How I Never Run Out Of Stories To Tell.

The secrets of a six-figure writer.

Michael Lim

Aug 08, 2024

I sucked at storytelling.

But everything changed the day I realized something:

Storytelling is a skill.

And skills can be learned.

Here are all the skills you need to become a better storyteller.

The power of tiny moments

I keep a daily story log.

Every day, I add tiny moments that happened in the last 24 hours.

Insights. Learning. Random shower thoughts. They don’t need to make sense.

If it resonates, it gets logged.

Whenever I sit down to write, I look at my daily log.

Endless stories. Points to start off my articles. Sometimes I test them by writing them as Notes on Substack. And if they resonate, I build on them. Refining them into longer form articles.

Don’t look for big, sexy moments.

Most of the time,, they are unrelatable. I can’t relate to big action moments in a movie, but I can relate to the deeper meaning behind the action.

Harry Potter isn’t about wizards and magic.

It’s about:

Identity.
Belonging.
Friendship.

They are just told through the frame of fantasy.

Find a tiny 5-second moment. And then write about it.

Leverage every experience.

I had $4,797 stolen from my business bank account.

While pumping iron at a gym in Singapore, I decided to look at my online bank account. I don’t know why. I don’t usually check. When I opened it, I freaked out.

I saw the transaction and went into full-blown panic mode.

People at the gym probably thought I was having a heart attack. But I calmed myself. Called my Australian bank. Canceled the card. Raised a dispute. Now it’s a waiting game.

I surprised myself by how I was able to calm myself.

After the phone call, I just let go. I stopped thinking about it. I went out to eat some Durian with my dad afterward. I slept like a baby later that night.

I learned a lot about myself.

What usually caused hours of panic and a sleepless night was just a minor inconvenience. I tend to catastrophize situations.

Money is recoverable. Quality time with my dad isn’t.

I realized how much I’ve:

Matured.
Built a level of resilience.
Learned to control my emotions.

You can’t control what happens in business.

You can only control how you react.

See how I’ve used that story?

If I had just told you that business requires maturity, resilience, and controlling your emotions, that would have been boring AF.

Everyone knows that.

But I leveraged a story of my experience and then explained what I learned.

The message probably sunk deeper.

You might even have felt like you were in the gym with me.

Nothing bad happens to a writer. Just experiences to write about.

Start with what you have.

If you’ve got a:

9–5 job.
Children.
Caring responsibilities.

These are a goldmine for stories. Use them.

Write about:

A project you’ve worked on.
A skillset you’ve learned and developed.
Something you’ve noticed about your children.
What you learned about your parents as they age.

There are endless story moments from your daily existence.

You can always change afterward.

I started writing about self-improvement.

Then I pivoted to writing about business as I started a business.

Now, I write about building a business while traveling.

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Start rolling the one you have.

I got at storytelling by doing.

You can’t think your way to a great story.

I need to write to think. I sit down, open my laptop, and write everyday for a minimum of 1–2 hours.

Sometimes more. Sometimes less.

But consistency will make you progress faster than any book, podcast, or storytelling coach. Sit down and write some stories.

Will they suck? Yes.

Will you feel bad that they suck? Also, yes.

But if you never stop, you’ll eventually get better. And when you get better, you will stop sucking. When you stop sucking, you’ll love storytelling.

Here’s what you need to do:

Pick a tiny moment that happened to you in the last 24 hours.
Write a 600-word story about it.
Think about how the story taught you a lesson.
Publish it to the world.

Number #4 is very important.

Why?

Well, if your work stories don’t exist on the internet, it doesn’t exist at all.

👉 I’ve previously sold a one-person business and I’m in the process of scaling another one to $20k per month. If you want my one-person business growth system, I’ve created a FREE email course for you to get started.