All humans have stories about their lives. For example, I have a story about my journey to be a hypnotist, another story about how I became a critically-acclaimed entertainer, a story about being a dad, and on and on.

The majority of the time, we tell our stories unconsciously to others and ourselves. For example... Suppose I ask you, “How was yesterday for you?”

What you’re thinking right now is a story.

You can’t change your past because what happened and the situation you were in are frozen in time. You can, however, change your story by choosing to change the meaning of past, current, and future events.

The key is to stop blaming external forces and change your story.

I had been providing entertainment for corporate events for many years, and then 2008 rolled in. For those of you who don’t remember 2008, that’s the year that the economy went sideways and crashed. This forced the corporate world to begin cutting unnecessary costs.

The first thing to get cut from the budget was entertainment. That meant that my primary source of income disappeared overnight. Shortly after that, the events themselves began to get cut.

Many corporate entertainers went into panic mode, threw their hands up, and sat at home until their bank accounts were depleted. Many of these entertainers (some were friends of mine) never found their way back to the stage. The sudden loss of their industry installed a phobia within them that this moment could always happen again.

They told stories like... “I can’t make money due to the economy,” or “I can’t make money because my industry disappeared,” or “No one is booking entertainment.”

But I asked myself different questions and rewrote the story that many entertainers were telling. I remembered reading that during the Great Depression, a large number of people still attended live entertainment. This was a way for humans to escape what was happening in the real world for a couple of hours.

I loaded my car with as much as possible and drove from Columbus, Ohio to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. If you’re not familiar with the Gatlinburg area, it’s a popular tourist destination with approximately 60 live shows within a 10-mile radius.

After arriving in Gatlinburg, it took me a few months before I found a theater that could fit me into their schedule and negotiate the terms of the contract with the owner. I began performing the week after the contract was signed. My show skyrocketed to the #1 show in the region within 60 days.

I filled the theater 5 nights every week for several years, making tens of thousands of dollars every week... amid a significant financial crisis.

The story you tell can trap you or empower you. Pay attention to the stories you are telling yourself and others because these stories will guide the decisions you make that shape your future.