Stories matter – what’s yours?

I just started Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie, founder of the wildly successful shoe company TOMS.

Blake’s book shares the inspiring story of TOMS and inspires readers to change the world with their own stories.

On a trip to Argentina, Blake became enchanted by the alpargatas, a casual shoe worn by many Argentineans. He traveled around the country to find a shoemaker to partner with and soon discovered that in many villages children were shoeless. No shoes means blisters, sores and infections. Blake knew he had to help. Within months, TOMS became increasingly popular in the U.S.; for every pair sold a pair was donated to a person in need.

The story of TOMS is compelling, and Blake has invested a lot in sharing its story. He recalls the exciting moment he first saw a stranger in TOMS. After complimenting her shoes, she shared the story of the company with him. At that moment, he realized the power of the TOMS story and started traveling the world in an airstream trailer to share it. Driven by a clear mission to give shoes to the shoeless, Blake – and TOMS – have taken the roads by storm.

Blake devotes the second chapter of his book to helping readers find their own story and explains why stories resonate more than facts. People might not know how many calories are in a Subway sandwich, but they will always remember Jared who lost over a hundred pounds on a Subway diet.
Blake says that answering three questions will help you get to the core of your story.

• If you did not have to worry about money, what would you do with your time?
• What kind of work would you want to do?
• What cause would you serve?

Once you’ve got it, Blake encourages you to share it with everyone you can, from people in your yoga class to people in your online social network. Once you share it, you can begin to find story partners (as TOMS did with AT&T) “to incorporate your story into theirs to share in the halo effect.”

Blake also advises readers to carefully manage their online stories (your Facebook, Flickr or Tumblr pages, for example, should connect to your story) and to “find the influence makers who will love your story. …  Sharing your story with someone at the center of a social network will have an exponential effect.”
What is your organization’s story? Share it with the world – and with @Fundly – today!