I was watching Disney’s Descendants 3 with my girls for the 100th time this weekend. There is a song towards the end of the movie that had my business coach brain turning for the rest of the day. One of the lines in the song says “so when your story comes to light, make sure the story that they write goes ‘Once upon a time a girl tried harder. Once upon a time she tried again. Once upon a braver choice, she took a risk. She used her voice. That will be my once upon a time.’”
It had me thinking. What is the story of my life? What are the values that I hold so true that they are the words people would write about me? Like the main character in this movie, I want people to be talking about my courage, my ability to step into the hard things. I choose to do the things or take on the roles that other people are reluctant to. I want my girls to see that I take risks and go after what I want even if those things scare me or are hard. As a part of this, I have learned to accept that failure is a part of growth and that getting back up and trying again, with better information, is how you succeed. I also want people to say I was compassionate and cared deeply about serving others.
The song then goes on to say, “Life is not a storybook but life unfolds in chapters. Turn the page and start to make amends. There’s no pre-written guarantee of ‘happily ever after’. Step into your greatness before your story ends. So when your story ends, they’ll say once upon a time a girl flew higher.” Maybe it’s because I was preparing for my last masterclass, but this part of the song had me thinking all about purpose. What do I want my life to be about and stand for? My why. Why do I do what I do? What is the legacy I am hoping to leave behind?
The legacy I am building is one of authenticity, loving my family, leading by example, and doing what I can to support the people and community around me. In my story, I choose to live my life without regret. I don’t want to live with the “should of, would have, or could haves”. I have learned to stop being so worried about what everyone else is doing or what other people might think or say. Know your why or your purpose and go after it unapologetically. The right people will find their way into your life or support you as you grow.
The point is, you have a choice. You get to choose what happens to you and what your life looks like. There are things that may happen around you that you have no control over, but, you control how you respond to them. What happens as a result. You can choose to either be a victim or a victor in every situation. You get to write your story. To design what your life looks like and what you choose to go after. So let me ask, what do you want your story to say?
If you’re struggling with this, I invite you to book some time for us to chat and figure out how we help you outline your story at www.empoweredleadershipcoach.com/schedule.
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