Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

What It Takes

What It Takes

Do you have what it takes?

I think this question is simple, yet profoundly big and personal to all of us.

I think, that most of us are always internally asking this question – if we want to admit it or not.

  • Do I have what it takes to be a good parent?
  • A good spouse?
  • To provide for my family?
  • To finish this degree?
  • To be a success at work?

These are not meaningless issues.

And what are the internal and external ramifications of not having what it takes?

For me, in the context here: Can I be a success at this blogging thing?

It is no accident that the stories we tell, and the stories we live, line up in the same way.

In almost every story the hero struggles with the same question: Do I have what it takes? This question can make them feel frustrated, incompetent, and confused. The sense of self-doubt is what makes a movie about baseball relatable to a soccer mom and a romantic comedy relatable to a truck-driving husband.

-Donald Miller, Building A StoryBrand

This Story Format Will Ruin Nearly Every Movie

This Story Format Will Ruin Nearly Every Movie

The standard story format, if pointed out, can ruin most movies if you let it.

It is so formulaic, I am not sure how I never really noticed it before.

Go ahead. Go look for yourself.

Here are 7 movies/stories just off the top of my head that are – essentially – exactly the same.

  • Silence Of The Lambs
  • Tommy Boy
  • Moana
  • The Count Of Monte Cristo
  • Karate Kid
  • Bolt
  • The Empire Strikes Back

See there.

I ruined it for you too.

You are welcome.

Here is nearly every story you see or hear in a nutshell: A CHARACTER who wants something encounters a PROBLEM before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a GUIDE steps into their lives, gives them a PLAN, and CALLS THEM TO ACTION. That action helps them avoid FAILURE and ends in a SUCCESS.

-Donald Miller, Building A StoryBrand

Sterling Terrell