For thousands of years, books have been treasured vessels of history, knowledge, inspiration, and entertainment.
However, if you were to examine 99% of books published throughout history, you might begin to ask:
Do these books tell my story?
Do they narrate the journey of my ancestors?
My culture?
Books are indeed exceptional; they are carriers of history, transporting the legacy of a people or a culture through time. Yet, what transpires when only a limited array of stories are presented by a select few cultures?
Countless narratives are lost to the relentless tide of time, their existence fading into obscurity.
The epic love stories…vanished.
The valiant warriors…forgotten.
Beloved children’s characters…non-existent.
One of the fundamental roles of stories is education. We harness stories to assimilate facts quickly and effortlessly. But beyond factual knowledge, stories also impart life lessons, moral values, and societal norms.
Through stories, we communicate to our children – and to outsiders – how to interact with one another, what we value, and what we believe is possible. Stories safeguard our history and culture, transmitting it in a form that’s easily digestible for succeeding generations. They bring order and meaning to the complexity and unpredictability of life.
When we lose the capacity to narrate our own tales, we forfeit a significant part of our identity. Our culture and future generations become lost, struggling to reconcile with the stories “others” recount about us.
Books offer us a resilient means to safeguard our stories, transcending the reliance on oral tradition. A book serves as a secure sanctuary, ensuring your narrative outlives you.
Regrettably, for thousands of years, the privilege to narrate one’s own story through books has been obstructed by gatekeepers seeking to monopolize society’s narrative.
These publishing guardians held the keys to the printing presses, stubbornly denying access to anyone whose story threatened to diverge from the publishers’ sanctioned narrative.
But today, the tables have turned.
Advancements in technology now allow anyone to circumvent these gatekeepers, enabling them to tell their own stories. Despite the millennia that it has taken for this transformation, your time has finally arrived. You now wield the power to create your own narrative and instill the values you cherish in the present and future generations.
This isn’t just an opportunity, it’s a moral imperative.
Because if you continue to let others dictate your story, you will forever be constrained by their rules and values.
So, what steps can you take?
Start by writing down the stories you were told as a child by your parents and grandparents. Begin to craft a narrative that encapsulates the values you uphold, for children across the globe to learn from and enjoy. It’s time to unleash your creativity.