Giving a Voice to the Voiceless, Telling Stories For Everybody
Rock Bottom Storytellers
It seems like, when you hear about someone overcoming or persevering through a challenging experience, the story always tends to follow the same narrative. Storytellers call this narrative the “V” shape story. You know the one. The momentous downfall, a passing mention of a ‘Rock Bottom’, and the heroic come back. There is rarely much time spent discussing the events they suffered during the worst moments.
That is not Rock Bottom Storytellers*. Not even close. Not even a little bit. Not at all.
During these quarterly specials, live streamed on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, we focus on the “U” shape story. To put it more simply, we sit at the bottom and really help the viewers know what those deep, dark moments were like, what we experienced while in the midst of the struggles that helped make us who we are.
The format is always the same: four incredibly vulnerable storytellers and one fantastic musician to help us take a deep breath halfway through the program. Hosted by Choose Your Struggle founder (and professional storyteller) Jay Shifman, these events are not one to miss! Subscribe to Jay’s social media to be the first to know when the next Rock Bottom Storytellers is planned.
A Day in the Life
Sometimes stories have a lesson, a parable we say. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the story is about the first time you were called a horrible racial slur, or sometimes it’s about the time you sneaked out of your trailer to visit your girlfriend only to be chased through your trailer park by a man wielding a knife. When you tune in to A Day in the Life, you never know what you’re going to get!
Broadcasted whenever the hell we feel like it, stories featured on A Day in the Life only have one rule: they have to be entertaining. Broadcasted live on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter, you can find out when we’re going to broadcast next at all of Jay’s social media sites.
Ready To Tell Your Story?
There’s nothing special about what we do. Well, no. That’s not true. We’re really good at it. But anyone can tell a story and, we believe, stories are important for success, for connection, and for happiness.
Is your club, church, business, or organization looking to tell your story? Reach out. Maybe it’s a podcast. Maybe it’s a newsletter. Maybe it’s an event. Or maybe it’s just installing storytelling in your company culture. Whatever it is, Choose Your Struggle is here to help. Reach out and let’s figure out how storytelling can make a positive impact for you today!
* Choose Your Struggle would like to make it perfectly clear the name Rock Bottom Storytellers is an intentional take on the outdated and harmful belief that anyone struggling must hit a rock bottom before they’ll be open to getting help. This idea has caused only pain and suffering since its disgusting inception. It is with this in mind that Jay, a person who himself did hit a rock bottom, albeit one unlike many of the stories you hear, claimed this title for his storytelling series. We at CYS work with people to tell these stories their way and in doing so claim their narrative. Using this name is our way of saying F*CK THAT to your harmful ideas. So miss us with your “thank you for not enabling people” bs. We’re not the same.