Where Do Better Stories Come From?

I had the opportunity to sketch Matt Landau's Creative Leadership Workshop at the Bass Museum of Art a few days ago.

Getting to do what I love, surrounded by people who are curious about learning and growing, is where I feel most in my element.

As the workshop unfolded, I listened for the stories, questions, and phrases that had the most energy and translated them into a visual story in real time. One phrase Matt shared kept finding its way back into my thinking: NivarTatvam, “Go where you are not.” A teaching attributed to Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, the phrase speaks to moving beyond the familiar and the repetitive patterns of our thinking to transcend where we are.

And that idea seemed to weave itself through so much of the workshop. Matt talked about how better stories come from pushing yourself to go somewhere new. That can mean a new place, but it can also mean a new perspective. A different conversation. Someone else’s story. An idea that challenges the way you normally think.

In one of the breakouts, someone shared a story from a whale-watching trip. The guide explained to her that whales intentionally exhale before taking in a new breath because they are conscious breathers. I couldn't stop thinking about that after it was shared. What do we need to exhale and let go of to make space for something new?

Maybe that is part of what it means to go where you are not.

To step outside what is familiar.

To listen deeply enough to enter someone else’s world.

To release something you’ve been carrying.

To make room for a perspective you didn't have when you walked into the room.

And then, maybe, to return a little different.

This is also what I love about visual storytelling. I’m not simply recording what was said. I’m listening, interpreting, synthesizing, and creating something that gives the ideas another life. And after the workshop we gathered around the sketch and began talking about what stuck with the attendees, the stories, ideas, questions, and moments that resonated or challenged them.

Maybe the best measure of any experience is what we carry with us when we leave and what becomes possible because we were willing to "go where we were not".

For those who were at the Bass for the event, what stayed with you?

I'd love to hear what stuck with you. ✏️

For those who didn't make it, check out the recorded session here:

LINK HERE

I'm already looking forward to the next session in September!

#theSketchPerspective #CreativeLeadership #Storytelling #BetterStories