"Who cares?" Why it's the wrong question and what to ask instead.

I got an interesting email from a client the other day.
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It said, “Reworked personal brand story. It's too long and I keep asking myself "who cares?" as I read it.”
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My heart sank. I know this question. It’s the mother-load of all questions. The ‘WHO CARES’ question has plagued me, plagued my clients, plagued my students in Personal Brand Accelerator.​
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It’s the question I've asked to justify my own content.
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And it’s the wrong question.
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It’s not about who cares.
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It’s about if I care.
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When I write a Personal Brand Story, my story, I have to get honest with myself. “Am I writing this for me? Or am I writing this for others?”
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The empath, the helper, the advocate in me will say it’s for others. For service. For the greater good of the whole. Surely, it can’t be for me. Wouldn’t that be selfish? Self-serving?​
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Here’s the plot twist.
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If I’m writing to get something out of it, then I’ve already lost.
If I’m writing to change your mind, to get you to do something, to get you to care, then I’m writing for the wrong reasons. I’m writing with ulterior motives that will ultimately change the story or manipulate my truth.
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If I want to write something authentic, it has to be for me.

Thus, the question I should really be asking myself is, "Do I care?" Do I care about my own story?
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Storytelling is, yes, a way to connect with myself. And the deeper I go with myself, the deeper I can go with others. I’ve found this is the best way to serve people; to be able to sit with them, go deep, and listen to what their heart yearns to say.
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If my stories help someone, then I am happy. I am filled with joy. But it’s not the reason I tell them. I tell them to make sense of what’s happened to me, to bring meaning to my life, and as a form of self-love.
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—
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On the last day of our work together, I told my client, “You know, I would kick myself if I didn’t tell you this, but your story is for you. Not for anyone else.
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And for what it’s worth, I care.
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I care about your story. And you should, too.”
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“Thank you,” she said, closing her eyes. “I needed to hear that.”

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Can I ask you something? What's holding you back from telling your own story? Hit 'reply' and tell me.
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Anna Vatuone
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P.S. Enrollment for Personal Brand Accelerator opens in just a few weeks! This only happens 2x per year. Are you on the waitlist yet? Start here.​