What do you want to be known for in 2026?
Don’t worry…this is not my sappy end-of-year reflection or my “oh s&^#^&&### how has another year gone by” note.
That one’s coming next week. (#phew)
How are you doing by the way?
This month I’ve been balancing on that glorious thin edge between
“the breakdown is imminent… today”
And
“I can’t believe this is my beautiful life.”
(With a brief stopover in “who said the fetal rocking position can’t be a personality?”)
Before we all fully contend with how this year ended -the good, the bad, and the deeply unhinged – I wanted to leave you with one thing to sit with.
(Sorry in advance for adding to your cognitive load.)
This week, about ten different people sent me the same Wall Street Journal article.
Every message said some version of:
“Thought of you when I saw this.”
The headline is “Companies Are Desperately Seeking ‘Storytellers.”
And some days it was to the point where I was like ‘how do they all know I am reading this RIGHT NOW….”
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like listening to a greatest-hits album from the last decade of my work -courses, workshops, keynotes, and now AI tools.
Storytelling was never cute and fluffy. (SEEEEEE💅)
But aside from the article I was REALLY FLATTERED that so many people saw this in the wild and thought of me. (Dear God am I that easy these days…rehetorical question)
Because when people associate an idea with you without you prompting them, you’re doing something A LITTLE right.
Let me give you a clearer example.
Earlier this year, my friend Ophi –who writes at the intersection of astrology, culture, and business -was working on a piece for Mashable.
Ophi is one of the most sought-after astrologers (like think Beyonce and Gloria Steinem on her speed dial) in the world and when she needed someone to speak to AI and storytelling, she didn’t ask around.
She came straight to me.
I asked her “BUT WHY ME!?”
(side note: to know Ophi is to have an immediate girl crush on her and then shout “JUST TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING WITH MY LIFE😭.”)
She said, “Because you’re the first person I think of when I hear the words AI and storytelling.”
That response clarified something I see over and over again with founders, leaders, and creators right now:
Being known isn’t about how often you post.
It’s about what people associate with you when you’re not posting.
It’s also why, even though I use AI heavily -a single newsletter can still take me hours.
Sometimes I wonder if that inefficiency is bad for business.
But then I wonder if people like Ophi would still think of me if my deeper thinking were easily extractable from ChatGPT.
Let’s put this into a little more context…
The world is shifting under our feet. (no $hit Sherlock!)
But it’s shifting really fast.
Job security is eroding from all industries.
Entire teams are being laid off with no warning.
People who did “everything right” are suddenly in defensive mode, trying not to lose what they spent decades building and to explain “why what they do matters.”
I’ve seen it up close.
Some of my longtime TODAY Show friends -people who had been there for nearly 20 years -were laid off earlier this year. Award-winning storytellers (which is ironic given the WSJ article).
Gone overnight.
Job loyalty usually swings ONE way and I’m sorry your workplace is not your family.
In this environment, more and more people are being forced -sometimes painfully -into visibility. A lot of times before “They’re ready.” (sorry #notsorry to ALL of my clients and students:)
People who never planned to build a personal brand are suddenly taking LinkedIn courses, rewriting bios, getting on TikTok (Hey Carrie!), FLOCKING to MyStoryPro 😗 (come hither..)
It’s no surprise we’re seeing more content than ever.
And yet very little of it sticks.
Because as we know…output isn’t the same as impact.
And creating more doesn’t mean you’re creating something memorable.
We even have all the data to back that up.
The McKinsey State of AI report is a quiet warning that faster and more efficient isn’t necessarily the holy grail of business.
But having inherited my mom’s borderline-concerning optimism (even if bombs are going off around me or childhood houses are on fire (happened)), I’m going to leave you with this.
What makes someone memorable usually isn’t the polished version of their thinking. (AMEN TO THAT!!)
It’s the oddly specific parts.
The stories and perspectives that couldn’t be reverse-engineered because they only exist because you lived them.
The details that feel a little risky to say out loud.
That’s the work that takes time and why people don’t just find you – they think of you.
So as you head into 2026 -before you plan the content calendar, before you set the revenue goals -sit with this one question:
What do you want to be known for?
Not what sounds impressive or what fits neatly into your industry. But the one idea that, when someone sees it out in the world, they say,
“Oh -that’s so you.”
Because after almost a DECADE (OMG I feel ancient) of working with founders and companies on storytelling, I’ve noticed something:
The people who survive career upheaval.
The ones who get opportunities without asking.
The ones who have articles sent to them with, “This made me think of you.”
They didn’t necessarily do more (although in the beginning there is a ramp up)… but they 100% got clearer.
They figured out what they wanted to be known for – and they owned it publicly.
And clarity, especially right now, is its own kind of security.
And since it’s still December, school is out, and we’re all a little feral, this feels like as good a moment as any to decide what you want to be remembered for in the New Year.
Even if you’re doing it from the floor. Rocking to be precise.
See you next week…
XO
Patrice
P.S. I’ve been thinking a lot about how much of our originality needs to happen before we ever open a prompt or a ChatGPT thread… More on that soon.
