Are you thriving? Do you even know what that means? When I ponder the word “thrive,” my brain immediately goes to thrive #1: flourish and prosper as a successful entrepreneur. And then I go deeper and imagine thrive #2: live a life of abundance, courage, and purpose. How to choose which thrive during these difficult times when both versions are hard to come by? I couldn’t decide, so I was excited to see that Thrive 2025 was coming to Chattanooga.
Thrive Chattanooga is the invention of Vincent I. Phipps, who’s among the best communication experts. His energy, engagement and expertise amplifies leadership and develops strategies to align passion, purpose, and profit while elevating well-being. The words from the Thrive booklet describes the process as “… synergy between interpersonal communication and emotional intelligence.” Can we create that synergy which is a Thrive basic? Yes! Start with one of the most vital elements: Storytelling.
I’m forever grateful that 25 years ago, Vincent convinced me to be one of the storytellers at a Coolidge Park event shortly after the park opened. At first, I was skeptical. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate the art of storytelling. I had studied folklore and mythology at Harvard in the 1960s and was introduced to storytelling as a science. There’s a reason why it’s the stories that we humans have remembered for centuries, whether it’s Greek mythology, popular folktales or biblical narratives. Their powerful themes – love, money, power, revenge, survival, glory and self-awareness – resonate with us. And we’re transformed by the emotional stories about quests for any one of these themes.
So why was I skeptical? It came from self-doubt. I thought about story icons such as Odysseus, Cinderella, and the biblical Deborah the Judge and knew that I was a nobody. True … but I’ve come to understand that we all have stories worthy of telling. We may not be super famous, but our quests have transformed us, and sharing those journeys can “instruct and inspire’ other people.
The business world knows very well that stories are vital to creating a successful brand. Thrive Chattanooga underscored how storytelling is a major business tool whether you’re an entrepreneur, a small business owner, a corporate business executive or a leader of any kind. Listening to the Thrive speakers’ stories of overcoming obstacles was a lesson in motivation. There was proof of that inspiration. The audience, many of whom had earlier been discussing today’s depressing environment, responded with claps, whistles, shout-outs, and standing ovations. What fun.