What's actually happening in you when you cultivate a great story?

Most people think storytelling is about expression—the ability to speak, write, paint, or perform. That’s what we see on the surface. The TED Talks. The bestselling books. The hit songs. The viral podcast. The sticky newsletter that people can’t stop reading.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Beneath that, stories take shape long before they’re expressed. This is where most people—individuals, businesses, and campaigns alike—struggle. They focus only on the surface, without understanding the deeper process that makes a story resonate.

The great news? While the forms of storytelling are diverse and require different skills, the process of cultivating a story is available to all of us.

Here’s a simple concept that reveals what's happening in you when you cultivate a great story:

1️⃣ The Ocean – This is where all stories begin. It’s your internal world—your thoughts, emotions, memories, and values. It’s the raw material every storyteller, brand, and movement draws from.

2️⃣ The In-Between – This is where you start catching stories. Ever have a moment that sticks with you, but you don’t know why? This is where stories begin to take shape before you’re even aware of them.

3️⃣ Manifestation – This is where you decide to bring the story to life. You get an idea for a screenplay at 2 AM. You wake up, make coffee, and say, Eh, too much work. This is the most dangerous stage—where stories get blocked before they ever reach the world. This is also where businesses hesitate, campaigns stall, and brands fail to translate ideas into action.

4️⃣ Expression – This is the level everyone recognizes. The book, the speech, the film, the viral podcast, the sticky newsletter, the marketing campaign that actually lands. But the truth is, expression is the final step, not the first.

So when people say, "I’m not a storyteller," maybe they’re right...

But all of us are born story-catchers.

It started around the fire thousands of years ago, warning about dangers in the woods, teaching lessons, and making sense of the world.

Your stories are already inside you.