Ever felt like you were standing in the wreckage of your own life, wondering how the hell you even got there? That’s where this starts.
Not just for you but for the people you’re trying to reach.
Because if you want your story to connect, to convert, and to cut through the noise… it has to hurt first. Not polished. Not pretty. But raw. Real. Messy. The kind of story that makes people feel like they’re inside it, living it with you.
This is what I call The Open Wound Method and it’s the storytelling framework that changed everything for me.
Let’s break it down.
Why Most Stories Don’t Convert
Most people tell stories like they’re reading instructions off a manual. It feels safe, distant, way too polished. But people don’t buy stories. They buy transformation.
And to sell transformation, you have to make them feel the pain before they crave the solution.
You’re not just narrating your story, you’re pulling them into it. Grabbing their attention by the gut. Making them feel the hurt, the fear, the doubt before you show them the way out.
That’s what this method does.
The 5 Steps of the Open Wound Method
- The Gut Punch Moment
Start with the rawest version of your low point. Not a summary. A scene. What did you see? Hear? Smell? Feel? Make it ugly, painful, humiliating. That’s what makes it real.
I was sitting in my car outside a Walmart parking lot, staring at my bank app, watching my last $17 sit there like a joke. My hands were shaking, half from hunger, half from knowing I was completely effed.
Your audience may not relate to that moment, but they’ll relate to the emotion. The panic. The dread. The feeling of being lost and stuck. That’s where the connection begins.
- The Emotional Undercurrent
Now go deeper. What did you believe about yourself in that moment? This isn’t just about what happened. It’s about what it meant.
I wasn’t just broke. I was worthless. A failure. A fraud. I told myself, maybe this is it. Maybe I was never meant to win. Short. Choppy. Let the stress and self-doubt bleed through the page.
Because people don’t just connect to problems, they connect to shame. And unless you show them yours, they’ll never feel safe sharing theirs.
- The Breaking Point
This is where something had to change. Your rock bottom. You almost gave up. Almost accepted defeat. Then… something snapped.
I was two seconds away from quitting. But then something inside me, anger, instinct, I don’t know, made a decision. I wasn’t staying here.
This is the moment you chose to fight. And trust me, your audience needs to see you in that fight. Because that’s where they are right now.
- The Rise (Show Your Climb, Not Your Crown)
Now tell us what came after. The hard-earned progress. The ugly, imperfect, relentless climb back.
I spent a year building my first course, and when I launched it, no one bought. Just crickets. I’d be up past 2 AM tweaking everything, trying to make it work. I broke down. I told my wife I couldn’t do this anymore. But she reminded me to keep going. Three months later came my first $5K month. A year later… $245K in course sales.
Make this messy. Let them see the setbacks. The nights you almost quit again. That’s the part they’ll trust and believe.
- The Resolution & Message
Now bring it full circle. Show them who you are now because of that pain, and how they can move forward too.
That night in the Walmart parking lot? It wasn’t the end. It was the beginning. It forced me to become the kind of person who’d never be in that spot again. That’s why I do what I do now, to help people like you find their way out.
Then close the loop. Make it about them.
So if you’re sitting in your version of that parking lot moment, feeling stuck, feeling like maybe this is just who you are… let me tell you, it’s not. You have a choice. The only question is: are you going to make it?
Why This Works
Because this kind of storytelling doesn’t just get clicks, it builds trust.
It makes people feel like they know you. Like you see them. Like they’re not alone. And when someone feels seen, they’re way more likely to follow, buy, share, and believe.
So stop telling stories that sound good. Start telling ones that feel real. Forget the polish. Rip open the wound.
Because when your audience feels the pain you’ve been through and sees the way you fought back they start to believe they can fight, too.
That’s how you lead. That’s how you sell. Let’s go.
P.S. Want more real-talk strategies to grow your business with webinars, storytelling, and sales? Subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications. I drop new videos every week.
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