmother working in the GM
factory.
Those are all stories thatconnect with me and make me who
I am, because that is part of myidentity.
And think of this how many ragsto riches stories do we have in

(05:48):
America?
That narrative is our identitythe people that pulled
themselves up by theirbootstraps to accomplish amazing
things, the people that hadnothing but they had the
American dream.
That American dream that tookthem from nothing to
millionaires, that took themfrom nothing to having

(06:11):
everything they could have everimagined.
Because of the American dreamwe pull ourselves up by our
bootstraps, because of a storythat we're told over and over
again.
It is our identity.
It's who we are as Americans.
We are those rags to richesstories.
We are the immigrants that camehere hoping for a better life.

(06:32):
That's our identity asAmericans.
That's a story, a story thathas changed millions of people's
lives.
Because we believe that story,we live that story and every
time we end up being successful,we perpetuate that story of who

(06:53):
we are as Americans.
That's powerful.
Your story has that power,whether it's an American rags to
riches story or a story ofwhere you overcame something
that you never thought you'd befacing.
Stories also disrupt the statusquo.

(07:15):
They change dominant narratives.
Think of the Me Too movement.
The Me Too movement wasindividual stories, personal
stories that were told, storiesof harassment and assault that
cracked the overall view of whatwas happening.

(07:36):
It changed the globalconversation about power, about
consent, about accountability.
These were individual accountsthat led to a tidal wave of
change.
Stories are powerful and I tellthis to clients and people and
anybody I can tell this to,because I truly believe that
everybody has a story that canchange the world and I think

(08:00):
that if we actually started totell all of our stories, all of
the things that we've overcome,all of the things that we've had
to face, we would create abetter world.
We would shine the light onthings that were being done
wrong, we would motivate peopleinto action, we would create a

(08:24):
more empathetic population, amore caring generation, and one
day we would look back at wherewe'd come from, where we are,
and be proud of ourselvesbecause we made a difference.
We're at a time in history,right now, where stories matter
more than anything, that peopleneed to hear, stories that

(08:45):
uplift them, that show that wecan do positive things, that we
can change the currentexperience into a better
experience, that we all, ashumans, have power to make a
difference.
And that is not something tojust step over.

(09:09):
That's not something to say Ican't do this.
Your story matters more nowthan it ever has.
I want you to share your story.
I want you to get out there.
I want you to change the worldbecause your story has that

(09:30):
power.
My story has that power,everybody's story has that power
, and you should share it.
You'll inspire somebody.
Somebody needs to hear yourstory today.
And, yes, I'm passionate aboutstorytelling because I learned
what it can do.
I'm passionate aboutstorytelling because I want you

(09:57):
to be proud of your story, toknow that you made a difference
and to know that you dideverything you could to make
this world a better place.
So, get out there, share yourstory, make your story the one
they remember, the truth thatignites the reason they stay.

(10:32):
This is your time to brightenup the never.
You've got something to say.