You Know Who You Really Are, Right?

We all do it. We forget who we really are. This is my story.

Before I ever taught a workshop or stepped on a keynote stage, I knew one thing for sure:

I was a storyteller.

Sure, I had done some improv. I’d been a professional actor. I’d been a preacher and a filmmaker and an author. But the throughline was always story.

And I knew—deep in my gut—that storytelling wasn’t just one creative skill among many.

It was the thing.

The core of everything else.

Back in 2012, I co-founded a creative agency and production company called Rebel Pilgrim with two close friends—Brad and Isaac. The original plan was simple: make movies. Feature films, to be specific.

We made a few. Learned a ton. But the economics were changing fast. DVDs were dying. Streaming was exploding. And while the stories were good, the business model wasn’t sustainable.

So we pivoted.

We brought in another close friend, Mark, and shifted from films to client work—videos, commercials, branded content for companies and nonprofits. The one thing we always led with was storytelling. It wasn’t a marketing strategy. It was just… who we were.

And honestly? The first three years were stressful. We were surviving, but not thriving. I had an unstated vision for the company that I don’t recommend:

“Let’s do creative stuff with our friends and all get paid.”

Noble? Maybe.
Scalable? Not really.

But then something started to click.

Companies began to hire us—not just because our videos looked good, but because we “got it.” They’d say: “You understand story. You get our message. You make it mean something.”

That should’ve been our sign.

But we got cute.

We decided that “storytelling” was a buzzword. Too generic. Too overused for SEO. We told ourselves: We’re something more. Something different. We just don’t know what yet.

So we brought in a friend named Chase to do a quick consulting session to help us name our differentiator.

I don’t remember 99% of what he said.

But I’ll never forget this:

“What are you all doing? You’re storytellers. Just be storytellers. That’s your thing. Who cares if everyone else says it too?”

It hit like a lightning bolt.

He was right.

We’d been trying to out-clever ourselves and talk ourselves out of the very thing that made us who we were.

From that moment on, we leaned all the way in.

And here’s the twist: when we stopped trying to be different and just told the truth about who we already were, everything got better. More business. More clarity. More joy.

And for me? It was the moment I finally gave myself permission to say it out loud:

I’m not a CEO who happens to tell stories.
I’m a storyteller who happens to lead.

Eventually, Rebel Pilgrim rebranded as Boonrise and Isaac took the reins. Brad and Mark are still doing beautiful creative work of their own. (Connect with them on LinkedIn if your organization needs world-class creative partners.)

Joe, Isaac, Brad

And after 11 years together, we pulled off the greatest feat of all:

We broke up the band—and stayed friends.

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Why I’m Telling You This

This story—the identity crisis, the rediscovery, the pivot—isn’t just a personal anecdote.

It’s the origin of something that still shapes how I teach and lead today.

Because once we finally accepted that we were storytellers, we got serious about how to do it well. Not just for ourselves, but for clients, audiences, and teams.

Over time, we developed a framework we called the Five Foundations of Storytelling.

It wasn’t academic. It came from doing the work. Trying and failing. Watching what landed and what didn’t. These five principles became our shared language—and after the band broke up, they still guide my work today.

And just so it’s said clearly: I didn’t create these alone.
They came out of our shared experience.
And when it comes to the actual wordsmithing, that was all Brad Wise—our in-house poet and the one who always knew how to say it just right.

So this week, I’m going to share them with you—one post per day.

Not theory. Not fluff. Just real tools to help you become a better storyteller—in your writing, your speaking, your leadership, your life.

But before we dive into a new series, here are a few things I take from this story itself:

1. You probably already know who you are.
   Be that. Even if it’s not flashy. Even if others are doing it too.

2. Vision matters.
   You can get something off the ground without a clear one, but it won’t last. Eventually, you need to know who you are and why it matters.

3. There are many ways to bring your truth into the world.
   For us, it wasn’t movies. But it was story. And for me, it still is—just in different forms now. Speaking. Coaching. Writing. Teaching.

Okay, I hope you are ready to do some work this week to become a better storyteller!

Because we begin tomorrow with the first foundation:

Find the Hook.

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***I’m doing a PAY ONLY WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD PLAN for 1:1 story coaching. More info here. Don’t let money be the reason you don’t start your next chapter.***

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