I’ve spoken to over 100,000 people just in the last few years, yet struggle to share my personally story. While bits and pieces of it have been shared in public, most of it I’ve kept private, even though many people who are aware of it have encouraged me to share it openly.

Sharing struggle can be painful. I’ll never forget asking my grandfather to share the story of his struggle living through the war of 1948, in which he walked 3 days across the desert seeking refuge. I used to think it was easy for him to tell me what he went through, but today I realize that it is much harder to share pain than joy. Sometimes entrepreneurs have much more painful journeys than joyful journeys.

Occasionally, just like we discuss in the roller-coaster blog, it can feel as high as you can go for a minute, and in the same minute it might feel as low as you can go.

I am so often told, “You’ve made it!” The reality is I’m not sure what “made it” is — it seems that I continue to learn whenever I am open to listening and observing others and the surroundings. This is why I’ve chosen, in the past, to always share other people’s stories. The truth is my own experiences may be limited to the path I have chosen or have had to take. Listening and observing other people’s journeys gives me a different perspective.

BEFORE YOU GO

We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.

1. What have you done to share the story of your journey?

2. How open are you to sharing more of your story, and with whom?

3. What other thoughts do you have about sharing your story?

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Faris Alami is Founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, Inc. (ISM). He works internationally, presenting Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshops and other entrepreneurial ecosystem — related ventures.