Think Small

How often do we hear the advice, “Think big!”

And yes, I get it. Think big. Don’t limit yourself. All of that.

There is plenty of value in thinking big, of believing you can achieve your goals, however farfetched they may seem.

Thinking big moves us forward. Most business owners I work with have no trouble thinking big. After all, they started a business! 

I find the real challenge is thinking small. 

We can get so caught up in all our hopes, dreams, and big-picture ideas that we forget to zoom in to focus on what’s right in front of us.

Or we think so big that we feel paralyzed about what to do next or how to move forward.

One way I see this play out is in content creation. 

I have clients who get very caught up in this idea that they have to be sharing Blockbuster stories to have an impact.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

I find the most memorable stories are about small moments that shifted someone’s perspective or caused them to reflect in a new way.

Smaller moments also tend to be more specific, which makes them more relatable.

As James Joyce said, “In the particular is contained the universal.”

When we zoom into the small stories of our every day, we’re often confronted with bigger patterns and tensions in our lives, work, and relationships.

I think of stories as fractals. Remember those from math class? The “infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales.” 

This isn’t to say you need to relate your trip to the drive-thru to a B2B marketing lesson, just that it’s worthwhile to stay present and alert for stories in your day-to-day that tell bigger truths.

For instance, I recently brought our car into the shop to get fixed. The owner kindly gave me a ride home when he found out I lived in the area and that was our only car. Guess who we’ll be bringing our car to next time it needs to be fixed? The guy who gave me a ride home.

I could turn this into a story about kindness in business, about how giving without expecting anything in return can create a lifetime customer.

That’s a story! It’s not big. It’s not life-altering, but it was a moment that left an impression on me.

It’s also a story most people can relate to. Who hasn’t had car troubles? Who hasn’t been helped by a stranger at some point?

Are you ready to start incorporating more stories into your content? 

Here are some questions to get you started:

• What happened this week that changed your perspective on something? Why?
• Where are you now vs. a year ago? 5 years ago? 10 years ago? What changed?
• Who did you meet this week that expanded your thinking on something?

Be sure to keep track of things you notice throughout the day.

Keep a log of these observations on a spreadsheet, voicenotes, or in a small notebook to refer back to later.

I guarantee you have plenty of stories to share–you just have to start noticing them.