isabelle thye

How owning my story helps me quiet self-doubt

As my upcoming book, ‘The Art of Owning Your Story’, is turning into reality, I was often torn between excitement and doubt.

It’s a book about my experiences, struggle and growth as I went through life transformation from corporate, coffee to entrepreneurship.

Putting my thoughts and emotions out there, raw and naked, I knew it will connect with people who share similar journey, but I was fearful of criticism.

No matter how much positive self-talk I do, how firm my belief is, there is always a voice whispering behind my mind.

Am I good enough?

Passion is beautiful and infectious
I am a loyal fan of Masterchef Australia. Despite not being much of a cook, I was hooked to the show because of the contestants.

Their passion and laser focus in striving towards the ultimate goal was beautiful, moving and infectious.

I found a lot of parallels between the show and life.

Our goal is the title. We go through round and round of challenges, fight hard and push ourselves to reach the destination, just like the contestants.

There are good days and bad days, but we make sure that we give our best every time we show up.

The most beautiful thing is that elimination is situational. Despite coming from all walks of life, these amateur cooks left the show with firm belief and burning passion to chase their food dream.

Onwards and upwards. It’s a joy to be part of their journey.

Honest work is the best work
I recently caught up with an entrepreneur friend who has built a prominent coffee brand.

When he told me that he looked forward to venturing into consultancy and nurturing younger generation, my writer instinct suggested him to write a book to share his valuable experiences and build his personal brand.

After pausing for a moment, he looked at me and asked, ‘Me writing a book? What do I have to say?’

In that moment, I saw myself in him – am I good enough?

Pointing at the café we were sitting in, I said, ‘this, you’ve built this from ground up.’

He smiled.

There is hardly anything we do that is totally groundbreaking. If we create something from our experience and our heart, it has no competition, it’s just us in our truest form.

Nobody can take that away.

Great story inspires
As I teared and sniffed uncontrollably at the end of the movie, Coco, I had an epiphany about great story telling.

Why did I get so emotional? Why did it bring back memories of my family? Why did I feel the boy’s frustration when nobody believes in his dream?

I saw myself in the character, invested my feeling in the movie, and immersed myself in the story without reservation.

This is what great stories are all about – they inspire.

They reach the deepest part of our soul, they invite us to be part of the story, they inspire us to be more and do more.

You can live a great story and shake the world
“The day before something is a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea.” – Peter Diamandis

If my vision is big enough, kind enough, generous enough, people will want to be part of my story to see those crazy ideas turning into reality.

‘Am I good enough?’ I have always been the most critical judge of myself.

When I create something that I’m truly inspired by with passion and honesty, I give everything I have to tackle the impossible and unimaginable.

Announcing my book launch on social media felt like a suicide mission. When encouraging words flooded in, I was overwhelmed with love and support.

I realised that when every single word in my story comes from my heart, I carry the energy that could shake the world, by moving one person at a time.

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