101 Questions to Find Your Story

Easy ones first. Where you come from shapes every story you tell.

1. + AddWhere did you grow up, and what was it like?Follow-up: What's one sound, smell or street that takes you right back there?
2. + AddWhat did breakfast look like growing up? Who was at the table?
3. + AddWhat was your family like when you were a kid?Stuck? Our house was mostly... Loud and busyQuiet and calmStrictAlways on the moveDifferent every year Then tell the story behind it.
4. + AddWhat did your parents do for work, and what did that teach you about work?
5. + AddWhat's a saying your family repeated so often you still hear it in your head?
6. + AddWhat languages do you speak, and how did you learn them?
7. + AddWhere are your family's roots, and how did they end up where you grew up?
8. + AddWhat family tradition do you still keep, or wish you did?

The kid you were is still in every room you walk into.

9. + AddWhat did you want to be when you grew up?Follow-up: What happened to that dream?
10. + AddWho was your hero as a kid, and why them?
11. + AddWhat got you in trouble?Stuck? I got in trouble for... Talking too muchAsking too many questionsTaking things apartStanding up for someoneBeing boredNever. I was the good kid. Then tell the story behind it.
12. + AddWhat scared you as a kid?
13. + AddWhat were you obsessed with as a kid? A hobby, a game, a collection?
14. + AddWhat's the first money you ever made, and how did you make it?
15. + AddWhat's a moment from school you still think about?

No modesty in this chapter. Say it out loud.

16. + AddWhat are you great at?Stuck? Which sounds most like you? I fix thingsI connect peopleI make people laughI see the big pictureI get things doneI make people feel safe Then tell the story behind it.
17. + AddHow did you get that strength?Follow-up: How did that happen? Take me to the first time you noticed it.
18. + AddWho noticed it first, and what did they say?
19. + AddWhat do people always come to you for?
20. + AddWhat feels easy to you but seems hard for everyone else?
21. + AddWhen did one of your strengths go too far or get you in trouble?
22. + AddWhat's a skill you worked really hard to build?Follow-up: What did practice look like?

Every job leaves a mark. Even the weird ones. Especially the weird ones.

23. + AddList every job you've ever had, even the weird ones.
24. + AddWhat was your very first job, and what did it teach you?
25. + AddHow did you get into the work you do now?Stuck? Getting into my work was... The plan all alongA total accidentSomeone pulled me inThe only option I hadStill figuring it out Then tell the story behind it.
26. + AddWhat's a job you loved, and why?
27. + AddWhat's a job you hated, and why did you stay as long as you did?
28. + AddWhich job shaped you the most?
29. + AddBest boss and worst boss: what did each one teach you?
30. + AddWhat's the biggest career leap you ever took?Follow-up: What almost stopped you?
31. + AddWhen did you first know you were actually good at this work?
32. + AddWhat do you know now about your industry that you wish you knew on day one?

Going a little deeper now. Fear is where the courage stories live.

33. + AddWhat scares you now?Stuck? Which scares you most? FailureRejectionBeing ordinaryLetting people downRunning out of moneyBeing found out Then tell the story behind it.
34. + AddWhat fear did you push through to get where you are?
35. + AddWhat's something you almost didn't do because you were scared?
36. + AddWhat happened the first time you faced that fear?Follow-up: Take me there. Where were you, and who was in the room?
37. + AddWhat fear do you still carry that your clients would never guess?
38. + AddWhat would you do tomorrow if you weren't afraid?

Optional, and private by default. Share only what you want. We care more about what got you through than what happened.

39. + AddWhat was the hardest season of your life? Share only what you want.
40. + AddWhat got you through it?
41. + AddWho showed up for you during that time?
42. + AddWhat did you have to let go of?
43. + AddWhen did you know you were going to be OK?
44. + AddHow did it change you?
45. + AddWhat would you tell someone who is in that same spot right now?
46. + AddWhat strength do you have today because of it?

Your failures are the most relatable thing about you. People trust the person who admits them.

47. + AddWhat's a failure you're glad happened?
48. + AddWhat did it teach you?
49. + AddWhat did you lose, and what did you gain?
50. + AddWho did you have to tell, and how did that conversation go?Follow-up: What did they say, exactly?
51. + AddWhat would you tell yourself back then?
52. + AddWhat mistake do you see other people make that you made first?

Coming back up. Time to talk about the wins.

53. + AddWhat are you most proud of?
54. + AddWho helped you get there?
55. + AddWhat did it cost you?
56. + AddHow did you celebrate? Or did you skip it?
57. + AddWhat's a small win nobody saw that meant a lot to you?
58. + AddWhich success surprised you the most?

Nobody gets anywhere alone. Who's in your story?

59. + AddWho believed in you before you did?
60. + AddWho challenged you or pushed you the hardest?
61. + AddWhat mentor do you think about often? What did they say that stuck?
62. + AddWho gave you a chance you didn't expect?
63. + AddWho do you wish you could thank, and what would you say?
64. + AddWho taught you what NOT to do, just by watching them?
65. + AddWho are you helping now the way someone once helped you?

Optional, and private by default. Faith, culture, causes and values are often the most powerful stories, and you decide if any of this ever goes public.

66. + AddDid faith play a role in your life? How?
67. + AddWhat did your culture or background teach you that you still use every day?
68. + AddHave you lived in another country or culture? What did it teach you?
69. + AddWhat's a cause that pulled you in, and why that one?
70. + AddWhat values guide your big decisions?Stuck? The value I won't bend on is... HonestyFamilyFreedomHard workKindnessLoyalty Then tell the story behind it.
71. + AddWhat's a belief you changed your mind about?
72. + AddWhat part of who you are do you wish more people understood?
73. + AddWhen did you stand up for something even though it cost you?

This is where your content comes from. Your clients' stories are your proof.

74. + AddWho's someone you recently helped, and how?
75. + AddWhat was that client struggling with before you?Follow-up: What did they try that didn't work?
76. + AddWhat was their aha moment?
77. + AddWhat result did they get? Numbers, or how their life changed.
78. + AddWhat did they say to you afterward? Their exact words if you remember.
79. + AddWhat conversation shifted how you or a client thinks?
80. + AddWhat client did you turn down, and why?
81. + AddWhat's a hard truth you told a client, and what happened next?
82. + AddWho was your hardest client, and what did you learn?
83. + AddWhen did you go above and beyond for someone?

Strong feelings make the best posts. What gets you fired up, and what gets you misty?

84. + AddWhat really irked you lately?
85. + AddWhat touched your heart recently?
86. + AddWhat are you grateful for, and why does it matter to you?
87. + AddWhat do you see in your industry that makes you mad?
88. + AddWhat always gets you emotional, even when you try to hold it together?
89. + AddWhen were you proud of someone else?

Why you do what you do. This is the part people remember.

90. + AddWhat do you want to change in the world?
91. + AddWhy does that matter to you personally?
92. + AddWho or what inspires you?
93. + AddWhat do you want to be known for?
94. + AddWhat would you work on even if nobody paid you?
95. + AddWhat do you hope people say about you in 50 years?

Lighten up. Funny stories make people like you fast.

96. + AddWhat's your most embarrassing work moment?
97. + AddWhat's a weird talent nobody knows you have?
98. + AddWhat lucky break or chance meeting changed everything?
99. + AddWhat's a near miss, something that almost happened and would have changed your life?

Two to finish. Take your time with these.

100. + AddWrite or say a letter to your younger self. What do they need to hear?
101. + AddWhat's something you wish people asked you about?