Good Stories Don’t Happen By Accident

By Carl Woolston

Like a great movie and story, great and successful lives aren’t created by chance.

The movie industry is huge! Each weekend, millions flock to see the newest releases. A DVD player is standard in almost any home.

We can now stream movies over our computers and even phones. The industry continues to grow — despite economic turmoil.

The industry knows that movies don’t become great just because of a title, or even a star. Movies are made through science.

Take a second and think of your favorite movie. There are heroes and villains. There are specific activities that move the story along and keep it interesting.

And there is always conflict — the main part of a story that keeps us all interested.

These components and many others are not in films by accidents. Once again, it is the science of telling a great story.

Do you remember the character from the TV show “Cheers”? He walked in the door to the bar and what did everyone say?

“Norm!”

He had a boring life. Maybe everybody knew his name, but every night was exactly the same.

He was frustrated and unhappy. He was escaping almost everything in his life. He was missing out.

He had no conflict, no struggle, no goals, no demons to slay or beauties to win.

Is your life boring? Is every day the same? When was the last time you overcame a huge challenge?

What hobbies do you have? Have you learned anything new today?

If success is going to happen to you, live a life that would be an incredible story.

Create a bucket list and work towards accomplishing something on your list every day. Set a date to accomplish it.

Go for a hike. Go exercise. Read a really hard book. Flip off the TV and do something new and spontaneous. Invite that old friend, adrenalin, over for a visit.

Your life will take off when you would rather live life then watch a movie. It doesn’t mean that you don’t catch an occasional show, but live!

As Henry David Thoreau said, “…live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…”

Create such a compelling story with your own life that you’ll never want to put it on pause.

You’ll be having way too much fun moving forward and accomplishing to stop. You’ll meet some villains, you may want to give up, and you may be required to sacrifice.

Put your energy and reputation on the line.

Bob Kaelin wrote this month about keeping score for success. When we keep score we allow the adrenalin to rush. We strive to overcome obstacles.

Sometimes we crash and burn and have dark and hard times. We have conflict. We grow. We have fun.

Your life can become an incredible story. Making a great movie is a lot of hard work. Creating a great life is no different.

It can happen. Make it happen.