The Importance of Stories

It hurts to be ignored. Putting part of yourself out there, only to be pushed aside makes you doubt your worth. It discourages us from sharing any part of ourselves ever again. As artists, we put parts of ourselves out there all the time. Every song feels like a sliver of our soul that we are releasing into the world. But sometimes, it feels like no one is listening. This can happen when we lead with our songs instead of our story. People are always going to gravitate towards a full story, rather than part of one. Songs are just samples of the bigger picture. When you start with your story and point every part of your artistry towards telling that story, the right people will come along and support you. You might be thinking, 'But what if I don't have a story? What if I've never done or overcome anything?' Well, I am here to tell you that a) you're wrong and b) even the smallest story can have a huge impact. It is tempting to look at other people's stories and compare them to your own. "There are children starving in Africa!" my parents would always say. I am not, nor have I ever been, a starving child; therefore, my story does not seem like it would be as important. But it is! The amount of suffering in our lives does not determine their value, nor does the lack of suffering make our stories unworthy of being told. We all have inherent value as people, and that means that our stories have value as well. Also, more people can relate to a relatively mundane story than one with a lot of suffering. And telling your story is all about finding the people who can relate to it. The more honest you are, the more people will listen. All stories are meant to bring people together. But in order to bring people together, you first have to put yourself out there. It's scary, I know! But trust me, it will be so worth it.

"There is no better investment you can make outside of telling and sharing your story." ~Jill Riley CEO/Owner

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