Evoke Greatness Podcast

The Power of Your Story with Bill Blankschaen (Part 2)

• Episode 187

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🎧 Episode 187: The Power of Your Story — How to Turn Life Lessons into Lasting Influence (Part 2)

In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Bill Blankschaen — master storyteller, brand strategist, and founder of StoryBuilders — returns to go even deeper into the inner side of storytelling.

Because before you can tell your story to the world, you have to change the story you’re telling yourself.

Bill and I unpack the “confidence trap,” that quiet belief that everyone else’s story is more significant than our own, and how comparison keeps us from showing up in the fullness of who we’re called to be. We talk about reshaping those inner narratives, standing firm in your chapter instead of comparing it to someone else’s, and recognizing that your story still has power — no matter what chapter you’re in.

If Part 1 was about discovering the structure of storytelling, this one is about discovering the soul behind it.

We explore:

✨ The “confidence trap” — why we tend to deify others and diminish ourselves

 âś¨ How to stop comparing your chapter 3 to someone else’s chapter 20

 âś¨ Why every story matters — and the freedom that truth brings

 âś¨ How to rewrite the story you’re telling yourself to reclaim confidence and purpose

 âś¨ The role of emotion in crafting stories that connect and stick

 âś¨ How storytelling builds trust, vulnerability, and authentic connection in leadership

 âś¨ The ripple effect — how believing in your own story can change the trajectory of others

 âś¨ Why your story isn’t over yet… and how to live like it

This episode is a reminder that you don’t need a perfect story — you just need the courage to tell it. When you lean into your story, you not only change how you lead… you change how you live.

Connect with Bill :

📲 Connect with Bill: Company Website: https://mystorybuilders.com/

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A rising tide raises all ships, and I invite you along on this journey to Evoke Greatness!

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SPEAKER_00:

Your story isn't over yet. Whatever that story is right now, if it looks bleak, I don't understand it, I'm not enjoying it right now, just realize your story isn't over yet. And you're in a story that's unfolding. And the best stories often have the greatest challenges, right? So if you're in a challenge right now, that's an opportunity to write a story. That's an opportunity to live a story that'll be worth telling.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Evoke Greatness, the podcast for bold leaders and big dreamers who refuse to settle. I'm your host, Sunny. I started in Scrubs over 20 years ago, doing the gritty unseen work and climbed my way to CEO. Every rung of that ladder taught me something worth passing on. Lessons in leadership, resilience, and what it really takes to rise. You'll hear raw conversations, unfiltered truths, and the kind of wisdom that ignites something deeper in you. Your courage, your conviction, your calling. This show will help you think bigger, lead better, and show up bolder in every part of your life. This is your place to grow. Let's rise together. In part two of this conversation with Bill Blankshain, you will hear what happens when we stop chasing someone else's story and start believing in our own. We talk about the confidence trap, that quiet voice that says your story isn't significant enough, and how to rewrite the internal narrative that's been holding you back. You'll hear how to stop comparing your chapter three to someone else's chapter 20, how to lead through authenticity instead of perfection, and why your story still has power, even in the messy middle. If you've ever doubted that your story matters, this one's for you. Okay, let's hop into it. You mentioned it a little earlier, but there's there's also that internal side of storytelling where it's the stories we tell ourselves. And you said that before, inner narrative shapes our outer results. How does that show up in in the work that you do or in the work that other leaders do?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Um I think it I think it's another trap. I call it the confidence trap. And that is this idea that we tend to deify others, but diminish ourselves. Right? We tend to think, oh, Sonny, man, you've got a great story. You're amazing. You've got this track, all that. Me, I don't have as much. You know, it's just it's that we compare ourselves to other people, whoever they are, fill in the blank with the name, and we think that person has arrived. I'm, I just don't have anything to contribute. So I think one of it is that idea of just not having the confidence. And that goes to the story that we're telling ourselves. Right. So um, I think that's where a lot of this begins, is we talk ourselves out of our story having the significance that it could have in the world because we tell ourselves it's just normal, it's not great, there's nothing to contribute. Instead of believing, no, actually, I am unique. You know, wisdom literature and the Bible says that there's nothing new under the sun. And that's true, except you, right? You've never been here before. You've never had the same experiences that you've had, the successes, the failures, the unique, all that coming together in you. And that's what really gives it power. That's what gives it that that strength. And so when we begin to lean into that and believe that, and then identify who we're trying to reach and not try to reach everybody, I think that's a that's a key that holds us up many times. We try to, we think my my story has to appeal to everybody to be successful. No, actually, with what 7 billion, 8 billion people on the world, it just needs to connect with a very small number of those for you to begin to maximize that impact, your influence, and ultimately your income too. But I think, I think that's where it begins is is asking ourselves, what story am I telling myself? What is the message I would want to share with the world? And then how how am I leveraging my story to multiply my impact on this world in the years that I have here to make it a better place?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I remember early on in uh leadership, a relatively new role, and I was uh had a a leader who I wanted to be able to do all the things she was doing. And she said, Sonny, you have to remember you're comparing your chapter three with my chapter 20. And I thought, wow. In the moment I don't even know that I absorbed like the power that that what she said really meant. And so now when I'm in my chapter 20 and other people look at that same thing because we look at people and we say, gosh, they they're showing up or they look or they have or they, you know, whatever. And it's that that comparison trap of uh we just really have to learn to stand both feet down in our true story and and really and there's there's lessons in it for everyone.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's helpful to realize that everybody struggles to believe their story has significance. I'll I'll share this story with you. I was I was having lunch uh several years ago with somebody in New York City. If I if I shared her last name, everybody would know her last name. Um so she's you know well known. She's got all that. Everybody would think she's got everything together. She doesn't struggle with confidence, of course. And yet we were having lunch talking about a possible project, and she's and she confided in me. She said, you know, I gotta tell you, sometimes I'll walk into rooms and I'm getting paid a lot of money to be there, and I'll walk into rooms and give my advice. And she said, I it often feels like the only reason they're listening to me is because of my last name, not because what I am saying is actually powerful and helpful. And sometimes I just wonder do I do I really have anything to contribute? And again, I'm thinking, all right, this person, if that person is struggling with the same thing, then I think we all struggle with the same.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. And you never reach a place. Even the ones that I think feel come across as the most maybe confident and so forth, somewhere in there, there's this kernel of you, you, you can't, you can't feed this, right? And I think over time we can actually cause it to this default position to shrink as our confidence grows. And we, but it's an intentional thing that we do of telling ourselves a new story that um that we need to hear in order to see the value of that. Because I think that's really what separates people who maybe people look at, oh, they've had impact. Well, they've believed their story has power and they've told it in strategic ways and they've done it well, and they've done it in service of others. And that's typically the the path that's going to result in the greatest influence.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. And I and I appreciate that you mentioned that because I do think people oftentimes think, I don't have a story worth sharing. My story isn't going to be valuable to anyone else. And again, it's that it's the perspective of seeing it from the me side of things, that narrative component, versus really like again, showing up in service of others.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Well, and for me, it comes from a very deep seed. My meaningful message, if you will, my meaningful message is that every story matters, right? And and and especially yours. I'm talking to you at the moment, Sonny, but our listeners, right? Especially you, our listeners and viewers, but every story matters. So whether somebody's like, Oh, I don't, I'm never going to write a book, well, you may or may not write a book, your story still matters. Uh, you know, the what I may or may not be the leader in organization, your story still matters, right? And so it comes from that deep place of every story has a unique significance. And I believe that so strongly. And because of that, uh, you know, I was just recently in a in a part of the country that has a has a good deal of poverty, frankly, and uh just saw some people living in conditions that I felt myself like, uh just my heart going out to them and thinking, how can I help them? And and the then even the children that are growing up in that in that kind of setting, how might they might struggle? Uh, you know, one of the things we've done, all the proceeds from the sale of Your Story Advantage, our book, uh, all the proceeds go to support adoption efforts to help children uh be positioned to live a better story. And so as I was thinking about all that, of you know, they're in that place of it'd be so easy for people born into that situation or in that situation to be telling themselves this story of I can't do anything. There's no hope for me. And, you know, my passion is I want them to believe that their story matters, to know the truth that their story matters, that no matter what the circumstances are, their story matters, and they can lean into that and develop it. They can truly do some amazing things, whatever beyond whatever limitations they or others might be thinking of them, uh, and they can make everything around them better as a result of it.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. You you talk about emotion as the anchor of connection. What are the elements of the story that really well, and you talked about it a little bit earlier, but like again, they they make it really, really stick like long after someone's heard it. And it's even like that, the the brace the bridge. Like that's stuck. What are the elements of that that as as people think about crafting their story?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I think it goes back to that storytelling structure. I think it's designed to tap into those elements, right? You're tapping in first of all to what do people want. That's that's usually a strong emotional connection of what's driving them. What is it that I want? You know, I just think of uh, you know, let's just say I was somebody's ideal audience. They're talking to uh uh dads, let's say, with six kids or something. Let's just say that's their niche, right? For whatever reason, six is the number. They got to have dads with six. Uh, you know, what is it that I want? Well, you know, I want my kids to be um to actually make an impact in the world, to make it a better place, to be productive, to be healthy in every every facet of life. Um, you know, but what's the tension that I might be facing? Well, the challenges would be, you know, time constraints and resource constraints and all that stuff on the surface. But then, you know, getting deeper as a dad, you know, I wrestle with, but am I am I really good enough? Do I have what it takes to be that dad? Am I gonna miss something? Is that am I gonna look back and oh, I should have caught that? And um, I look at my own childhood and my own relationship with my father, and I see, oh, this could have been better and that could have been better. Am I just gonna repeat that? You know, those inner fears and understanding that, then if someone were to try to connect with me in an emotional way, they're gonna be talking about at a deep level what I really want, right? You want to make a difference with your family, you want a legacy, you want to produce, uh, have kids that you can be proud of and families and you know, all this stuff coming together and and not feel like you're a failure, not feel like you've you've fallen short, not feel like you just missed it, you know, that that kind of stuff. And then once they're talking about that, now I'm connecting emotionally. Right. And and and so then they're gonna hopefully probably share a story about their own experience that I'm gonna be nodding along, like, oh, he gets it, whatever, you know, he he's he's really connecting with me, it's resonating. I want to listen to what he has to say, right? So I think that emotion comes from that pattern of of talking through that and especially the the tension, really going deep on the challenges. You know, um, when I talk to people about, you know, I was worried that my you know kids would be living in a cardboard box under the freeway somewhere. Like that, that was a visceral feeling that I had of, oh man, what would that look like? What would that feel like? That would be, oh man, to think I stepped out and I took a chance. And I think more importantly, to me, what I really wrestled with at that, at that time was my kids would see that I stepped out to do what I felt called to do and failed, and they might not do it now. They might hold back because, oh, it didn't work for dad. I should probably play it safe. Uh, but on the other side of that, because I did step out, I'm so proud of all of our kids. They're they're creative risk takers, right? They're willing to take a chance, they're willing to be creative, they're willing to step out and do that because they and they've even told me, well, if you could do it, I could do it.

unknown:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's the ripple effect that we have. Once we start believing in the power of our story, having that impact, it changes the story trajectory of others around us as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's that mirroring effect. And same thing at leaders on teams, when uh, and I and then I always go back to kind of that vulnerability or authenticity of when we're willing to share our stories, even not the totally pretty, unmessy ones, like sometimes when we're willing to share, share the messy middle, it it gives people permission to say, oh, okay, I may not have known that you went through that. And so there's a connection, and then they say, Oh, okay, well, maybe I can share the things that I go through that, you know, aren't always the prettiest things too. And so it gives that sense of permission in a similar manner.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and you don't want to be, to your point, you don't want to be just telling everybody every time you talk to them, hey, here's another failure I had, here's another failure, here's another failure. Again, that that's more therapy. That's not helping, that's about me. You've got to be careful because it can become about me just getting it off my chest, kind of thing. And instead of, will this actually help someone in some way uh to move that forward? So, yeah, definitely vulnerability comes with that. Uh, and I think there's a powerful, if I can just make this point of I think if you really want to succeed in sharing your story or frankly anything in life, I like to say if you want to elevate, you have to collaborate. And I think there's some humility in that, that you have to be willing to say, hey, I need help. I need someone to, I'm not an expert in everything. I need someone to come along who knows that well or who knows this well and put this team together. And I, because I have limits, I have boundaries. And that that kind of goes for that vulnerability too. I think a lot of people who are entrepreneurs and business leaders and so forth, they have this kind of, I'll just do it myself. I'll just, I'll push through, I'll make it happen. Instead of, no, there's things that I do well, there's things that other people do well, and I should enlist them to do that and that and you know, find the who's that I need uh rather than thinking, what do I need to do? So I think I think that vulnerability can express itself in in asking for help and aligning with people who can help you in that collaboration too.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I really like that. I think that's exactly right. When you when we think about strategy, this is kind of another set of storytelling. When we weave that storytelling in to how to sell or market or recruit, especially in industries that don't feel particularly emotional, what is a good way to weave those types of stories or the storytelling into that side of selling or marketing or recruiting?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh, I would treat it just like I would treat uh any brand story, right? So this would be chapter three in a in the book, talking about applying that storytelling structure to a brand story, which a brand story is just what is the what is the message that you want to share with the world and who you're sharing it with, and then structuring it strategically to do that. So sales, marketing, any like anything like that, um, it's really just it's it's your brand story. It's how are you, how are you telling your story to the world? And so beginning, going through that whole process, but with the brand story, we add two steps onto the front of that. So the five step, we add two bonus additions, which is um reflection, turning it inward and figuring out who you really are, and understanding that from your audience perspective. And then identification, which is identifying who your audience is and really understanding deep at a deeper level who they are, then your attention, your tension, connection, and so forth. The elements are the same in terms of how you're communicating that. And then that introduces necessarily the same emotional points and talking about the challenges and talking about their wrestling with, talking about how you connect with them. Um, so whether whether you're recruiting, whatever the case may be, your your story is the same. And this is why we love working with organizations to help figure out their brand stories, because they often have multiple stakeholders, right? They might be recruiting, they might be selling, they might nonprofits. We love working with nonprofits because they they get really complicated because they've got donors, they've got volunteers, they've got all sorts of people. And what what we do is that there's there's a core story. And then depending on who they're talking to, if they're talking to donors, volunteers, customers, whatever, um, that story gets tweaked a little bit in that direction to connect with what they want and what their challenges are, and how do how do we present the story in a way that appeals to them? And so it's almost like um, I'm gonna totally date myself here. Uh, but when I was a little kid, I remember my grandparents' television had that little tuning dial on it that you or the or you think of the television or radio, you know, radio, you gotta like tune it to get it just right. It's so easy these days. Like when I was a kid, uh Sonny, I don't know, I'm not gonna assume you were a kid when I was, but you know, the the AM radio dial, especially, was always hard to tune in just the right station. And sometimes it would fade in and out, and you'd have to do it by hand, right? That's what the brand story is like. It you you're you got the right story, you've got the right channel. Depending on who you're talking to, you just maybe just have to tune it a little. And then it just becomes a matter of of copy, paste, tweak, copy, paste, tweak. So you're always sharing the same story. And because of that, you're building trust with the audiences you're talking to. You're not having to reinvent the wheel, so you're actually saving money on that because you got time and resources that aren't being reused and reused again and reimagined again because everybody's on literally on the same page.

SPEAKER_01:

And if someone listening today wants to tap into the power of their own story, where where would you suggest they begin? What's the first step to uncovering their own story advantage?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I'm gonna ask, I'm gonna answer that in two ways. One, the obvious one is get the book, Your Story Advantage, because that's it really is a no-brainer first step. And you can get that at your storyadvantage.com or wherever good books are sold, but you'll get bonuses at your storyadvantage.com if you go there. Um but if but but uh for something that's helpful for them right now is you know, if you think they want to tap into their story, I think the first thing you have to do is really get clear on well, it's kind of a double side, it's a coin, right? You got to have both of these. You have to get clear on the belief that your story matters and deal with any of those traps that you might be falling into. But as you do that, then it really begins looking inside and saying, what is that meaningful message? What is the story that I want to tell? And we give all kinds of tools and resources and things that people can do with courses and stuff, and or we can guide them through this uh firsthand. But really, the first step I think is believing you have a story and then beginning to get clear on what is that message, what's that one thing that if it you can even apply it in this way? Like, what's the one thing that if I, you know, if I God forbid I I die tomorrow, you know, or I'm not here tomorrow, what's the one thing I want people to remember about that? What's the what's the one message that, man, this is what I would want people to know? This is what like the big thing that I've learned. And for many of us, that can be tough, but uh just what what is what percolates in that? What what surfaces in that? And from that, of course, they can use all the tools in the book to try to get at that and get underneath that. But that's that would be the first place to start, I think, is juggling both belief and what's at the core. What what's really that driving passion that I have that then if I lean into it can produce that breakthrough that I need.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it was a perfect segue, uh, Bill, as I always love to end with this question. And that is if today were your last day on earth and you've learned all that you have, you've gotten the wisdom and the guidance, and you could only impart one piece of wisdom or advice to the world, what would that be?

SPEAKER_00:

Every story matters. And I think there are tremendous implications of believing that, right? About other people, about myself, about the world around me. Um, you know, when we view that, I I don't know about you, Sonny, but I think a lot of people entrepreneurs and so forth, we tend to be pretty hard on ourselves at times. And so believing that my story matters positions me to actually show grace to myself. Right? Like my my story matters in in a way that the things that I think aren't going right, they're all part of the story. And here's the best news, maybe that that I can leave people with is your story isn't over yet. Right. Whatever that story is right now, if it looks bleak, if it looks, I don't understand it, it's actually I'm not enjoying it right now. Just realize your story isn't over yet. And you're in a story that's unfolding. And the best stories often have the greatest challenges, right? So if you're in a challenge right now, that's an opportunity to write a story. That's an opportunity to live a story that'll be worth telling someday. Um, so I would say, you know, believe that every story matters, especially yours, and then live like it.

SPEAKER_01:

Love it. That's a perfect way to wrap. Uh, I I will I want to make sure that uh that we give you the opportunity to be able to share where can people find the book? You shared that, but where can people find more out about you and follow you and story builders? Um, and and I'll throw all this in the show notes as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, you can find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and so forth, and and if uh our our website, mystorybilders.com. Um, but I would say also if you know someone wants to talk and connect about hey, can you help me figure out my story and develop my story or a book or whatever the case may be, um, they can just reach out at mystorybuilders.com forward slash story and just schedule some time and put some time on the calendar. We'd love to talk to them. We'd love to hear their story because every story matters. And if we can be of help, great. If not, we'll get out of the way and let their story continue. But that's mystorybuilders.com forward slash story. And uh yeah, grab a copy of the book because that's why we made it, to put it in people's hands to help them actually live that story and and take advantage of the story they already have that nobody else has.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And I I I know firsthand, I've heard it a lot from my listeners that they're either desiring to write a book. Uh so many of them have a book waiting. It's it's inside of them waiting to happen. And so this is a fantastic way. Get a copy of the book, reach out, um, seek some guidance around this process. Uh, and if you're gonna do it from anyone, do it from Bill.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Well, and and I would say get the book. Um, there's actually a course that we offer in the book that I think could be really valuable to people to help flesh that out. Um, and I would say to your to your point about they have a book inside them that they've been waiting for. Um, a lot of books kind of end up in the book graveyard because they end up in the someday I'm gonna write a book, someday I'm gonna do this, someday, someday, someday, and then you run out of time and it just doesn't happen. And what I have learned with books, I'll leave you with this thought that books can go places you'll never go, and they'll touch more people than you'll ever know. And I can't tell you how much my life has been changed by people I've never met. I've never had that experience. I just had this happen a couple, a couple uh months ago, actually. There was a book written by uh Mike Mikalowitz, uh Profit First, and he's his big entrepreneurial books, and it had had a huge impact on our life and our company, but I never met him until a couple months ago, right? And just began to get to know him in in that sense. But his book had impacted me. He had no idea who I was, right? And and that's the power of that. That's the power of a good book, when written well, just has that kind of impact. So don't wait.

SPEAKER_01:

Love it. Well, Bill, thank you so much for your time and coming on and sharing about the book and sharing the framework for what that looks like. Appreciate your time and and your willingness.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I appreciate you. I appreciate your willingness to to unpack all these stories and to evoke greatness. I I love that.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. If today's episode challenged you, moved you, or lit a fire in your soul, don't keep it to yourself. Share it with somebody who's ready to rise. Can I ask you to take 30 seconds to leave a review? It's the best way to say thank you and help this show reach more bold leaders like you. Because this isn't just a podcast, it's a movement. We're not here to play small. We're here to lead loud, one bold and unapologetic step at a time. Until next time, stay bold, stay grounded, and make moves that make mediocre uncomfortable.

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Sonnie Linebarger

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