FIND YOUR STORY

THE OPENING FRAME

Three rejection letters. French film schools. 2007.

My grandmother used to say something that changed how I see rejection forever.

I was 18, sitting in her kitchen in Provence, holding three rejection letters from French film schools. Polite. Professional. Final.

"We regret to inform you..." "Not quite what we're looking for..." "Perhaps next year..."

Then she says something that rewired my brain: "Théo, ils ne peuvent pas rejeter ce qu'ils ne comprennent pas. Ton histoire n'est pas pour eux."

They can't reject what they don't understand. Your story isn't for them.

I thought she was offering comfort. She was handing me strategy.

Years later, when my first film was selected for Cannes, I finally understood. The story I was hiding, social housing kid, immigrant blood, too different, too much, it wasn't my weakness. It was my compass pointing toward the only audience that mattered.

Your origin story isn't personal branding. It's strategic differentiation. The foundation everything else is built on.
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THE MAIN FEATURE

Most creative founders are walking around with unloaded weapons.

Sarah proved it. Stanford MBA. Perfect pitch deck. Sustainable fashion startup. Investors nodding politely, passing quietly. Six months of elegant rejections.

First session, I asked her: "Why sustainable fashion?"

Silicon Valley word salad poured out. Environmental impact. Conscious consumers. Market opportunity. Rehearsed. Hollow. The kind of answer that makes investors' eyes glaze over.

"No," I said gently. "Why do YOU personally give a damn?"

The room went quiet. Then the real story emerged.

Her mother. Three jobs. Night shifts at a textile factory. Hands permanently stained with chemicals that "weren't supposed to be harmful." Sarah watched her mother age a decade in two years.

"Sustainable fashion isn't my market opportunity," she finally said. "It's my mother's stolen health turned into a mission."

"Why aren't you leading with that?"

"It feels too personal. Not professional enough."

Here's what Sarah didn't realize: In a world drowning in polished presentations, personal is the only thing that cuts through. Professional is forgettable. Personal is unforgettable.

Three weeks later, same deck, different opening. She showed them her mother's hands first. The energy in the room shifted instantly. Two term sheets within a month.

This is what I call the Origin Audit: excavating the emotional truth you've been taught to bury.

Marcus Aurelius wrote, "What we do now echoes in eternity." Your origin story is that echo's source.

But here's where people stumble: they think origin stories need Hollywood drama. Poverty to penthouses. Tragedy to triumph. Hero's journey with strings attached.

Wrong.

Sometimes your origin is quieter. The kid who saw patterns others missed. The bridge between two worlds. The one who asked "why not?" when everyone said "that's how it is."

Your origin story does three things:

1. Cuts through noise - In a world of sameness, specificity is currency
2. Creates resonance - People buy with hearts, justify with heads
3. Attracts your tribe - The right people recognize their story in yours

The architect whose origin story is building Lego cities while friends played soccer? That's not dramatic. It's true. And truth beats drama every time.

But here's the business consequence of skipping this step: Without your origin story clearly defined, every piece of content becomes a struggle. Every pitch feels hollow. Every post feels like a performance. You spend years building an audience that doesn't really know you, selling to people who can't quite place why they should care.

The misalignment tax is brutal. It costs you energy, time, money, and something harder to measure: the slow erosion of believing in your own message.

I've seen brilliant creators burn out not from overwork, but from the exhaustion of performing someone else's vision of success. When you're not rooted in your real story, every day feels like wearing a costume that doesn't quite fit.
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THE WORKSHOP

Time to dig. Get a notebook. Paper and pen. This is archaeology, not typing practice.

Step 1: Three Formative Moments. Not achievements. Moments that rewired how you see yourself or the world. When something clicked that still influences how you move today.

Step 2: Your Contradictions. What makes you unusual in your field? A tech founder who reads poetry? Introverted marketer? These aren't bugs to fix. They're features to embrace.

Step 3: The Real Why. Keep asking "why" until you hit something that might make you emotional. Past the LinkedIn-safe answers to the truth that actually drives you.

Step 4: Pattern Recognition. Connect your moments and contradictions. What themes emerge? What story is trying to surface?

Step 5: The Story Spine. Write it simply: "I was [contradiction]. When [moment], I learned [truth]. Now I [what you do] because I know [what others miss]."

100 words max. First draft. Let it be imperfect.

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THE CLOSE

Your origin story is already there, pulsing beneath the professional polish. You're not creating it. You're uncovering it.

Next week, we'll architect your truth. We'll take your raw story and give it the structure that makes investors lean in, audiences remember, and the right people say, 'this was made for me.' But that transformation only works if you do this excavation first.

This week's assignment: Complete the Origin Audit. Don't edit as you write. Let the truth be messy. We'll clean it up later.

You're not walking this path alone. Every Sunday, we're building the blueprint together.

Remember: Story or be forgotten.

It's not just a tagline. It's the choice that defines everything that comes next.

I'm taking on a select few creators to work through this process personally. If you're ready to find your story, shape it with precision, and learn how to share it in ways that create real connection, I'd love to explore what that looks like together. Whether you're a tech founder or creative, this is for those who know their story could be their greatest asset.

Book a conversation with me and let's see if we're aligned.

—T

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