58. Crafting Life Lessons Through Stories

In this episode, host Laura Sexton explores storytelling as a powerful tool for imparting life lessons and wisdom, particularly in the context of financial decisions and leaving a legacy. The host draws parallels between classic children's stories like "The Three Little Pigs" and "The Tortoise and the Hare" and the principles of financial success.

This podcast emphasizes that sharing personal stories, filled with humor and vulnerability, can help build connections and convey valuable life lessons. Laura suggests that intentional sharing of wisdom, gained through life experiences, can positively impact others and contribute to a sense of community and togetherness.

Key lessons about story we’ll learn:

.     Each story should carry a nugget of truth

.     Only One Lesson per story

.     Humor and vulnerability go a long way.

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Transcript

Laura: 0:02

Hello and welcome to the Accelerate Your Legacy podcast. I'm Laura Sexton, your trusted financial coach and money mindset specialist. Join me as we explore the world of money and money mindset while also paving the way for a lasting legacy that extends far beyond money. Together we'll eliminate stress, amplify freedom, and ensure you stop paying for your past so you can start saving for your future. If you're seeking peace in your finances, more margin in your budget, and a legacy that inspires generations to come, you're in the right place. Hey, Accelerators. Last week when I was discussing the Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, I made a reference to The Three Little Pigs. And I was thinking, we learn a lot through stories. When was the last time you sat down and read a picture book? A good story. We can talk about The Three Little Pigs because I brought it up and I think it's really good, or we can talk about The Tortoise and the Hare. These are two stories that if I say them, you know exactly what I am talking about. Three little pigs, they go out into the world, one builds their house out of straw, one builds their house out of sticks, and one takes the extra time To build their house out of brick and mortar and how the story goes, the big bad wolf comes blows the 1st, little house down with straw. The 2nd, little house down with sticks and they go running to the 3rd, little pig who has a brick house at the wolf. No matter how hard he tries cannot blow down. The moral of this story is that taking a little extra time in the beginning to shore up your foundation will keep you safe later in life. Crazy, right, to be talking about this on a financial podcast. Who thought that the story that your parents told you when you were little had everything to do with how you were going to handle money later in life? So, which little pig are you? Are you building your house out of straw and sticks, or are you the third little pig that is shoring up your foundation so that later in life you can dance around and sing and have a good time because you took care of everything with a little extra work in the beginning? Let's talk about the tortoise and the hare. They decided they were going to race and the rabbit takes off at a quick pace because rabbits are super quick. I tell it to my kids all the time. Quickly, quickly like a bunny Rabbit runs off. Super, super excited, really high speed, but then he gets distracted. He looks over here and he's like, oh, over here looks really fun. Let's go do this little thing. And then he goes a little further down the road and they go, oh, this thing over here looks really fun. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go over here and do this little thing. But the tortoise, Slow and steady, slow and steady, slow and steady, keeps going, keeps going, focused on the end of the run, focused on that finish line. He keeps going. Now the rabbit, much faster, goes over here, goes over there, does a whole bunch of things. The rabbit is constantly moving until he falls asleep. And then when he wakes up, he looks down to the end of the finish line, and he watches the tortoise cross the finish line first. The rabbit, in all intents and purposes, should have won that race, because he was much faster, but he was not focused, and so he was not able to get to where he needed to go. The same is true with your money. If you are not focused, You're going to have a really hard time getting to the finish line and finishing well. So why am I telling you kids stories on this podcast about leaving a legacy? Well, you see, people remember the story. When I tell you the tortoise and the hare, or the three little pigs, you already know the moral of the story just by me saying the title of the story. Every story that you pass on should have a small nugget of truth. Three little pigs say that if you do the hard work in the beginning, you secure yourself later in life. That is a nugget of truth that has moved on. Staying focused and continuing. To go slow and steady, you're going to win the race every time. That's a small negative truth. If you want to leave a legacy, you've got to be able to tell a story. This doesn't mean you have to learn how to write a screenplay. This means that you have to be diligent, be thoughtful, look around for the opportunity to share your wisdom. Because if you've lived life at all, you've learned a lesson or two and you can pass on that wisdom. If you're going to tell it to your kids. Or the next generation, if you don't have kids and you're wanting to share your story of what's happened. Put a small negative truth and wrap it into something funny, something a little bittersweet. Turn it, turn a story into a life lesson that you can pass on. Another great thing about stories is it helps people get to know you better. They get to, they get a chance to, to know more about what makes you you and gives you a reason. We're doing things. This is why I tell stories about what's going on in my life on the podcast all the time. I want you to know who I am once you know me, you like me, you trust me, you're going to believe the things that I'm saying that have changed my life that have changed other people's lives that I've worked with. You're going to know that these things that I'm telling you are going to help change your life too. That's the other thing about telling a story. It helps other people examine their own life choices. Guys, when you're telling story to your kids. Because trust me, you're going to be telling stories to your children because you want them to learn and grow and develop. And for a while, when they're little, you can tell them stories with these life lessons and they're going to soak it all in and they get a chance to examine their own life. While getting to know you better at the same time. This is also why it's so important to read books to your children. Because you see, I may never have been in a certain situation, but we can read a book and we can learn and grow together. We share that experience. Take, for example, Charlotte's Web. I have never been a pig farmer. I have never taken a pig to the county fair, but I really felt like I was going with Wilbur to the fair, and I saw his friends rally around him and figure out how they could save his life. There's so many life lessons in Charlotte's Web. There are so many beautiful moments and see, as I'm reading these to my children, we are sharing the experience together. And if something comes up for them and they don't understand, they can ask about that and we can learn together. That's why it's very important to read stories about situations that you have not yourself been in. I'm thinking about the diary of Anne Frank and reading the horrors that she was going through but reading it through the eyes of a nine year old. And what life looked like for her at that time, seeing things with a little bit of hope and perspective. I hopefully will never be in that situation where I am stuck hiding for my life. But I can understand what she's going through and I can read this with my children and I can go through this experience without having to go through this experience. I may never have to be in a situation where I'm hiding for my life, but I can empathize with how she feels and I can sympathize. With how she feels. People don't always remember a story. I can't tell you beat for beat what happens in Charlotte's Web, but I can remember how it made me feel. And anytime I tell a story, you can remember how it makes you feel. These are the important things in life. Do your children feel when you tell them a story? Do they feel like you're vulnerable and opening up to them? Do they feel hopeful? Do they feel encouraged? How do they feel when you tell the story? Whenever you are passing on these stories, especially when you have teenagers and you want to share a story with them, remember, one lesson per story. The Three Little Pigs doesn't have 17 lessons tied into it. There's one. Do the work, prepare for the future, and you'll be able to keep the wolf away. One lesson. Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and steady wins the race. We all know the one lesson. One lesson per story. Because if not, it's like a, like I'm taking a 101 class. I'm having to sit and learn. Ew. No, thank you. That's not what your kids want from you. They don't want you to be hammering things down their throats. You can tell them a story and they can learn a little bit. That's cool. Don't lecture them. We tell stories to gain connection with the people around us. This goes back to before we could write things down. We sat around a fire and shared stories with one another. It bonds us together. This is a great way if you are struggling to bond together with your teen, go sit around the campfire and just tell stories. Roast marshmallows, tell stories, listen to stories, do a lot of listening. If you have teenagers, do a lot of listening. This gives us connection. It gives us a sense of community. It gives us a sense of togetherness. It gives us a sense of hope. Tell stories. I also want to go ahead and tell you, if you are leaving life lessons to your children, if you are sharing with the next generation, remember that you make a bigger difference with humor and vulnerability. Then you do with dryness, bitterness, anything else, add a little bit of humor into whatever story you're telling. You catch more flies with honey, share vulnerably and openly. Don't share too much. Right? We don't need to know about your doctor's visits. We don't, there, there are things that are too far and we all know what I'm talking about. You make a big difference. And how you deliver information, if you can do it with humor. Men specifically do a lot of sarcasm. They can be really sarcastic with the people around them. That's kind of a dude's love language. For women, we don't always receive it that way. We have to add humor through other means. But if you can throw humor in, you're able to receive that life lesson just a little bit easier. The last point I'm going to make on how to share life lessons through stories. So you need to share your wisdom intentionally. The world needs your wisdom. If you have lived any life at all, you are wiser now than you were 10 years ago. The world needs your wisdom. If you have been through a situation and it's been rough, the world needs your wisdom. As you continue to grow as a person, there are people that are coming up behind you that need your life lessons and the best way to share those life lessons is through a story. Hopefully I can throw more stories into some of these podcasts. I don't want this to just be a one on one. I want you to feel something when we are together and I want you to feel hopeful that you can change your legacy, that you can accelerate your legacy, that you can leave your legacy today. Right now, share your stories, because when you share your stories with a little bit of humor, a little bit of vulnerability and a little bit of life lesson, you are making a difference. So what stories can you tell my friends? Think of one story that you can share where you can impart a little bit of wisdom, a little bit of humor. Take that, go out and make a difference. Thank you for investing your time with us today on the Accelerate Your Legacy podcast. Remember, your legacy isn't just measured in dollars and cents, but in the tools, habits, mindset, and reputation you leave behind. Don't just listen to the show, but take action on what you've learned. Share this wisdom with a friend who can benefit and help us spread the word by rating and reviewing the podcast. For questions or encouragement, reach out to me on Instagram at Accelerate Your Legacy or explore the resources listed in the show notes. I will be back with you next week. Until then, build your legacy with intention.