A Story Worth Telling

As I consider career paths, I am confronted by several question:

• What am I good at?
• What can I do others can’t?
• How can I be of most value?
• How do I want to spend my time?
• What would my ideal workday look like?
• What am I motivated by, and why?
• Who do I want to serve?
• What industry do I want to help?
• What mission needs my talents?
• What do I want to do?

Something I’ve been beyond fascinated with since the pandemic slowed my life down is TV shows and movies. Most likely I began watching more closely because there wasn’t much else to do. But there’s also something beyond real through these on-screen stories–there’s truth. These stories, whether fictional or not, hold deep truths about our humanity and our individual/shared experience in this life. That’s important. It’s substantial.

I’m struck by another question as I consider a career telling stories:

• How much do these stories really matter? Are they truly impactful in changing how people live their lives or are they merely entertainment for the masses?

I think about the story of Christ. And William Wallace in Braveheart. And Iron Man throughout the MCU. These myths are far beyond entertainment. They make people want to be better. They make people more heroic, more inspired, better than they were before. Their impact is real, and the masterful power of the literature or cinematic experience is real. It counts, for something. Not always, but sometimes.

It’s really been making me think.