The 4-step storytelling system born from a hurricane.

How it came to life when everything else stopped working.

Stephen Stanberry
November 3rd, 2025

In partnership with

Hey friend!

You need a way to talk about your fear
without turning your story into something that makes people worry for you.

You need a way to share your breakthroughs
without coming off like you’ve got it all figured out.

And you need a way to write about the chaos in your life
without losing your voice somewhere in the middle of it.

A few nights before Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica,
I was sitting at my desk, trying to write something that made sense.

The wind hadn’t started yet.
But the air felt heavy like the pause between two sentences you don’t know how to finish.

I wanted to be honest about what I was feeling.
But every draft turned into panic on paper.
Every line sounded like I was fighting for control.

Then it hit me.

Storytelling isn’t about pretending to be brave.
It’s about building structure in the middle of uncertainty.

Because when everything around you is shifting,
your story becomes the one thing you can shape.

That moment changed how I write and how I teach it.

It’s the reason I created something called
The Calm Framework.

And no, it’s not some poetic idea you hope your audience “gets.”
It’s a system for grounding your story when everything feels shaky.

Here’s how it works:

1️⃣ Capture – Write what’s happening right now. Don’t wait for clarity. The emotion is the story.

2️⃣ Acknowledge – Name the feeling under the surface. That’s where truth lives.

3️⃣ Link – Connect it to your reader’s world. Let them know they’re not alone in the storm.

4️⃣ Move – End with motion. What shifted? What insight pulled you forward?

That’s your bridge the transition from your experience to their reflection.

You didn’t overshare.
You didn’t get lost.
You just showed your audience how to find calm through your chaos.

That’s what storytelling really does.
It saves you first then it saves someone else.

So here’s your practice for this week:

🟡 Prompt: “Write the moment you stopped believing in your voice.”

Don’t edit. Don’t overthink.
Write like the storm’s still outside your window.

Then hit reply and share your version with me.

Because someone needs to see what calm looks like after the wind passes.

Talk tomorrow

Stephen “Still Finding Calm After the Storm” Stanberry

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