The Power of Stories: Turning Facts into Fascination
One of the greatest tools I’ve always leaned on, whether in coaching conversations or in my own personal learning, is the power of storytelling. Stories have a unique ability to cut through the noise, making complex ideas feel relatable and real. It was no different when Javier and I were writing Mindset Wizardry: The Magic Behind Thriving in a VUCA World—we knew that to make our message resonate, we needed to weave in compelling stories.
This blog post is the third in our series about the key lessons we learned while writing our book. Today’s lesson focuses on The Power of Stories—how we used storytelling to turn what could have been a dry, theoretical book into something more engaging and memorable.
Why Stories Matter in Non-Fiction
When you think about most non-fiction books, they often fall into one of two categories: highly technical or highly relatable. It’s the latter that tends to stick with us, not because the information is necessarily groundbreaking, but because it’s brought to life through the power of storytelling.
For Mindset Wizardry, our goal wasn’t just to present data and strategies for thriving in a VUCA world—we wanted to connect with readers on a deeper level. We wanted to show them how these strategies play out in the real world. That’s where stories come in. They add richness, color, and context to the concepts we were writing about, making them feel personal and actionable.
Finding the Right Stories
As we wrote, Javier and I were constantly on the lookout for relevant stories that could illuminate the ideas we were discussing in each section of the book. We drew from a variety of sources, including:
⭐Our own experiences: Whether from our personal or professional lives, we realized that sharing moments where we faced VUCA challenges made the concepts more real for our readers. It wasn’t just theory—it was lived experience.
⭐Stories from friends and colleagues: We also leaned on the stories of people we knew—friends, former colleagues, and mentors—who had navigated uncertain, complex environments. Their experiences helped expand the book’s scope beyond just our perspectives.
⭐Stories from our research: We came across countless stories during our research phase—stories that resonated with the lessons we were teaching. While some of these were well-known case studies, others were less familiar but no less powerful.
More Stories Than We Could Use
Interestingly, we collected far more stories than we could fit into the final manuscript. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The stories we didn’t use were saved for future workshops, consulting projects, coaching sessions, and maybe even a future book.
In retrospect, having a library of stories at our disposal made the writing process feel more flexible. If a concept needed a little extra clarity or emotion, we could turn to these stories to illustrate the point in a way that data alone couldn’t achieve.
How You Can Use Storytelling in Your Own Writing
If you’re working on a non-fiction project, whether it’s a book, blog, or presentation, don’t underestimate the power of stories. Here are a few tips we learned from our experience:
Be intentional: Know when a story will add value to your narrative, and don’t just throw them in for the sake of it. The best stories serve a purpose—they clarify, motivate, or inspire action.
Collect stories constantly: You don’t have to wait until you’re writing to gather stories. Start collecting them early—keep a journal, ask people about their experiences, and make note of stories that impact you.
Mix personal and external stories: Your personal stories bring authenticity, but external stories can provide variety and a broader perspective. Don’t be afraid to use a mix of both.
The Takeaway: Stories Bring Your Message to Life
Stories are not just a nice addition to a non-fiction book—they’re essential. They make abstract ideas concrete, keep readers engaged, and give your writing a sense of humanity. In Mindset Wizardry, storytelling helped us communicate complex strategies in a way that felt accessible and meaningful to our readers.
In our next post, we’ll discuss Lesson #4: The Value of a Fresh Set of Eyes - how having the right people to review your work can make all the difference.