lore keepers: the power of narrative control
"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" - Hamilton
Every day, algorithms decide which version of your story gets told. Social platforms curate which moments of your life deserve visibility. Comments sections become the place where strangers write your character arc.
We've surrendered the most powerful tool humans possess: the ability to define ourselves through story.
What I'm seeing among the creators who are building sustainable, meaningful businesses: They've taken their narrative back. They've become LORE KEEPERS.
Not just content creators. Not just personal brands. Keepers of their own mythology.
The Algorithmic Editors
Platforms don't just distribute your content. They edit your story in real time.
They decide which posts get seen and which disappear into the void. They determine whether your vulnerability lands as connection or gets buried under cat videos. They algorithmic-ally choose whether your expertise gets amplified or your mistakes get magnified.
The result: Most creators are letting Silicon Valley write their biography.
The Comment Section Chorus
We've normalized letting strangers provide the running commentary on our lives. We've accepted that the most vocal, often most negative voices get to shape how our stories are perceived.
But here's the thing about narrative control: Whoever gets to provide the interpretation gets to control the meaning.
When you let others define what your content means, what your choices represent, what your journey signifies - you've handed over the pen to your own story.
The Media Literacy Crisis
Most creators know that telling your story is a skill. That narrative control is a practice. That your origin story isn't just what happened to you - it's how you choose to make meaning from what happened to you.
We think storytelling is just sharing what occurred. But real narrative control is about curating which details matter, which themes emerge, and what transformation gets highlighted.
Case study: The word "woke" - originally meaning awakened consciousness in Black communities, hijacked and weaponized by media until it lost all original meaning. That's what happens when you lose narrative control. Your own language gets turned against its original intention.
WHAT LORE ACTUALLY MEANS
your story as strategic asset
Beyond Personal Branding
Personal branding asks: "How do I want to be perceived?" LORE asks: "What story do I want to live into? What world am I building?"
LORE isn't just your past experiences curated for professional consumption. It's the mythology you're actively building. The legend you're writing in real time. The story that will outlive your platforms, your products, your presence.
Your LORE includes:
Your origin story (how you became who you are)
Your mission mythology (why you do what you do)
Your transformation tales (how you've changed and grown)
Your vision legends (what future you're building toward)
Hamilton Inspo
"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?"
This line from Hamilton stuck with me when I saw it, and defines my storytelling frameworks - the ultimate question of legacy: When you're gone, what story remains? And who gets to tell it?
But you don't have to wait until you're dead to influence this. Every piece of content you create, every story you share, every narrative choice you make is your legacy.
The creators building lasting impact aren't just sharing their journey. They're actively constructing the mythology that will define their contribution.
LORE vs. Content
Content: "Here's what I did today" LORE: "Here's what this moment teaches us about resilience"
Content: "I failed at this business venture" LORE: "This failure revealed my true values and redirected me toward my purpose"
Content: "Here's my morning routine" LORE: "Here's how I've learned to honor my body's wisdom in a culture that prioritizes productivity over presence"
The difference: LORE places individual experiences within larger themes of meaning and transformation.
THE TOOLS OF NARRATIVE CONTROL
practical frameworks for story sovereignty
Origin Story as Media Literacy
Your origin story isn't just what happened to you. It's your first act of media literacy - the editorial choices you make about which details matter and what they mean.
The Framework:
Inciting Incident: What woke you up or broke you open?
The Struggle: What did you have to overcome or learn?
The Awakening: What truth did you discover about yourself/the world?
The Mission: How does this truth now serve others?
Example: Kiana's origin could be "I was a child of media platforms who became disillusioned with tech" OR "I learned to see technology as a tool for collective liberation by understanding both its power and its limitations." Same facts. Completely different LORE.
Claiming Your Keywords
Every industry has language that gets weaponized. Reclaiming narrative control means defining your own terms.
What does "authentic" mean to you? (Not what Instagram thinks it means)
How do you define "success"? (Not what hustle culture tells you)
What's your version of "influence"? (Not what vanity metrics suggest)
When you define your own language, you make it harder for others to misinterpret your story.
The Platform Strategy
Platform isn't just where you post. Platform is what you stand for and how you lift others up.
Your platform becomes part of your LORE when:
You use your voice to amplify others consistently
You take stands that align with your stated values
You build systems that continue your mission beyond your personal presence
You create space for others to tell their own stories within your ecosystem
This is legacy thinking: What you build should be able to continue without you.
Transparency as LORE Building
Strategic vulnerability isn't oversharing. It's showing your work.
Instead of hiding your process, you document it. Instead of pretending you have it all figured out, you share your learning in real time. Instead of presenting only your highlights, you show the full spectrum of building something meaningful.
This creates authentic authority: People trust you not because you're perfect, but because you're honest about your imperfection while still providing value.
LORE AS LEGACY
building stories that outlive platforms
Platform Mortality
TikTok might disappear. Instagram will eventually die. Twitter is already transforming into something unrecognizable.
But your LORE lives beyond platforms. The story you've been consistently telling, the themes you've been developing, the transformation you've been documenting - that's portable.
LORE keepers aren't dependent on any single platform because their story exists independently of where it's told.
The Succession Question
"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?"
The most powerful LORE creates space for others to continue the narrative. Not by copying you, but by building on the foundation you've established.
Questions for legacy thinking:
If you disappeared tomorrow, could someone else continue your mission?
Have you been documenting your process in ways others can learn from?
Are you building other LORE keepers, not just followers?
What themes are you establishing that others can expand on?
The Ripple Effect
When you control your own narrative, you give others permission to control theirs.
Every time you choose interpretation over reaction, meaning-making over victim-hood, agency over algorithm - you model what's possible.
Your LORE becomes a template others can adapt for their own story sovereignty.
The algorithm may decide who sees your content. But you decide what your content means.
That's the difference between being an influencer and being a LORE keeper.
One builds an audience. The other builds a legend.
What story are you telling?
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