Years ago my wife and I were in the Detroit airport getting ready to board a plain to Florida to catch a cruise to the Caribbean. We found our terminal, bought some water, and did our usual pre-flight rituals. Then, the announcement from Jet Blue:

“There is a problem with the plan which will not be resolved in time for your flight time, and the plane may not be safe to use at all today. Some of you are on flight to connect to a cruise, and this may impact your ability to arrive on time for departure. Please go to the check-in desk before TSA to discuss options.”

My wife and I looked at each other, mutually experiencing a pang of anxiety, and we hustled to the desk. At t he desk, there were a couple dozen other people similarly impacted. Florida, of course, is where many cruises launch from, so it wasn’t just our cruise being impacted.

As we stood in the line of people waiting to chat with a Jet Blue agent, we started striking up conversation with those around us to pass the time and huddle in our shared anxiety. People were reacting to the news in different ways and many had their own cruises. Then, we started chatting with a couple near our age.

Turns out, they were a really fun couple who lived pretty close to us. They were fun, taking things in stride, and relaxing to chat with. Furthermore, they were going to the same exact cruise as us! By the time we reached the agent we felt like friends, and we decided to just talk to the agent as a group since we were going to the same place anyway.

Jet Blue, at this point, rallied in a remarkable way. Out of their own pocket, they booked us a flight with a different airline to Florida and booked us a hotel for the night. But we’d still miss our ship’s departure so they want above and beyond. They told us they’d contact us with next steps in Florida. They did! They booked us a flight to a tiny island in the Caribbean, and then a charter to another island that was the second stop of the voyage. They even put us up in a five-star hotel on the island. It was quite an adventure!

The agent found our little group so tight nit, that they assumed we were together and put every booking under my wife’s name. In other words, we’d be spending every step of this journey with this other couple we’d just met.

It was such a fun and fantastic adventure together that, by the time we did reach our ship, we decided to keep hanging out the rest of the cruise. We’d made some great friends.

How narratives brought us together

I love this story for so many reasons. It’s fun to remember! It also highlights something deep within human nature that’s so organic and important. But it’s easy to miss, hiding in plain site. When we met with them in line and started chatting, we were doing two things:

First, we were getting to know each other. We shared where were from, told jokes, swapped stories, and communicated through body language. On a baser level we were determining for each other if these were the kind of people we wanted to engage with.

Second, we were learning about each other’s journey. We found out where we were coming from, where we were going, and why. That is, we learned we lived near each other, learned we were all going on the same cruise, and how we were all hoping to have some fun and refreshing time on vacation (doesn’t have to be a profound reason).

As a result, we decided to form a group and take the journey together! We liked them, they liked us, and we were already walking the same trail. Why not do it together! You might say the agent did it by putting us in one group, but we obviously could have corrected it with the agent. We chose not to! And by the time we got on the ship we were so enjoying doing the journey together that we decided to continue!

Personal / Brand Narrative

I want to identify two distinct narratives that played an important and complete role in the story and our decision to travel together. First, the Personal Narrative (or Brand Narrative for an entity).

The Personal Narrative is about telling the story of who you are. This may include history, occupation, personality, community, and so forth. The goal is to give the listening party a quick, understandable sense of who you are.

Remember, on the first date it’s not a good idea to vomit out your hopes, dreams, fears, and failures. This is true in basically every non-therapeutic context. As such, there is a real skill to knowing how much to say, putting it into a clear and memorable narrative, and adjusting information and delivery based on your audience.

For brands, this means helping clients and customers to understand what your brand offers, how it connects to them, the value it brings, and so forth. If there are multiple brands involved, then give a clear narrative as to how they’re connected and compliment one another. Keep it short and clear.

Vision Narrative

If a Personal Narrative is about who you are then a Vision Narrative is about the journey you’re on. Not you, the journey.

In my story, our journey was doing what it took to get from Detroit to our cruise ship. This took some twists and turns resulting in an adventure, but the whole time we knew why we were doing it: to double fist ice cream and pizza on a cruise ship (no regrets). As we shared with our friends, we built a sense of camaraderie over the realization that we were on the same journey. We shared a vision of ourselves on that ship and were willing to go on the adventure to get there.

It’s important to highlight that this is not about you. This isn’t what makes you special, your unique value proposition, or anything like that. As a person or as a brand you are on a journey, and hopefully you know why you’re on that journey and where you hope to go.

As a person, this is often about the community that we have in our lives. Whether it’s hobbies, work, neighbors, or whatever, we find the people on a similar journey to ourselves and join together. It is important to be able to communicate your journey, though, as folks often find themselves surprised to realize anyone else is on a similar journey. There’s a “you too?” moment we experience when it dawns on us another person is walking the same trail as ourselves.

For brands, think about why you created the brand in the first place. What was conspicuously absent in the world that motivated you to start or join the brand? Why do you continue to innovate and improve — towards what end? Is there something you want to see better, different, challenged, or resolved? You’ve probably not arrived, so share the journey you’re on, where you’re at, why you’re excited about it, and where you’re eager to go.

Finally, in any case, remember to include why you are on the journey as part of your story. It matters. If someone finds me running along a trail, it matters if it’s because I’m exercising or running from a bear. They’ll want to know.

Unifying the Narratives

Ultimately we joined together with our new friends in that airport because we shared both our personal stories and our journey. In the realization that we liked each other as people and were on the same path, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to hitch our wagons and continue together. No one had to sell or compel anyone. In fact, by the time someone said “we should do this together,” it felt more like an observation of something that had already started than a proposal.

A fundamental thing to remember is that people want community. We want others on the journey with them, and are excited when we realize someone we like is walking the same path in the same direction. But we learn in life that not friendships are forever, jobs aren’t forever, not everyone is safe, and not all safe people are on the same journey as us. It’s easy to feel alone. This is why it’s so important to share these narratives with others; this is how community is formed.

A good example of this is WordPress. WordPress is about open-source and open-web, on a journey to “democratize publishing”. WordPress today isn’t what it was 10 years ago. It’s further down the road, but in over 20 years it’s mission hasn’t changed. Entire global communities and ecosystems have built up around WordPress in an effort to be a part of that journey. People even get frustrated if they believe it’s somehow deviated from it’s goal. The reason is because it’s not about WordPress; it’s about the journey and vision of open-source as an agent for an open-web. By many metrics it’s not the objective “best” CMS in the world, but it’s open, earnest, maintained by good people, and on a journey many believe is important. WordCamps shine the light of the many great people who believe in the journey.

Wrapping up

In healthy moderation, learn to share who you are.

Reflect and remember why you’re on the path you walk, and think about where you hope to go.

Be brave. Be clear. Share your story.