Let me tell you a story

People are natural storytellers. I know. Here’s an actual picture of me waiting for my middle kid to finish telling a story:

Stories are important. Even short ones, one-liners, exert a strong influence on what we believe about ourselves—who we are, what we’re capable of, what our future will look like. I hear these powerful messages from my students, my friends, even from my own head.

I’ve never been good at math.

Money just slips through my fingers.

I’m always going to be overweight.

That last one is me, still. I know I am, by any objective standard, not overweight. Not by BMI, not by clothing size, not by how I look. I don’t know if I was even that fat as a kid, but because I had people around me who told me in no uncertain terms that I was tai pang, or too fat, that was the narrative I internalized about myself. Oh, Grace—she’s smart … but she could stand to lose 20 pounds.

And then one day, I did. And then some. I wish I could tell you that all it took was a little asking, believing, and receiving à la The Secret, but sorry folks, I used a diet program. Turns out, the actual secret is you have to eat less and move more. Thanks for nothing, Universe. My story, though, began to change.

I’ve been thinking about another story recently. OK, fine—fantasy. This one takes place in 2023 when Oprah interviews me about LBYM and how the blog launched a movement that helped a generation of young women everywhere take control of their financial life and, thus, their life life. Word. Then she and I go hang out at her favorite spa resort in Arizona, and talk about weight management.

Starting a company is not easy. Even though LBYM is not currently the primary focus of my time and energy, most days I’m still underwhelmed and a little dispirited by how little I’ve propelled my nascent movement forward (note to self: stop writing fake future news and go write a post for the blog). Right now, the movement is more like one angry woman protesting dastardly financials shenanigans with a small, but clever and pun-filled, homemade sign.

Then I remember that Uber has lost, to date, more than $13 billion dollars and really, that means LBYM has made at least $13 billion more than Uber. Now I feel smug and accomplished!

Why do I tell you these tales? Because—duh!—that’s what I told you we do! That, and I’d like you to start writing the next chapter of your story. Sure, maybe my chat with Oprah is mildly delusional—I’ll probably need at least five years to reach world domination—but having that story out there encourages me to keep building, teaching, coaching, advocating, and yes, blogging every day about important stuff everyone should know.

OK, every three days.

Take out a piece of paper. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It can have dinosaurs and construction vehicles drawn on one side (no waste!). Think about a point in your future. It can be a month from now, a year from now, or even decades away. Imagine what you’d like to be able to stand up and tell me about yourself, financially or otherwise.

I’m so glad I saved enough to spend time with my dad in his last month.

I bought my own place and even joined the co-op board!

Can you believe it—someone came to me for financial advice.

Now, take the first step.