Story
"Because that's what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again. So, trust me, Mrs. Travers. Let me prove it to you. I give you my word."
- Walt Disney, Saving Mr. Banks
My partner Paul talks about the “art of the possible”. At our LifePlan weekends we talk about how despite your beginning, you can craft a different ending. Our corporate coaching roadmap helps teams imagine a more inspired future and then craft a simple plan to achieve that destination.
The biblical narrative has restoration as its’ major theme. The whole point of the gospel is that everything that is separated, broken, or disenfranchised, will be mended, restored, and reconciled.
The rest of the story is intended to be glorious.
But it’s interesting that despite how much desire there is for change and how ripe the opportunity seems, most people’s experiences have them resigning themselves more to the improbability of change.
In the movie Saving Mr. Banks, it turns that out that P.L. Travers' story about Mary Poppins is autobiographical and deeply personal. She is reluctant to turn over her “beloved Mary” to the trivializing that she expects from Disney. Once Walt realizes that her story was born of tragedy, the deeply flawed and tragic figure of her father, he finds tremendous compassion for the difficult Miss Travers.
Walt shows her the empathy that only one who has experienced similar tragedy can offer. He offers to help her write a more glorious ending to her story, to her father’s story. He asks that she “give it to him” and that she “can trust him” and that he won’t disappoint her. In regard to her father, he tells her:
(He) will be honored.
(He) will be redeemed.
(He) and all he stands for will be saved.
Now, maybe not in life, but in imagination.
Because that's what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again. So, trust me, Mrs. Travers. Let me prove it to you. I give you my word.
When I watched this film again with my children, I had a huge lump in my throat. I heard the voice of the Father in Walt Disney. I was overwhelmed with the heart of the Father for all of us…His desire to rewrite our endings with restoration, healing, and hope. What could be a more beautiful hope or desire for those that you care most about?
I was also reminded of the deep heart I have for all our clients. Our “true north” with all of them is a more inspired future:
- Clarity and understanding of the unique role they were created to play as leaders. Simple steps toward finding that life.
- Clarity and understanding of the unique nature and role their businesses can play in making the world a better place while finding their every success.
You really can find the life you desire. The one intended for you when you came into this world. Your company really can get there from here. Let’s grab a keyboard and write a better story.
Trust me.
Let me prove it to you.
I give you my word.
Consider
- Are you more focused on the probability or improbability of change?
- What has life taught you to believe about that possibility?
- Are you up to rallying your hope and expectation one more time to find real change?
- How can I help?