Chapter 34: The Most Important Voice In Your Life

Who do you think is the most important voice in your life?

You might say your parents.

Or friends, or mentors, or peers.

But if you said any of those, you’d be wrong.

Because there’s one voice that outweighs them all.

And it’s been with you this entire time.

It’s the first voice you hear when you wake up..

And the last you hear before you fall asleep.

It’s yours.

The little bugger who lives rent-free in your head.

Studies show we have up to 60,000 thoughts per day.

The scary part?

• 80% of them are negative.

• 95% are repetitive.

Yea...not ideal...

But the good news is you can rewire this little bugger.

(gotta love free will :)

The first step is becoming aware this voice exists.

Because until you do, it will run wild, spewing whatever story it wants.

Tricking you into thinking that is “reality.”

Taking Control

Once you recognize the voice exists, you’re back in the driver’s seat.

Let’s look at three people who took control of their inner narrative and changed their lives because of it.

Bethany Hamilton (Pro Surfer)

• Lost her left arm in a shark attack at 13.

• Returned to surfing 4 weeks later.

• Went on to win championships and inspire millions.

Brian Chesky (Airbnb)

• Rejected by investors in the early days.

• Told the idea was too “niche” and “unscalable.”

• Funded Airbnb by selling novelty cereal boxes during the 2008 election (“Obama O’s” and “Cap’n McCain”).

• Airbnb is now worth over $100 billion.

Dr. Joe Dispenza

• Hit by a car while cycling. Crushed 6 vertebrae.

• Told he might never walk again unless he had spinal fusion surgery.

• Chose visualization, breathwork, and deep mind-body healing instead.

• Walked out of the hospital on his own. Now teaches millions how to do the same.

What changed?

It wasn’t the facts, but the story they chose to believe.

They didn’t deny reality.

But they refused to let the voice in their head be the villain.

My Own Story

January 27th of this year was one of the lowest points of my life.

Two days before, my brother flew home after spending the first few weeks of this Portugal chapter with me.

I was:

• Alone in a tiny apartment

• Posting online daily and seeing no traction

• Unsure if my visa would get approved

• Questioning the entire vision

• Oh and it had been pouring rain for 10 days straight :)

That little voice in my head was relentless.

“You f*cked up”

“You’re not good enough.”

“This’ll never work.”

But I didn’t cave.

I took a few days.

Got a new apartment.

Booked a last-minute flight to New York to handle visa stuff.

I kept writing. Kept publishing. Focused on getting 1% better every day.

I can show you 100s of pages in my moleskin notebook that end with:

“better and better everyday, in every way”

Six months later?

• I’ve added ~30,000 new friends on the internet.

• I’m building a business around storytelling & organic content

• And I’ve got (let’s call it 95% :) control over that voice in my head.

Not because I silenced it. But because I didn’t let the negative narrative win.

Wrapping Up

The stories we tell ourselves shape the world we live in.

So take a second and ask yourself:

What narrative are you living right now?

And is it actually shaping the future you want?

Because if not, it’s time to change it.

Because if you learn to take control of that voice…

You can take control over your life.

Rooting for ya,

—Dodds

P.S. speaking of stories…StorySchool is almost ready to launch

It’s a 30-day accelerator for founders, brands & business owners to clarify your narrative, dial in your content strategy, and grow your business using short form video.

You’ll get:

• A library of 30+ case studies (real businesses, real strategies, & real growth)

• 12 video modules, action steps & prompts walking you through the process

• A plug-and-play Notion system to manage your entire content engine

Oh and I’ll be working 1-1 with the first 10 people too :)

If you know content works, but haven’t cracked the code yourself yet…this is for you .

You can get on the waitlist here.