PART 1

THE ROLE OF OPPORTUNITY-BASED NARRATIVES

This book has three parts, one for each of the pillars of positive emotion. In the first, we will explore narratives and how they can become a powerful catalyst to help us move beyond fear. I use the word narrative to mean something different from what most people think of when they hear it, so I will begin by clarifying the term and explaining why narrative in the sense I describe can be so powerful.

The rest of this part focuses on specific levels of narratives. Chapter 2 is about our personal narratives, which provide us with motivation to act. Chapter 3 discusses institutional narratives—the narratives that all institutions have and that represent a call to action they issue to their stakeholders and customers. Chapter 4 ventures up to a higher level and investigates geographical narratives. Chapter 5 looks at the role that movement-based narratives have played in mobilizing people to come together to achieve significant change. Finally, in Chapter 6, I make the case that we will be most successful in overcoming fear and achieving impact when our narratives at every level are aligned.