Here's Your Replay
Watch the Life Change
Goal
See what's possible when one story changes
Story & Strategy Letter Mini-Course
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER — DIRECTOR’S CUT
The Story Behind “I’m Not Enough”
Watch the show. Then do the work.
There’s a big difference between understanding a story and changing a story.
On this week’s Your Next Chapter LIVE, we looked at the story:
“I’m not enough.”
Now, inside the Director’s Cut, we’re going to take it one step further.
We’re going to find your version of the story, question it, rewrite it and turn the new story into one small action.
Grab something to write with.
Let’s go.
PART 1 — FIND YOUR STORY
Finish this sentence:
“I’m not enough to __________________________.”
Don’t make it pretty.
Don’t write what you think you should say.
Write the sentence that actually shows up in your head.
Maybe it’s:
I’m not enough to start the business.
I’m not enough to have the relationship I want.
I’m not enough to charge that much.
I’m not enough to speak up.
I’m not enough to make this change.
I’m not enough to become that person.
Now write yours:
I’m not enough to ____________________________________________.
That’s the story we’re working with.
PART 2 — WHERE DID THAT STORY COME FROM?
Here’s one of the most important ideas from the show:
We take something that happened to us and turn it into something we believe about us.
So let’s go looking.
Ask yourself:
What happened that helped me begin believing this?
Was there a rejection?
A failure?
Something someone said?
A relationship?
A mistake?
A comparison?
Someone whose approval you wanted but never received?
Something you tried that didn’t work?
Write down what happened:
Now comes the important part.
What did you decide that event meant about YOU?
There’s a big difference between those two answers.
One is an event.
The other is the story you created about the event.
PART 3 — EVENT OR IDENTITY?
Try this.
Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper.
On the left write:
WHAT HAPPENED
On the right write:
WHAT I DECIDED IT MEANT ABOUT ME
For example:
What happened:
I failed.
What I decided:
I’m a failure.
Or:
What happened:
I was rejected.
What I decided:
I’m unlovable.
Or:
What happened:
I made a mistake.
What I decided:
I always screw everything up.
See the difference?
One describes something that happened.
The other tries to tell you who you are.
Now do yours.
What happened?
What did I decide it meant about me?
Now complete this sentence:
“This happened to me. It does not have to define me.”
Read that one again.
PART 4 — OPEN THE OTHER FILE
Most of us have a pretty impressive mental file called:
EVIDENCE THAT I’M NOT ENOUGH
Every failure gets filed.
Every rejection.
Every embarrassing moment.
Every mistake.
Every time we tried something and it didn't work.
We keep excellent records.
But there’s another file.
And we don't open that one nearly enough.
So let’s open it.
Answer these questions:
When did you survive something you weren't sure you could survive?
When did you learn something you didn't know how to do?
When did you help somebody?
When did you solve a problem?
When were you scared and did it anyway?
When did you keep going when quitting would have been easier?
When did someone thank you because you made a difference?
That counts.
That is evidence too.
Stop building a case against yourself using only the evidence for the prosecution.
PART 5 — CHANGE THE QUESTION
Now we get to my favorite part.
We're going to stop asking:
“Am I enough?”
That question is HUGE.
Am I enough to build the whole business?
Am I enough to fix the relationship?
Am I enough to change my life?
Am I enough to know exactly what to do?
Am I enough to become the person I want to become?
No wonder we freeze.
So let's make the question smaller.
Much smaller.
Instead ask:
“Am I enough to take the next small step?”
That's a completely different question.
You don't have to be enough for the entire journey today.
You only have to be enough for the next small step.
PART 6 — FIND YOUR NEXT SMALL STEP
Go back to the sentence you wrote at the beginning:
I'm not enough to ________________________________.
Now ask:
What is ONE small step I could take toward that?
Not 37 steps.
Not the entire plan.
One.
Could you:
Make one phone call?
Send one email?
Ask one question?
Have one conversation?
Do 10 minutes of research?
Ask for help?
Say no?
Say yes?
Show up?
Try?
Your next small step is:
_________________________________________________
Now ask:
“Am I enough to do THAT?”
If the answer still feels like no...
Good.
Make the step smaller.
Then ask again.
Keep shrinking the step until the answer becomes:
Yes. I can do that.
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER CHALLENGE
Here’s your challenge before next week:
Take the small step.
That's it.
Don't solve your whole life.
Don't fix everything.
Don't figure out the next six months.
Take the step.
Then come back and write down what happened.
The step I took:
What happened:
What I learned about myself:
My next small step:
Because confidence doesn't come before we do the thing.
Confidence comes because we did the thing.
And that's how this begins.
One event stops defining you.
One old story gets questioned.
One new story gets written.
One small action gets taken.
And suddenly...
your next chapter has already begun.