Meg Bowles > Quotes

“Honesty and empathy do not flourish in the expectation of perfection. —MEG BOWLES”
― Meg Bowles, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth

“Sometimes you have to figure out who you’re not before you can become who you are.”
― Meg Bowles, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth

“Follow your passions, but be prepared to brace for impact.”
― Meg Bowles, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth

“In his story “Have You Met Him Yet?,” former White House staffer David Litt has the simple task of handing over headphones…to President Barack Obama. I reached into my pocket and pulled out what looks like a hairball made out of wires. I don’t know what’s happened. I guess somewhere in that waiting room, I have just worried this thing into a hopeless tangle. And now I don’t know what to do, so I just hand the entire thing to the president of the United States. Now, if you work in the White House, you will hear the phrase “There is no commodity on earth more valuable than a president’s time,” which I always thought was a cliché. Until…I watched Barack Obama…untangle headphones…for thirty seconds…while looking directly at me.”
― Meg Bowles, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth

“Scheherazade’s thousand and one tales. There are plenty of books”
― Meg Bowles, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth

“You have important stories to tell. They are stories that no one else can tell. But you have to be willing to do the work of developing them—and then work through your fears to share them.”
― Meg Bowles, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth

“I was there because I believe in the supreme power of storytelling. It’s been the one through line in all my work. It’s really the only superpower we humans have. Think about it. The cheetah is faster, the elephant stronger, the eagle can soar much higher than any Olympic pole vaulter. Storytelling is the best thing about being human. And I believe it can change the world. That’s right. Stories can and do change the world.”
― Meg Bowles, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth

“I woke up with the line “Sometimes you have to figure out who you’re not before you can become who you are.” When I tried this line at the”
― Meg Bowles, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth

“Storytelling is sacred; it is how we keep the dead living, and the living thriving. It’s how we show up as our most authentic self. It can permeate artificial boundaries of race, borders, gender, language, and unequal power. It is the language of the heart, reflecting the breadth of our humanity as individuals and as a collective. —FATOU WURIE, MOTH STORYTELLER”
― Meg Bowles, How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth