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One of my goals with LIGHTbeamers, is to bring you great stories from time to time, as I discover other women in the world who are up to some pretty amazing things.

This weekend, I learned about Sarah Harmeyer of Dallas Texas. Sarah is what she likes to call “a people gatherer.”

She says her favorite thing in the world is to gather around a table and celebrate with others. So, Sarah asked her Dad to build her a farm table that would seat 20 people, and because there wasn’t room for this inside her house, she set the table up outside in her backyard.

She decided to invite her neighbors over for a potluck dinner, to fill her table and create an opportunity to get to know the people living all around her. 

She created a post on the community social media app, NextDoor, and invited anyone in the neighborhood who wanted to come. She was hoping for 20 people;...

For more than 20 years now, I’ve been interviewing people as part of my work as a video producer, writer, and journalist. I always consider it a great privilege and honor when people accept my invitation for the interview, and proceed to answer the questions I ask…

Ultimately, this leads to them sharing their story with me — and there’s always this magical moment that happens at some point inside the interview… it’s like a chime that goes off in my head…. a little bell rings to signal that moment when we’ve hit our target. I’ve uncovered a golden piece of their story.

This happened yesterday when I was interviewing my guest on the Bright Light’s Storytelling Series—  a weekly Facebook Live interview I do on Thursdays.

I was interviewing Lucy Brummett, a writer and blogger who went from being riddled with insecurity and self-doubt…. to stepping out as a writer & bloggers to be seen and heard. When I dug a little deeper at ask about her insecurities, she shared how she’d been afflic...

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How can you become a better Storyteller, and dig out the stories that are all around you? 

I firmly believe the best storytellers of our time have earned their accolades as a result of years of practice. 

So how to you practice storytelling? I think one of the best ways is through journaling.

Journaling is a sacred practice for many people who just need an outlet for the creative ideas, jumbled thoughts, and excessive words running around in their heads.

But journaling isn’t just about a brain dump — it’s about creating awareness.

Awareness is really the secret key that unlocks the golden door to storytelling.

Unfortunately, far too many people are running around in today’s world so busy being busy, they have no idea what’s happening around them, and they are clueless to the amazing stories that are staring them right in the face.

I believe stor...

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There are 2 different kinds of stories; There’s the real story of what you really want to get out into the world…. then there’s another story that’s holding you back.

This 2nd story is the one that plays in your head and plays dirty tricks on you. It tells you things in order to hold you back and keep you from sharing the first story….. the one that matters.

The story that’s playing in your head is background noise and sometimes it gets really, really loud.

Do you know what I’m talking about?

That story usually sounds something like this:

“What will others think?”

“My story isn’t good enough”

“Nobody will listen”

“My story is boring”

“It’s a jumbled up mess in my head, I wouldn’t even know where to begin”

“People will think I’m trying to brag or get attention”

“If I tell the real story, it will reveal all of my imperfections”


Do any of these sound familiar?
Are some o...

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I believe there are prompts all around us. I’ve talk about it often — how being aware of your surroundings can produce the most amazing stories for you to share.

But if you are not in the habit of paying that close attention…. here's an easier trick you can try.

Most people have a creative side to them… even if they don’t realize it. And there is a way that stories speak to you.

For example, you may not be a talented artist but you really enjoy going to art museums or collecting unique sculptures.

You may not know how to play any musical instruments, but you really have a passion for music and you can recite the lyrics to every 80’s band song, or every rock n roll legend’s entire index of music.

You may not be a great writer, but you are a voracious reader— and you love a good fiction book.

Think more about your creative passion — which avenues o...

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There is a Key ingredient of storytelling we need to talk about. Emotion.

If you want to use your story to build your business, your brand, your influence, or have a greater impact … you’ve got to do one thing: Make people feel something!

Stories that make us feel something, make us take action with our money!!

Yet all too often, we leave this piece of the puzzle out …. and then wonder why our stories aren’t connecting with our audience. 

You have to use emotional language to spark a feeling….to get your audience to sit up in their chair and take notice.

We can add emotion into our stories in a variety of ways.

VIDEO — Video is one of the most powerful tools of visual storytelling because you can add in so many subliminal elements like music and graphics that aid in the story telling.

PICTURES — You can capture so much emotion and storytelling in...

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It's #TransformationalTuesday, and I am sharing a piece of inspirational wisdom…. because I think we all need it from time to time.

I can’t take credit for this one; this story was shared with me by a spiritual teacher, Maru Iabichela, who teaches all about the power of our own minds to create all that which we desire.

She shared a story of a group of farmers who were praying over their land that had suffered a tragic drought. The entire community was at risk because the land was no longer bearing crops — barren, desolate, and parched.

A group of spiritual leaders gathered to pray, when one of the farmers asked why were they not praying for rain.

To which they replied — "You don’t need to pray for rain, you need to pray for green pastures." 

When we are experiencing a drought in our own life, we often make the mistake of praying for rain…. rather than focusing o...

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I listened to an awesome podcast yesterday that has me still thinking about all of the wisdom nuggets that were shared, and especially how they relate to business owners and how they show up for their audience.

The podcast was Jen Lehner’s The Front Row Podcast for Entrepreneurs
and she was interviewing Seth Godin all about his newest book called This Is Marketing.

Let me tell you why I loved it so much.

As business owners, or anyone who has a message they want to get out into the world — authors, healers, coaches, entrepreneurs, network marketers… the list goes one — I think we can all agree that trying to figure out the best way to share your message and engage with your audience is something that can keep you up at night.

Let’s face it — we’ve got all the Guru’s in our industry telling us to do it one way…. we’ve got FB Ads in our newsfeeds daily ...

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We are going back to the basics today and focusing on a writing prompt to help you identify and share a piece of your own story. #storytelling101

Storytelling is a powerful way to communicate with your audience and draw them into your world — it helps you share your own journey in a way that will resonate and be relatable. This is why storytelling is so valuable as a tool for communication, building your business, expanding your reach & impact.

So take the prompt I’m about to share with you and really dive into it — find the story you can use to share with your audience and create a connection with them.

Write about something that is messy in your life.

It's up to you if you want to take this the literal or figurative route.

The point is to use the idea of the story prompt — in this case something that is messy in your life — and create a connection point ...

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Just before my first child was born, my husband and I were shopping for a new house. We had just moved to a new town, and knew we needed to look for a home that was going to be suitable for raising a family.

We looked at a lot of houses….. week after week, our agent would set up appointments and we traveled all over town looking for something that ticked all of our boxes.

We had a certain number of bedrooms we wanted.
We had a price range.
We had school districts to consider
We wanted to be close to my husband’s work.

Each of the items on our wish list were easily searchable in the local MLS — and each week, our realtor showed us houses that ticked off all of our required boxes —

One day, after exhausting our search, she says to me,  “You know what? We’re just going to drive around and you tell me when you see a house you like.”  This was a different approach th...