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Hi there Reader

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Melbourne has been a ghost town this week with most people out of town on holiday. I hope you're enjoying a little downtime. Time to refresh and reset before things get back to full swing. If you need a prompt to get your creative juices flowing, the Deepwell book is available here.

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​A story ​
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A few weeks ago had some branding photos taken to tie in with my rebrand. I booked to have my makeup done at a branch of Mecca, where they offer free sessions when you buy some product. The session I selected was for natural-looking make-up.

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I have a couple of friends who don't use their branding photos because a hair or make-up artist persuaded them to opt for something more "elevated." They went along with it at the time, but afterwards, they didn't feel like sharing the photos because they didn't really look like them.

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With that in my mind, my aim was to get photos that looked decidedly like me.

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Early on, the makeup artist, who was lovely, asked if I wanted false eyelashes to enhance my look. I politely declined.
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Then the conversation turned to botox, which I've never had. The makeup artist said, 'You don't need it, but 1 ml in your lips would make them look fuller, and no one would ever know."

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When it came time to apply lipstick, she drew an outline that was more shapely than my lips are, with a dip in the middle and two little triangles either side. It was subtle, but I didn't want it. I asked her to wipe it off. She wiped it off a little but left some of the outline there. It seems she was attached to her idea of how I should look. So I took it off later on.

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It's a small thing but it matters.
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The point is, it's strangely difficult to be yourself sometimes. All around you are well-meaning people who think you'll be more attractive with false eyelashes, 1 ml of botox, or fuller lips.

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They’re sending you signals that how you look on an ordinary day is not quite good enough. You can be more. You can be better. Different from how you are now.

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I believe the glory is in the real you. The wrinkles on your forehead. The flatness of my top lip.

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Lean in to being more you. People sense authenticity, and it resonates.
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A strategy

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I have a hunch you're not making the most of your stories.
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You’re not sharing some of your greatest successes.
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Or talking enough about people whose lives you’ve changed.
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Or explaining how you do things differently from others.
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Why not?
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Maybe you’re scared of bothering your customers to ask for feedback.

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Or you worry you’ll be seen as bragging if you do talk about these things.
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So you push your fears aside and get busy with other things instead.
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There's another way.
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How about shifting your focus to the people who can benefit from hearing your story?
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Who is it you want to help? How will hearing your story move them?

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Tell true stories about real experiences. The truth packs a punch.
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One last tip: If you're not clear on your target market when thinking about who you'd like to help, think about serving the person you used to be a few years ago. What do you wish someone had told you back then?

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In a world full of fillers, filters, and false eyelashes, stand out by being real.

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P.S. Please can you answer three quick questions about how you use storytelling in your business? I'd love to hear from you.