Leadership and storytelling truly go hand in hand: narratives and metaphors are ways in which leaders can demonstrate authenticity, share complex ideas and concepts and connect with their teams. The opportunity to go deeper into how stories can inspire, motivate and create lasting change allowed me to practice my writing and speaking skills. This course was far more casual than most other courses I have taken. We would meet regularly for “fire side chats” and explore the power that storytelling can have for leaders. Over the course, we wrote four short stories. I am proud of each of them, but one stands out as unique even among gems. Included as my artifact for this course, my “future story” is a “choose your own adventure style” story that has a few different paths to follow based on the choices of the reader. This is a story that I wrote first for myself: the underlying message is that regardless of the paths I choose and the unexpected turns along the way, I know where I want to get to by the end. Having a clear vision and philosophy to guide me, the story is a way to tell myself (and others) that while the journey may be unexpected, if you allow your values, philosophies and personal mission statement to guide you, eventually you will find your way to the desired goal. At the time of the course and writing the story, I was in a transitional phase of leaving the military after 20 years – the only life I have know as an adult – and facing what seemed like endless possibilities for life “after the uniform”. Writing the story gave me a sense of comfort, but also provided a perspective to share with others I have mentored since going through similar life changes. The power of stories to uncover our emotions and give us clarity of vision was the biggest take away from this course, and informed a large portion of my capstone project.