Ready To Use Your Story To Stand Out?
Discover how to turn your ‘unremarkable’ background into unshakeable positioning
Here's what's actually happening:
You open LinkedIn. Someone with half your experience just announced a major contract.
You close Linkedin, feeling that familiar mixture of frustration and resignation.
You sit down to write about your work.
Stare at the blank page. Type something professional and forgettable. Delete it. Try to "add personality." It feels fake.
Delete that too.
You know you're good at what you do.
You just can't explain why.
And underneath all of it, there's this nagging thought you barely admit to yourself:
"Maybe my background isn't interesting enough. Maybe there's nothing special here. Maybe I'm just... ordinary."
That thought—right there—is what's keeping you stuck.
Not because it's true.
But because you can't see what's actually there.
The Story You're Telling Yourself
You've convinced yourself the problem is time. Or skill. Or knowledge.
"I just need to learn how to write better content."
"I need to figure out LinkedIn."
"I need a content strategy."
But that's not actually what's stopping you.
What's stopping you is this story:
"I don't have anything interesting to say. I grew up in a boring town, worked for dull, grey corporates. I make sensible decisions. I work hard. No one is interested in that"
And because you believe that, you do one of two things:
Option One: You default to corporate speak. "Strategic operational transformation consulting for mid-sized manufacturing firms." Professional. Safe. Completely forgettable.
Option Two: You try to manufacture something interesting. You attempt vulnerability. You force personality. It feels like wearing someone else's clothes. You read it back and cringe.
So you stay stuck.
Not because you can't write.
Not because you don't understand marketing.
But because you're trying to create positioning instead of discovering it.
You're trying to live someone else's story when the one you have is sitting right in front of your nose.
The one you can't see because you're living inside it.
The Real Problem (That No One Talks About)
Here's what's actually happening:
You're not failing because you don't know how to market yourself.
You're failing because you don't know what makes you different.
And you don't know what makes you different because you can't see your own story.
Your are far from alone in this.
Every time you sit down to show your value, you're drawing from what you think matters:
Your qualifications
Your experience
Your methodology
Your results
And these things do matter.
But they're not what makes you different. Everyone and their dog has qualifications.
What makes you different is the journey that led you here.
The context that shaped how you think.
The background that gives you perspective others don't have.
The twenty years you spent inside organisations like the ones you now consult for?
That's not just experience—that's insider credibility.
You don't just understand organisational change theoretically. You've lived it. You've experienced the resistance. You've navigated the politics. You know what works because you were there.
That working-class background you never mention? That's not irrelevant—that's why you understand shop floor culture in ways London consultants never will. You speak that language. Not as an observer. As someone who grew up in it.
That feeling of being a square peg in a round hole for most of your career? That's not weakness—that's why you see solutions "company people" miss.
But you can't see any of this.
Because when you look at your background, you see "ordinary."
And because you see ordinary, you can't use it.
This is why everything you try doesn't work.
You're trying to create differentiation out of thin air instead of excavating it from your actual experience.
Why You Think You're Ordinary (And Why That's The Problem)
You look at people who are visible and you notice patterns:
They have interesting backgrounds. Immigrant success stories. Dramatic career pivots. Rags-to-riches narratives. Near-death business experiences. Cultural bridge stories.
Their positioning practically writes itself.
And then you look at yourself:
Nottingham. Warwick. Siemens. ABB. Sensible decisions. Hard work. Steady progression.
No drama. No transformation arc. No exotic backstory.
Just... a life.
And here's the lie you've been telling yourself:
"Boring backgrounds don't make compelling stories."
But that's not true.
What's actually true is this:
You're comparing your inside to everyone else's outside.
Those "interesting" people? They're not more interesting than you. They just have distance from their own story. They can see it. You can't see yours because you're standing in it.
And there's something else you're missing:
Your "ordinary" background is actually perfect for who you serve.
Those dramatic transformation stories? They appeal to specific audiences. The immigrant success story resonates with other immigrants. The career pivot story connects with people considering similar pivots.
But your steady, working-class, earned-advancement story? That resonates with exactly the clients you want: Established manufacturing firms. Family-owned businesses. Companies built by people who showed up every day and did good work.
Your "ordinary" isn't a limitation. It's your competitive advantage.
You just can't see it.
And because you can't see it, you're trying to be something you're not. Which is why everything feels forced and fake.
What If You're Wrong About Your Story?
Here's what actually makes you different:
Those twenty years inside organizations like the ones you consult for? That's not a boring CV line. That's insider credibility. You don't just understand the theory—you've lived it. You've experienced the resistance. You've navigated the politics. You know what works and what fails because you were there.
That working-class background you never mention? That's not irrelevant. That's why you understand shop floor culture in ways London consultants with fancy MBAs never will. You speak that language. Not as an observer. As someone who grew up in it.
That feeling of being a square peg in a round hole for most of your career? That's not weakness. That's why you can see solutions "company people" miss.
The challenge isn't that you don't have a story.
The challenge is you're living inside it, so you can't see it.
And because you can't see it, you can't use it.
What Happens If You Don't Fix This
Let me tell you what the real cost is.
It's not the lost revenue. Though that's real.
It's not the deals that go to less qualified people. Though that's frustrating.
The real cost is this:
You're going to spend the rest of your career feeling like you have something to say but you can't figure out how to say it.
You're going to watch other people build platforms and think "I could do that" while never actually doing it.
You're going to look at your expertise—twenty years of it, maybe more—and watch it evaporate when you retire because you never figured out how to package it, share it, pass it on.
Here's what that looks like year by year:
Year One: You keep trying different tactics. Content calendars. LinkedIn strategies. Newsletter platforms. Nothing sticks because you still don't know what to say. The problem isn't the tactic. It's that you don't have clarity on your positioning.
Year Three: You stop trying. Not consciously. You just... stop. You tell yourself you're too busy with client work. But the truth is, you've given up on figuring this out. It's too hard. Too confusing. Too vulnerable.
Year Five: You've become quietly resentful. You make snide comments about LinkedIn. You judge people who build personal brands. But underneath the judgment is envy. And underneath the envy is regret.
Year Ten: Your father worked forty years at Rolls-Royce. Retired with a carriage clock. All his expertise evaporated. Nobody wrote it down. Nobody passed it on.
You've spent your entire adult life trying not to become him.
And yet here you are, following exactly the same path.
Quietly competent. Quietly invisible. Quietly running out the clock.
That's the real cost.
Not the money.
The legacy you never built. The impact you never had. The platform you never created. The book you never wrote. The methodology you never named. The juniors you never taught. The industry you never influenced.
All because you couldn't see that your "ordinary" background was actually extraordinary.
And you never found someone who could show you.
Here's What You Actually Need
You don't need another marketing course.
You don't need a copywriter to write content that sounds nothing like you.
You don't need a brand strategist with fill-in-the-blank templates.
You need someone to show you the story you can't see in yourself.
That's it. That's the whole thing.
Everything else—the messaging, the content, the positioning, the confidence to show up—all of that flows from finally seeing your own story.
But you can't see it alone.
Not because you're not smart enough. You're plenty smart.
Not because you don't have a story. You absolutely do.
But because you're standing inside it.
And no one can see their own story from the inside.
This is why all the marketing tactics haven't worked. This is why the courses and the templates and the frameworks haven't helped.
You've been trying to create positioning when what you needed was to discover it.
Story Archaeology (Not Story Invention)
Here's where most positioning work goes wrong:
It starts with the market and works backwards.
"What does your ideal client want to hear? What pain points should you address? What transformation should you promise?"
Then they help you construct a narrative that fits that market position.
It might be effective. It might even be true.
But it won't be you.
It'll be a version of you optimized for positioning. And every time you use it, you'll feel that slight dissonance—the gap between who you are and who you're pretending to be.
I do the opposite.
I start with you. Your actual history. Your actual experiences. The actual path that led you here.
Then we find the market positioning that's already there—embedded in your experience, waiting to be articulated.
I'm not going to help you fabricate a narrative.
I'm going to help you uncover the positioning that's been there all along.
The Life Timeline Exercise
In our first session, we break your life into chunks—three to seven year periods—and we excavate each one.
Not just professional highlights. The formative experiences. The challenges. The mentors. The victories and defeats. What you learned about yourself.
And here's what happens:
You start seeing patterns.
Common approaches across seemingly unrelated experiences. Turning points that shaped your methodology. Transferable skills you've never articulated. Values that have driven you since childhood.
That History degree you never mention? That taught you to analyze, to identify what actually matters. That's not irrelevant—it's foundational to how you work.
Those toxic corporate years? That's why you understand organizational politics better than consultants who've only ever worked for themselves.
Your father's forty years at Rolls-Royce? That's your shop floor credibility that no MBA can replicate.
We're not inventing a story. We're uncovering what's been there all along.
Why You Can't Do This Alone
You're too close to it.
The experiences that seem ordinary to you are extraordinary to others. The background you dismiss as "not interesting" is exactly what your ideal clients need to hear.
I spent 25 years as a translator. 20 years in France. I worked with other people's words, always in the background.
I waited until I was 62—after my mother died—to write my first book.
Forty years of "getting ready."
When I finally did the Life Timeline Exercise myself, I had a breakthrough:
My translation background was my superpower. My late start gave me credibility with people who think they've missed their chance. My years of self-doubt taught me to spot when brilliant people can't see their own value.
But I couldn't see any of this myself.
I needed someone to hold up the mirror.
That's what I do for you.
What We'll Create Together
The 5-Day VIP Week
Monday: Two intensive 2-hour sessions. Morning: Life Timeline Exercise. Afternoon: Audit your current messaging, identify key themes, brainstorm your stories.
Tuesday-Thursday: You run your business. I do the heavy lifting—crafting your complete Messaging Guide and developing all ten stories. You get daily progress updates.
Friday: I present your complete Messaging Guide and Story Bank. We discuss how to use them, prioritize implementation, make real-time adjustments.
30 Days Later: 60-minute follow-up call to review your progress, answer questions, make adjustments.
Your Complete Messaging Guide
Not a template. Not a generic framework.
Your messaging system:
Core Brand Message: The concise statement that captures your unique value
Key Themes: 3-5 main ideas that define your brand
Brand Voice Guidelines: How you sound (and what to avoid)
Audience Personas: Who you're actually talking to
Platform-Specific Messaging: Same story, different formats
Value Ladder: How your offerings connect
Objection Handlers: Responses to common concerns
Your Story Bank: 10 Ready-to-Use Stories
Each story includes full narrative (300-500 words), short version (100 words), key themes, use cases, and platform recommendations.
Origin Story - Your journey to doing what you do. 2-4. Client Transformation Stories - Proof you deliver results
Personal Challenge Story - What you've overcome
Expertise Development Story - How you developed your methodology
Vision Story - Where you're going and why
Behind-the-Scenes Story - Inside look at your process
Industry Insight Story - Thought leadership positioning
Failure & Lesson Story - Vulnerability that connects
Plus signed copies of my books "Stories That Matter" and "How to Show Off," your 30-day implementation roadmap, and that follow-up call.
What Changes When You Finally See Your Story
Week One:
You open your Messaging Guide.
And you feel like you're looking in a mirror for the first time.
The language is yours. Not some manufactured "brand voice." Yours.
The positioning makes sense. Not because it's clever. But because it's true.
When you read your Origin Story, you feel something shift. That's not vulnerability for the sake of marketing. That's your actual journey. And it matters.
You show it to your partner that evening. Their response: "That's exactly who you are. Why haven't you been saying this all along?"
Month One:
Content creation changes completely.
Not because you suddenly got better at writing. But because you finally know what to say.
You post your "Expertise Development Story"—the one about working inside the organizations you now consult for, and what that taught you about change that consultants who've never done it don't understand.
It takes 15 minutes to write instead of 90 minutes of staring and deleting.
And here's what matters: it doesn't feel fake.
You're not performing. You're not trying to be someone you're not. You're just... using your story.
The post gets 47 comments. Three from companies you've been trying to reach.
But the bigger shift is internal: you enjoyed writing it.
Month Three:
You're in a discovery call. The prospect asks what makes you different.
And for the first time, you have an answer that feels true:
"I spent twenty years inside organizations like yours before I started consulting. I don't just understand transformation theoretically—I've lived it. I know what resistance looks like from the inside. That changes everything about how I approach change."
They lean forward. "Finally. Someone who gets it."
That's what happens when you stop trying to manufacture differentiation and start using your actual story.
Month Six:
The business outcomes follow.
Not because you suddenly became better at what you do. You were always good.
But because people can finally see it.
Three qualified leads per month. Projects at £3,500/day instead of £2,000. Speaking invitations. Industry publication features.
Revenue up. Hours down.
But here's what actually matters:
You stop feeling like an impostor.
You stop second-guessing yourself.
You stop wondering if your background is interesting enough.
Because you finally see what was always there.
And once you see it, you can't unsee it.
Investment
£1,500 + VAT
Includes:
- Two intensive 2-hour strategy sessions
- Complete Messaging Guide (7 components)
- Story Bank (10 ready-to-use narratives)
- Daily progress updates
- Friday presentation & refinement
- 30-day implementation roadmap
- 60-minute follow-up call
- Signed copies of both books
Payment Options: Full payment, 2 payments (£750), or 3 payments (£500)
Is This Right For You?
This works if you:
- Have a working business but messaging feels stuck
- Know you have a story but can't articulate it
- Want to stand out without feeling fake
- Are willing to dig deep
- Want a framework for creating content (not done-for-you content)
- Are ready to actually implement
This probably won't work if you:
- Want someone to write your content for you
- Expect overnight results
- Aren't willing to examine your story honestly
- Need constant hand-holding
Common Questions
"I don't have time for a whole week."
You're only "on" for three sessions. The rest of the week you run your business while I do the work.
"My story isn't interesting enough."
Most common concern. Almost always wrong. The Life Timeline Exercise consistently uncovers stories clients didn't realize they had.
"How is this different from hiring a copywriter?"
A copywriter creates content for you. This gives you the framework and stories to create your own content forever.
Ready?
Book a 30-minute discovery call
Secure your VIP week (payment + dates)
Complete brief questionnaire (15 minutes)
Show up Monday ready to dig deep
Walk away Friday with complete clarity
Limited spots—I work with a small number of clients each month.
Contact: mike@storiesthatmatter.co
Your ordinary is someone else's extraordinary.
Your story matters more than you think.