Loehr - The power of story: change your story, change your destiny in business and in life

Praise for The Power of Story

Dr. Jim Loehrs concept of Old Story/New Story is so transformational that I introduced it to my entire senior leadership team. Today our New Stories, supported by daily rituals, are enabling Panda Express restaurants to continue our rapid growth toward two billion dollars in revenue.

Tom Davin
Chief Executive Officer
Panda Restaurant Group, Inc., and former Captain, U.S. Marine Corps

You might think youve heard it all before. I know I did, but not like this. Jim Loehrs remarkable combination of experience, wisdom, and authenticity provides a unique and powerful formula for getting fully engaged with your life. The information and tools in this book are among the most appreciated elements of our leadership development work and have made a real difference in many peoples lives.

Jon Anastasio
Vice President, Learning & Development
Nordstrom, Inc.

Jims principles, one of which is changing your story, are without a doubt the most powerful tools available for individuals and companies in order to thrive in todays fast-changing global business climate. By applying the gems of wisdom within this text, you can literally transform your future. The true testimony is in the life of the author. I have witnessed Jim walk this talk for over a decade.

Phebe Farrow Port
VP Global Management Strategies
The Este Lauder Companies

Jim Loehrs The Power of Full Engagement has had a powerful effect on my life and career over the last few years. The Power of Story provides new perspectives and a compelling recipe to recharge the spirit and plan for an exciting and fulfilling rest of your life.

Kerry Clark
CEO
Cardinal Health

Jim Loehrs latest book is mission critical for anyone looking to expand their capacity in their personal or professional lives. The Power of Story offers wonderful insights into how we can all increase and manage our energy and, more importantly, focus it on the things that matter most to each of us.

Peter K. Scaturro
Former CEO
U.S. Trust

Jim Loehrs practice-based work on story is consistent with a recent wave of academic research on self-narratives in psychology. The upshot: what we say to ourselves creates our reality and guides our actions. Jims work teaches us that through the stories we tell ourselves and others about what is possible and impossible, we limit ourselves or unleash unimagined potential.

Susan J. Ashford
Associate Dean for Leadership Programming & the Executive MBA Program
University of Michigan

Just recently, we announced a plan to bring a condensed version of the program to all of our 2,300 employees. Jims new book, The Power of Story, brilliantly captures the essence of how and why the program works.

Paul N. Leone
President
The Breakers

Jim Loehr has done it again! The Power of Story is an amazing book that will powerfully impact your life by helping you change the stories you tell yourself and tell to others. The book is filled with profound insight and wisdom and yet is extremely pragmatic and useful. Many books say they can change your life; this is one of the few that actually can.

Stephen M. R. Covey
Author
The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything

The health care industry is focused only on cost and not on the whole story. Changing peoples stories is the solution to our health care crisis. The Power of Story is a model of success for addressing out nations health care crisis.

Steve Altmiller
President/CEO
San Juan Regional Medical Center

The Power of Story provides great insight into the importance of understanding the stories that shape us and how to create new stories. After reading the book, I felt reconnected with my purpose in life and have even more clarity on my training mission. As always, it is a joy to read anything written by Jim Loehr. He is a great coach and inspiration to us all!

Anne Whitaker
Vice President & Business Unit Head, Acute Care Specialty Division
GlaxoSmithKline

ALSO BY JIM LOEHR

Mental Toughness Training for Sports

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Toughness Training for Life

The New Toughness Training for Sports

Stress for Success

The Power of Full Engagement

FREE PRESS
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Copyright 2007 by Jim Loehr

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
For information address Free Press Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

FREE PRESS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Note to Readers The names and identifying details concerning some individuals have been changed.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Loehr, James E.
The power of story: rewrite your destiny in business and in life / Jim Loehr.
p. cm.
1. Change (Psychology). 2. Success. 3. Self-perception.4. StorytellingPsychological aspects. I. Title.
BF637.C4L64 2007650.1dc22 2007028654

ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-4579-8
ISBN-10: 1-4165-4579-4

Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com

To my mother, Mary,
for her relentless efforts in helping me get my
story straight,

and to my three sons, Mike, Pat, and Jeff,
who have been and always will be the epicenter of
my life story.

The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.JAMES M. BARRIE

Contents

I drink too much, exercise too little, am 35 pounds overweight, have high cholesterol, have already had heart surgery. My father died relatively young from a heart attack. I have four young children. I dont feel Im doing a good job anywherehome, work, family, self. Im overwhelmed. I accomplish all these things, I have 2,200 people under me, but I lost God, the most important thing in my life. I lost my spirituality. I spend too little time playing with my kids. They look forward to the babysitter coming because she plays with them more than I do. I feel unappreciated and taken for grantedmy spouse does not understand the magnitude of my workload. Work consumes all my energy. The career I have chosen and love threatens the most sacred part of my life, my relationship with my three sons. Ive lost my passion for what Im doing, both in my career and in my personal life.

Seven representative fragments, from a database of tens of thousands, of high-achieving, successful businesspeople, who were asked to describe the themes and tone of their life stories. One of them is mine.

INTRODUCTION

I t sounded like a good story, once upon a time. Id finally taken the bold step of resigning from the satisfying, commanding position Id had for yearshead of a progressive community mental health center in rural Coloradoto pursue my long-held professional dream: combining my loves of psychology and sports by establishing a business that specialized in helping athletes to achieve optimum performance, redefining how they ate, practiced, rested and recovered and, most important, perceived themselves. The leap was both exciting and scary to me. This was the early 80s and I knew of no one doing anything quite like it. But after weathering my initial anxietiesfinancial uncertainty; scrambling to establish credibility and get clients; moving to Denver, where there was more activitymy dream began to morph into reality. I came into contact with world-class athletes, especially tennis players, eager to have me aid them in fulfilling their professional dreamsof becoming their best possible competitive selves. The idea of helping to pioneer a new area in psychology was intoxicating. From the indications, I was making a difference in the lives of my clients. The work ignited levels of passion and commitment in me Id never known.

Next page