The Story You’re Living Is Too Small with Bill Blankshaun

Does your story really matter?

In this episode, Whitney Sewell sits down with Bill Blankschaen to challenge a belief many Christian men carry: that their life is too ordinary to make a difference.

Bill explains why men often minimize their own story while celebrating everyone else's, and how that mindset leads to fear, passivity, and missed opportunities for impact.

You’ll walk away with a new perspective on how God can use your experiences, struggles, and faithfulness to influence the people around you.

If you've ever doubted the significance of your story, this conversation will encourage and challenge you.

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 https://courageousmen.com/personal-operating-system

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 https://www.whitneysewell.com/

Transcript

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We tend to think that other people's stories are meaningful, but not ours. We struggle to think it actually has value. I think that's a lie straight from hell. What God is doing through us is worthy of being shared. He's doing it for a reason. Here's the key. Your story is about you, but your story is not for you. Welcome to the Courageous Men Podcast, where we help Christian men follow God faithfully, love their families well, and build a legacy that lasts. And now your host, Whitney Stewart. Bill Blankshain has spent decades helping people live what he calls a story worth telling. As the founder of Story Builders, he's helped leaders and believers think more deeply about calling, identity, and the legacy their lives are shaping. He brings just a rare blend of, say, pastoral wisdom, business leadership, and just real theological depth. His newest book, I've got it right here. I hope you'll pick it up. And just, you know, it's helping people maximize their impact, their influence, and their income through the story God has been writing in their lives. He's chosen to donate all the proceeds from the book to the AMA Foundation. And AMA, uh, you know, it obviously is uh, if you don't know of it, it's an organization uh that we founded that helps families to bring their children home through adoption. And I'm so grateful for that, Bill. Uh, you know, you're not just teaching stewardship and legacy, you know, you are modeling it uh as well. Bill, welcome to the show. Honored to have you. Oh, it's my privilege to be here, Whitney. Looking forward to talking about uh what it takes to be a follower of Christ as a guy, as a as a as a man and a family and business and elsewhere. So yeah, glad to be here. Yeah, I love your really your um your work, right? Helping Christians really understand uh really identity through story uh and calling, influence, those things. And and I I'm I'm excited to to draw that out a little bit today, uh, as you have been in this space for a long time. But uh um, you know, as I one thing that that even stands out uh about uh your work too is just you know helping um I I think you talk about it in different ways, but uh helping uh people to see that they're living a story too small, right? Uh yeah, and uh and I I was reading up about you and it just the um how you've talked about uh how a Walt Disney's world Walt Disney World shaped some of the imagination stuff, and you just how you think about story and and maybe before we jump in, uh why don't you highlight on that connection? What does that look like? Uh and how do you helping and how that connects to helping people to live a bigger story? Well, I think it it took me a while to finally realize, you know, I think we're all wired to do something. Uh God has kind of wired us in certain directions to do certain things exceptionally well, other things not as well. We need other people for all that. Um, but I think for most of my life, you know, I thought of myself as a writer, but I wasn't writing. Yeah, I thought of myself as a storyteller, but I wasn't actually telling stories. Uh, I was doing good work. I was, I was actually had become involved in education, and I was um putting together, I was leading a school, a Christian school in that environment as well. You know, I I was doing good work. I was doing what I thought was kingdom work. And uh, you know, leading a Christian school, and I'd been doing that for a dozen years, but I had this sense in me that God was calling me to do what only I could do, right? To to fulfill that calling, to to put that together to make a bigger impact on his kingdom. And so for me, it it became about how can I not only share the messages and stories in my own heart and life, but in addition, how can I help other people to do that, other people who have this story and so forth. And as I did that, I realized God was taking me through a process of living a better story, like aligning my story more closely with his story. Because I think so many times we're off on the day-to-day just living out our story as if it's my story or your story instead of all part of God's story. And so I think becoming consciously aware of that, right? So even in the on the business side, we've built uh story builders. We can talk about the origins of that and so forth if you want, um, we to help people to live and and actually tell better stories. But even deeper than that, what's underneath that is this passion to help people live that out. How do you live a story? And I think there's a lot to be learned from storytelling that can help you actually live that out in a way that makes a difference, not just here, but throughout all eternity as well. Why do you think so many say Christian men settle into a smaller story than maybe the one God is inviting them into? I think there's a lot of issues, a lot of reasons for that. One of them is we don't believe our story means much of anything. I call it the confidence trap. Like we we we tend to think that um our story, other people's stories are meaningful, but not ours. Part of that is because it feels normal to us. You know, it's what we've always known. This is my story or the message that I care care about. You know, when I talk about story, I don't just mean what's happened to somebody, I mean what God has put in their heart and their mind as well to share with the world through that, the lessons they've learned, the challenges they've overcome, all the collection of all that. And so I think I think one is we struggle to think it actually has value. That that's a big one. We we think other people's do, but ours not so much. Um, and I think I think that's a lie straight from hell, uh frankly. Um diminishing that. You know, we tend to deify others and diminish ourselves. And and and what God is doing through us is worthy of being shared and is he's doing it for a reason. And it isn't just, I was just reading this this morning. Jesus was talking about um fountains of living water coming up from within us as we are walking our story along with his story, it comes out of us and overflows to bless the world around us. But if we're treating it as, oh, this isn't that great, nobody wants this water, nobody wants this story, nobody wants I'm not gonna share any of this, and we're actually depriving people in his world of of what he's given us to share. So I think one of it's confidence. Um, I think the other one is um is is simply this idea that we're so scattered. You know, we have we have so many things going on where frankly we're we're too busy to really rest in him and to let that be our compass, our guide in what we do and where we put our time. And consequently, we end up feeling uh, you know, when it comes to writing books or getting a message out to the world, I like to talk about the the creativity conundrum. But I think there's a lesson we can learn from that. The creativity conundrum is um the more creative ideas you have, the harder it is to get any of them done. Right. And we all know what that's like, but it's the same thing with life. The more opportunity in life, the the fewer things you actually can do well and and invest in that. So I I think I think the busyness barrier is a big part of that too. Yeah. I I think many men, I mean, they're uh they're responsible, hardworking, right? Uh even faithful, but uh maybe still just disconnected to purpose, or or maybe there's even false stories, right, that that we believe in. And you you mentioned that a little bit, but you know, are there are there false stories that you know men often believe that maybe quietly even shape how they lead, right? Um, you know, that that you see often. The biggest barrier I have found with myself and with other men as I've walked alongside them is I don't know whether to call it a false story, but it but it has to do with the this this idea of choosing comfort instead of courage. Uh choosing what feels comfortable. And so I guess you can talk, let's talk about it like story. Like there's a comfortable story that that feels familiar, it feels like uh it's it's a safer route. Uh, and then there's this other route that's faith-focused. You know, Mark Mark Mark Twain actually put it this way: he he talked about, he was a bit of a pessimistic fellow. Um, but he said, you know, life is but what like a bunch of um iridescent soap bubbles that float in the air for a little while and then they pop and it's over. So, you know, not exactly the kind of guy you want at your party to liven things up. But to me, that that's the soap bubble life that so many of us lead. We we kind of drift and we float, and we're we're afraid to go after what God has put within us to pursue. And we think as long as we look good floating over here, everything will be okay. Instead of, you know, if I step forward of courage, that bubble might pop and I might not be comfortable anymore. I might not be floating, I might be floundering for a while, I might feel really unsure of who I am as a result of that. And believe me, I know what that feels like. Um, but I think that's one of the biggest stories men tell themselves is hey, I I've got so much going on, I've got so much pressure, so much stresses. I just want to be comfortable for for this. I don't want to take on more. And so we take on more things rather than taking on the God thing that He's given us. And and that I think is that story then keeps us trapped. The more comfortable we get, the harder it is to step out of that comfort zone. I know it makes me think of even your story, right? Your school principal, right, for 12 years and then stepping out, you had six kids. That that I can't imagine. Like, I mean, that's a lot of uncomfortable, uh, I don't know, just things happening there. You didn't know what provision was gonna look like. Well, you know, was there gonna be income? I have a somewhat similar story in that regard, but I just I know I heard people, you know, even family members would say, well, you know, that's such a secure quote, right? Uh position, you know, this the income, the benefits, the whatever. Yeah, if I work 30 more years, you know, doing this, I guess what I'm gonna have the same income. Uh and uh and so uh speak to maybe what did that season teach you about faith, courage, or even you know, living out this, you know, your story. Yeah, well, I don't even know if we have time to go through all the lessons from that. But, you know, first of all, yes. I mean, I stepped away from a seemingly safe, secure job with benefits, right? That's whatever, that's what keeps so many of us, especially in American culture, trapped and stuck. And we don't we don't want to leave what appears to be safe and secure. And that's what I did. I stepped away from that, stepped into the unknown. We won a year with no income, six kids. Um, you know, there were that Christmas that year, to be candid with you, Whitney. Uh, all we could afford to get the kids was their favorite 12 pack of soda and their favorite breakfast cereal. And we wrapped them up and that was it. Because they almost never got that stuff. Uh, and and they still talk about it, though. That was like their favorite Christmas ever when we did that, right? So, and so to this day, by the way, we still give them that as a memorial of that time that we were going through. What I learned from that is that God calls us to walk by faith. You know, the most quoted verse in the Bible is the just shall live by faith. The most quoted verse quoted in the Bible, right? It appears it's been it's quoted three times in the Bible. Um, and what does that mean? That means we have to live it out on a daily basis. And so I think God expects us on a routine basis to step out before we know how it will turn out. And so often we we tend to be like, I don't know, I need to see how it's going to turn out before I'm willing to step out. But you look in the scripture repeatedly, I mean, think of Moses and the Israelites. You know, the instructions he gave Moses when the Egyptians were on one side, the Red Seas on the other. Um, he told them, you know, move forward, step into the water, do it, you know, keep keep moving in that direction, in the seemingly direction that made seemingly no sense, but I've got it. Trust me on this. And so I think it's kind of like a muscle though. You know, if we if we don't do that often, it becomes it comes even more challenging to put it into motion. But when we do it, when we act in faith, when we act in obedience in that way, I mean that's when I think the blessings of heaven open and God begins to work through us. And and that's the way he often blesses. I found it. It isn't just he dumps prosperity on you or anything like that. He he begins to use you as part of his story, right? You become a more integral piece of that. And that to me is is more rewarding than any of the other stuff. For sure. Uh, you know, what about how would you say um maybe a man could begin to recognize, you know, when he's just say living out of a story shaped by fear or comfort or even past wounds, things like that, like you were mentioning? I think really spending some time with God, first of all, getting still. Uh I think this is key. Uh, getting still before God on a regular basis, slowing down enough to listen. Because my experience, the Holy Spirit is often screaming at us, and we are we don't take the time, we we've got our fingers in our ears, we've got other stuff going on. Um, I think they probably already sense that I don't think this is really the best. This isn't the the the best I could be. This isn't what God's really called me to, but it's comfortable, right? So I think getting still and then asking God, you know, just asking him these questions of, you know, I'm coming to you, show me why am I doing what I'm doing? And is it what you want me to do? And and I think in that process, what happens is we have to be willing for God to pry our fingers off the idols that we have. And I know that was certainly true for me and is true for me on a daily basis. Even right now, I think he's prying my fingers off idols that feels like right and left. And and and it's a place of to move us to a place of total and complete dependence on him. You know, uh the verse that has I've just been steeped in this passage last year is Jeremiah 30, verse 15 and beyond. And he says, In returning and rest, you will be saved, and quietness and trust will be your strength. And we could just stop there and talk for months on that, uh, because it's so countercultural to what most men think of. Most men think I have to perform, I have to do something, I have to get active, I gotta find a solution, I gotta fix it. My wife said this, I gotta fix that, I gotta be this. And instead of actually returning to God in repentance and and dependence on him and resting in him and being quiet in him and trusting in him that he will be our strength. I I just think that's a radically different story, you know, and and if you think of the great stories that have been told, this is the kind of story of the hero who steps into chaos. Think of like uh the Matrix movies or something like that, you know, where you see this character step into chaos and yet is still and quiet and at peace. As again, as a metaphor, I'm not tapping into the theology of the Matrix necessarily, but um as a metaphor of God uses these people in stories to often spark others to turn and and to lead a movement uh of other people who are moving to follow him as well. Yeah, yeah, it does. And and I I've thought quite a bit on this rest thing lately. Uh and and I know it's hard, right? Especially as an entrepreneur, and like you talk about the more creative you are, the more directions you're trying to run in. It's hard to even just sit for a moment and not think, oh, I need to check my phone, or uh, you know, like all these things that are pulling us in so many directions. And I I feel like rest is so important. Uh, but it but it there's different ways to think about that as we're like resting in the Lord, right? Resting in who he is, resting in what he has done. Uh, but also just a rest, you know, every day or week that, hey, you can just you you can look to the Lord, right? You spend time in prayer and that relationship and and listening, like you're talking about. And so I wonder, Bill, like what does rest look like for you, you know, as a father, husband, entrepreneur? How do you ensure you're you have that rest time? Well, from a practical basis, uh, I think two parts here. Um, one, I think thinking about each and every day as beginning the night before, right? From a practical standpoint, to think that the today actually began for me last night, you know, kind of kind of tapping into the Jewish tradition of thinking of a day as from evening to evening rather than from morning to morning. And so I think it begins with actually getting a good rest, you know, get from a physical standpoint. Uh, I came across this research just the other day, Whitney. This is this is mind-blowing to me. Uh, there was a study done of people who got eight hours of sleep, six hours of sleep, and four hours of sleep over a period of two weeks. And they measured their mental acuity. They measured are they how mentally aware are they uh over that period of time. And what was crazy was that um the people who only got six hours as opposed to eight hours, at the end of the 14 days, they were functioning as if they hadn't slept in two days. That that was their level of mental awareness. So they only got six hours of sleep instead of eight, and after two weeks, they were functioning as if they hadn't slept in two days. But here's here's the kicker. After six days, those people stopped reporting any negative impacts that they were feeling. So, in other words, after six days, they no longer realized that they weren't getting enough rest. They thought they were fine. Oh my goodness. And yet they weren't, you know, and I I think uh 40%. The number said 40% of Americans get six or fewer hours of rest. And so I think, first of all, especially men, especially driven people, we're always like, I'll do one more thing, I'll do this, I'll do that. But I think it begins with even winding down, giving our time to God and saying, I'm going to trust you and commit to actually restoring the body you've given me and getting into the best place that I can be to be a good steward. Because we're not good stewards if we're not uh physically able to perform what he's given us to do. So I think I think for me it starts there getting a great rest. And then in the morning, what are the rhythms that you have in place of starting with stillness? You know, for me, it's it's every morning I get the coffee, uh, get some electrolytes, get the coffee, and then it's the word of God, right? And it's just I've really been even more lately, just even just meditating, thinking through some of these passages, praying over them, journaling about them. Um, and sure, there's a whole list of things that I could be jumping into and working on and frantically trying to do that. But the reality is, I I did all that. You know, there were many, many times, unfortunately, where you know, I put all that first, put my health second, put the family second, put all that stuff, and uh live through the consequences of doing it. Right. Um, and so I think it really it literally begins with physically resting. And because I think I think there's a reason that when God calls us to worship him, he talks a lot about in the especially the old testament about the physical things you should do, because often our behavior moves our hearts and gets into those rhythms and their patterns to begin to be obedient to him and follow him. But I think rest begins there and then it becomes a matter of being still before God and asking him, what do you want me to let go of? What am I holding to tightly? Where are the idols that uh are taking up space in in my heart? Yeah, uh, I love you how you connected it to stewardship as well. And now you you're not just talking about personal growth, right? You're connecting even story, right, to influence and stewardship. And and um uh what about you know, helping us distinguish maybe uh godly ambition versus say selfish ambition? Well, first of all, I work with all kinds of authors who are some are really well known, some have built platforms like uh you know, John Maxwell and Dean Grauzziosi and all these bigger Lewis Howells, all these kind of names. Um, the curious thing about each of those people and more is that um I find the people who really are able to succeed at an authentic way are first of all authentic. You know, they're they're not driven mostly by ambition. They actually have a genuine sense of wanting to help other people. And from that, other success flows. This past year, uh we I really invested financially heavily in some paths that I thought would not necessarily be ambition driven, but could expand our reach as a company. Could it could it help us reach more people, could do a lot of things good. Uh, and in that process, really tried to get good advice, tried to get a prayer, of course, certainly. Part of that, asking God to lead. And yet, over the course of the second half of last year, we just repeatedly came up against uh it felt like a closed door, closed door, closed door, like everything we thought would work and should work didn't work, if that makes any sense. Um, and it caused me to really reflect on that question of all right, whose plan is this? Is this my plan? Is it God's plan? And if it's my, you know, whatever the plan is, it's not working. And so, you know, I came back to this passage, I think it was from James, where it says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And even recently, as I reflected on that, I thought, oh, is that what God was doing? Is he like, hey, if this succeeds on your own strength because you carved out some a path or something like that, then that would not be a good story for you, right? And so was it God being like, um, hey, I know you planned your path this way, but I'm gonna take you a different way. And I do think that's the case, is that I don't think we need to worry so much about ambition as long as we're surrendered. You know, ambition is not a bad thing. Ambition to to make a difference in the world, to make the world a better place, all that is very good. But I think we have to have those plans continuously surrendered because especially as men are uh, you know, I I kind of liken it like this. Imagine there's a steering wheel in front of me, and I've I've got my hands, you know, in front of the wheel, and I my hands are wide open. I'm like, Jesus, take the wheel, you know, you drive. And a lot of us start there, and then over time we kind of we kind of just our fingers start to close over the wheel again. And before long, we're white knuckled, you know, frantically trying to take it our direction. And and I think many times God's like, All right, you take it, and I'll be here when you're done, and we'll do this all over again, right? And so I think it's continuously keeping our hands wide open and resting in him while running at full strength. That's really where I think God has impressed upon my heart of that's the story that he's called us to. And I think the we'd be amazed at what's possible when we're willing to do that. Love that resting while running at full strength. Yeah. And that's hard to do, but it, but uh, but when you think through that, I I love that the willingness to even steward your um the gifts the Lord's blessed you with well. Yeah, well, and if you think about you think about what I said with Moses at the Red Sea and the Israelites, you know, his his that God's actual instructions were twofold. The first instruction was stop, stand still. And then the second instruction right behind it was move forward. And you know, immediately you think, wait, I'm confused. But what God was saying there was stop trying to do your thing and now do my thing. And I think we see that in Psalm 46 as well. Be still and know that I am God, right? Be you be still and know. And the Hebrew word there has the connotation of know by observing. Basically, watch me work. You you stand still and watch me do what I do, and then I'll get the glory and we'll all be good. Right. So um I think it's that it's that both. It's it's running and resting at the same time, right? And I think we I think we run from a place of rest. And I think that's the key is we start at a place of rest, physically, spiritually, all of that. And from that, then we find our strength in Christ to run, but but not in a I'm gonna burn out for Jesus kind of mentality, but it in a sustained pattern. I think we were designed to be that way, uh, living in faith, trusting in in Christ through that process. Finding our strength from our rest. Love that uh as well. That's such yeah, I just hope even the listeners will just think about that. Uh uh, but you know, oftentimes it seems, you know, we confuse, say, um, you know, playing small with being humble or humility uh as well. You know, maybe where have you seen that? Or, you know, why do some men fight with it that way? Well, I think one of the reasons they do that, I think we go back to our families, right? I think a lot of men had parents or significant voices in their life speak limiting beliefs over them or into their lives, you know, um, that you know, don't try this, that you'll never do that, or you're not this, or you can't do that, or that's not possible. Or we come from family settings where um it's almost like we have a culture of despair, you know, or a culture of no hope. And it's just those things aren't done. And if you if you do dare to do that, you're you're a little bit ostracized, you're kind of weird, you're you're you're put out. So I think there's always this uh, you know, that that that crabs in the trap effect that they're always pulling people down. And and for men, especially, I think we have to be courageous, recognize that, and say, okay, what God's calling me to do is going to require pushing past those barriers that generations may have put around me, or the people around me, the people I'm hanging around with um are limiting that. And that's another one. Uh, I think sometimes you have to change the relationships that you're in, that the people you're hanging out with are holding you back as well. It's not that they're bad people, they're just they're just holding you back from that. You have to decide how you how you put that time and where that goes so that it doesn't restrict you. But yeah, yeah, I think I think it it really comes from a place of thinking small. Again, it goes back to comfort. Small is comfortable. And thinking big, dreaming big is for Christ, especially, uh, is scary. And that's where courage comes in. Courage doesn't mean that we're not scared anymore, it means we still keep moving forward in the face of that fear and trust that that God's got it as we move forward. For sure. I know that uh Bill, you help people to say use their story uh to increase influence, right? Uh and uh I'd love to dive into that a little bit now. And and maybe you can, you know, help us understand how say someone's story just even makes them a stronger leader. Uh, you know, and maybe how, you know, that story even all right changes how they lead teams or cast vision or uh, you know, build culture all it because I can just I've seen that in my own life. Uh, but help us to understand how that story is so impactful, you know, just for every leader. Well, you know, I'm thinking of several examples right now. I won't name any names. Great Christian guys, frankly, who have businesses who are they've got these messages, they've got these stories, they've got these gifts that God has given them. And maybe they've built consultancies or coaching or businesses that that really help other people multiply their impact as well. And God's gifted them. Maybe they're speakers, maybe they're able to do that in some way. But what often what a lot of people in those situations struggle with is first of all, they had that creativity conundrum. They've got so many different ideas, so many things they could talk about. What do I talk about? And that they're often scattered because of that. And because they're scattered and they lack focus, it's hard for other people to think of them clearly because they're not sure what what story am I telling. And so people aren't sure what story they're hearing. Uh, and that holds them back, that creates friction. So, one of the things we do is come alongside people like that and help them get clarity. We're just doing this with a gentleman, so incredibly gifted, such incredible messages. Uh, but he recognized I I need to focus, right? I get need to get and so we came alongside, helped him focus, figure out his brand story, figure out all that. Uh, but then also through that, we're helping him figure out what would be a brand-defining book that could really create uh something you can build around that people, when they think of you, they'll think of this, right? And what would that thing be that you become that guy, right? You're the guy who talks to that topic in a powerful way. Another gentleman I'm thinking, and we've done that as well. We're working uh his uh third book is coming out now. Um, and it's just been such a delight for us to be able to be the story multiplier, to come alongside people who have a message that's worth sharing, and then to elevate it, to take it to a whole nother level and get it out and share it with the world. Uh, and then and then to go to the next level too, you know, to take that message and all right, now how do I turn that into this business model? How do I create workshops or trainings or coaching or whatever the program may be that we can then turn into and monetize it in some way? You know, but I think as Christians, we cannot. Uh, I know you're passionate about adoption, and and that we were just talking recently about how that, you know, takes money to get that done. And as Christians and entrepreneurs, we can't be anti-money. We have to be thinking in terms of how can I add value to more people so I can get the value from that and invest it into God's work and making the world a better place. So that's a lot of what we do is really help people get clear on that message. And again, it's not that they often don't have it, it's just often cloudy or confusing. And having someone come in alongside them and give them that perspective really helps break through that, give that clarity, and then they can build with a lot more confidence and be able to reach more people. It's interesting, too, how helpful having someone like you who's done this with so many people and understand this process so will uh can help craft that, right? And draw out things in someone's story that they probably wouldn't think about otherwise. Yeah. Well, and especially one of the things I found, especially their failures. You know, uh we don't want to talk about this. Yeah, well, exactly. And yet that's what makes us unique. Even as I was as I was looking, thinking back about this past year in our own business, I could easily identify uh what look like failures in my mind. But I also have worked with enough people to realize there's some value there. I don't uh we got to figure out what's gonna come out of it, you know, because the story isn't over yet. And that's a that's a key mantra that I keep talking about so many times is wherever we are in life, whatever failure we may feel like we are, what mistakes we've made, the story is not over. And we're we're in the middle of a bigger story. And the best stories have the most trying periods that you go through in order to reach the other side. So, so I think leaning into those stories, being vulnerable around those things, but it it can't, here's the key, Whitney. It can't just be about I'm gonna dump my therapy session on the rest of the world. I'm gonna just tell everybody my failures and then they're gonna love me. You gotta get clear on who your audience is, what your message is. And when you go through all that process with our brand story, for example, then you get clarity on all right, because of that, these are the parts of my story it makes sense to share. Not all that stuff over here, that all may be valuable some other time, but this is what I want to do because here's the key your story is about you, but your story is not for you. And that changes everything when you begin thinking about that. That, hey, the story I'm telling, it may be about me, but it's for the benefit of these people that I'm trying to help in in some meaningful way. That's good. Uh like the Lord has given you that to help other people, right? Yeah, uh, and to share it. Wow. Yeah, so it goes back to stewardship, like you were saying. Uh, I I believe each of us is a steward of our story. And so what are we doing with that? You know, you think fast forward, you know, when we get to eternity and we're hanging out with Moses and Elijah and Daniel and all these people, you know, we're we're kicking back, and Moses is telling us, we're asking Moses all kinds of questions about these miracles and the Red Sea and all this. And then he tells a story, we're all riveted, and then he he wraps up the story and ends, and he turns to us and he says, Now, let's hear your story. Are we gonna have a story worth telling then and there? Right? Is it gonna be, well, let me tell you what God did in my life? Or is it gonna be, well, uh, I went to church, I ran a business, had a family, kind of ran out the clock, and here I am. I mean, talk about an awkward moment uh that we're gonna have to repeat again and again and again every time we talk to anybody. Tell your story. Well, Moses has detailed. We're not gonna be, you know, we're not gonna be able to lie, right? So all that happens in honesty. So yeah, uh, yeah, uh wow. I love that thought though of of sharing uh yeah, of sharing our story, um, how and how much it helps other people. Um even the thought of yeah, Moses telling his story, uh, but I feel like we we easily think of Moses's story and think, wow, what an ass what a story he has, you know, and yeah, and minimize ours, right? And not not put the weight on no, that like the Lord has has done amazing work already in your life as well and has more work to do in your life. Uh, you know, and it's building this story as well in your life. That's yeah, that's gonna be just uh as an amazing work in your life as well, of what the Lord has done. Yeah, and the only thing that separates Moses or Daniel or any of those people from you or me uh is just their willingness to walk by faith and trust God and keep moving forward by faith, believing him and resting in him. It wasn't because they were mighty or strong or they got clever and they figured out in fact, you know, Moses paid the consequences for being clever, you know. Uh he tried to, you know, tried his own way and it didn't work. And I think so many times as men we do that, you know, as Jeremiah 2 says, we we turn from the living fountains in in Christ and carve out our own cisterns and think we have a better way than God's way. And our way is broken, cracked, flawed, and leaves us thirsty, depleted, drained. And, you know, I think any any guy listening to this right now, at some level, probably feels thirsty, depleted, and drained. And the reason is to the extent that we do, it's because we've gotten disconnected from the source of living water. Wow. And I think in returning and rest, you will be saved. Bill, speak to how maybe understanding your story personally has shaped the way you lead in your marriage, or maybe uh your your wife and I have a story, maybe you that you're trying to stay aligned with together or pushing, you know, building together, or what does that look like in a marriage? First of all, it's so critical that husband and wife get aligned on the story that they're telling or that they're living, right? Um, and I think you know, having a faith-focused story, my wife's name, as you know, happens to be faith, right? But but I don't mean just focused on her, I mean focused on faith in general, that you know, that's why our marriage exists, that's why our family exists, to have that as the story that we're telling ourselves about our story of how we come together. Um, but then beyond that, um, you know, I I don't know about you, Whitney, but what I have learned, we uh we just had our 28th wedding anniversary. And it feels like every day, every year, we're learning more, discovering more about each other and about us together in Christ. And what does that look like? What does that mean? And just when I thought we, you know, all right, we figured it all out, God's like, yeah, all right, all right, now you're not ready to go to the next level and see more to work on and more to work on, right? And so I think, and recognizing that we're part of that story, and and we we have that responsibility, and I think a responsibility to our children as well, that the story we live out, like when I left the school and stepped into the unknown, and it was more evident at that time that we were walking and living by faith. Uh, we included the kids in all that. They were in part of the conversations, they were a part of the hey kids, income just went to zero. Let's pray, let's come together, let's let's talk through it. And even since then, at various times we've had, all right, here's where we are. Um, this is the situation we're facing as a family. And we've gone through a really challenging season. Uh, one of our children uh went through a season that just tested our family. And and frankly, I failed as a father in many ways in that situation, and as a husband and as a leader in the home. And by God's grace, he has restored all of that in just amazing ways. It's just been incredible to watch him work. But at the same time, um, you know, I I think husbands, dads, we're the leaders of the story. We're like the lead storytellers in our families. And so when the story gets off course, it's our responsibility to get ourselves back on course and then lead the rest of the family to get there as well. Uh, so many men I think just pass that off or blame it on different things. And we we can't do that. We have a responsibility to God to be that storyteller, to think what story am I going to tell? What story are we gonna tell together? The story we're telling now, is it the kind of story we want to repeat in eternity? And if not, it's on me to take some action to move it in a better direction. That's so good. That's such a great challenge to leave with the the men that are listening right now. I'm so grateful for your faithfulness, uh Bill, and just for the way you you call men and me to think differently about say calling, identity, legacy, and through this story conversation. And uh man, I'm so grateful, so grateful. Uh and just how the Lord's using you uh to make such a big impact in that way. Uh Bill, how can the listeners, the men listening, learn more about you, um, your story advantage, you know, what you're up to? How can they get connected? Well, easiest way, uh you can visit uh mystorybilders.com. Mystorybilders.com. That's our business website. If you want to contact us on anything business related, we're we love talking stories. We meet with anybody and and give value to you. You can see what we're about there, contact us there. Uh, there's links to our social media there as well. Uh, LinkedIn is a great place to look for me as well. Uh, you can get the book, Your Story Advantage, uh, at your storyadvantage.com or Amazon or wherever books are sold. You can find it everywhere. But your storyadvantage.com has a bunch of bonuses with it as well that could be really helpful. Um, and that that really is about packaging up all that I've learned over the last 12 years of how do you do this as a business, how do you do it to make more impact, expand your influence, etc., and put that together. But you know, I'm always eager and looking to help guys who are trying to make a difference in the world and their families. And um, if something sparked this and you're like, hey, I don't want to talk about business or anything like that, I just want to want to chat about what we're talking about. Yeah, just reach out through the website or LinkedIn or anything like that and say hey, and that's what the kingdom of God is for.