It is the last full week of April! This week saw my youngest son’s birthday (15 – wow!), a random, catered office party, and a lovely bouquet of flowers for Administrative Professionals Day. We’ve dusted off goals, got out of our feelings, and trimmed our social circles. Today we’re going to bring it all together to share our stories.

What’s the point in sharing your story? For one, people get to know you. When we know someone better, we understand their motives and thoughts. Another reason to share is common ground is established. Bonds are strengthened. Trust is formed. For instance, most of you know I’ve been a divorced mother of three for a decade. It is a part of my story. Someone with a similar story can relate to mine and get to know that part of me.

1. You don’t have to share your whole story – You can share your whole story if you want. Different people are going to relate to different parts of it however. And there is nothing wrong with that. The trick is learning which parts to share with which people. You can pick up on clues to learn what resonates with someone else.
2. Keep it concise – If you are sharing to impart a lesson from your testimony then keep it short. Give enough detail to make it a full story, but don’t ramble. Save the mind-numbing scenic descriptions and side stories for bedtime or your epic made for TV movie.
3. Share the outcome, not just the test – Have you ever taken a test and never knew how you did? No, you haven’t. Even if it felt like forever, you eventually knew the results. The same is true for your story’s listeners. If you want to get the lesson across, you must tell them the outcome, no matter what it was.
4. Be sincere – I think this one is harder than it sounds. Humans tend to want admiration for their feats. Try to avoid embellishing for the sake of attention. You’ll eventually get caught. Damaging your character is not worth the brief ego boost.
   

I’m so proud of you for getting to the place where you can share. Spring cleaning your mind and heart are not easy tasks. If you aren’t at this stage yet, don’t worry. You will get there if you keep doing the work. What are some ways you spring cleaned this month?

Need help starting? Click here and pick up The Goal Road Map. Until next week my dears, I’m sending you love and light. Don’t forget to G.R.O.W. on purpose!