What do you think of that? Calling people “gifted?” Maybe someone referred to you that way, and you loved it. Who wouldn’t?
It’s a lovely compliment, but it also has a shitty downside because it does two things simultaneously: Presumes that some people have gifts and some don’t; it also presumes that if it’s a gift, it just comes easy peasy and there’s no effort involved.
Some things come more easily to you than to me, sure. But the people who appear to us to be “gifted” have also likely worked really hard on it.
My friend Sarah Montana is like that. She’s never out of ideas. Like, ever. She’s one of those people who springs forth like a geyser. She laughs easily; she cries easily — she makes you feel more alive, just by being around her.
I’ve sat next to her on writing retreats and seen her fingers fly across her keyboard, watched her turn out more words in 15 minutes than your average human. She may be gifted, but she also runs like hell.
Sarah currently makes her living as a screenwriter (she’s written several movies for Hallmark), and while you could say she has a gift for story, she has also honed her storytelling chops for years.
I know you’d like her. And if you want to meet her, you can!
Monday, July 19 @ 1p ET I’m going to be leading a workshop and discussion with Sarah about STORY—and how she learned to use it—not just as a vehicle for her work, but also as a way to heal from and understand just what she’s capable of, even in the face of inexplicable loss.
(If you haven’t seen her TEDx talk on forgiveness, it’s worth checking out.)
Ever think about telling your story? Or one of your more personal ones perhaps? Sarah will walk us through how to know when and if you’re ready to do it, and why you shouldn’t necessarily go stage-diving with it too soon.
If you’d like to join me and Sarah tomorrow, you can do that by grabbing the link here. (When you do that, I can send you the replay even if you can’t come live.)
-Terri