The Origin Story
A One-Hour Contemplative Discovery
Imagine sitting in stillness and having your own wisdom rise to meet you
What if the story shaping your life has been waiting—in silence—for you to find it? All you need is your willingness to turn inward and listen.
This one-hour guided contemplation is designed for those who want to discover the why behind what they value most. This experience focuses on uncovering the moments that have made you who you are.
In this session, you’ll be gently guided through a contemplative practice that helps you trace one of your core values back to its source. Why do you care so deeply about honesty? Or freedom? Or beauty? There’s a story—perhaps a moment, a person, or an experience—that planted that seed. Together, we will find it.
You’ll leave with:
- Clarity about one core value and the story behind it—the “aha” moment of understanding why you are the way you are
- A simple framework you can use again and again to explore other values on your own (you’ll have everything you need to become your own guide)
- A felt sense of your own wisdom—because you discovered it yourself
- Optional: A brief written note or voice memo that holds the treasure of what you’ve discovered
Join me in discovering the power behind your stories
your guide
April Bell
I am the founder at Tree of Life Legacies, a storytelling and wisdom-keeping project based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 2008 I’ve been helping people find and tell the origin stories behind their values, often on video. I am co-creator of StoryCatcher® for iPhone.
What’s your story?
Wisdom Story Alchemist
Your wisdom lives inside your stories!
Most people carry decades of lived experience without ever stopping to ask: What do my stories actually reveal about who I am?
I help people answer that question. I’ve spent nearly two decades guiding people across all walks of life—corporate leaders, community elders, young professionals, seasoned creatives—through my process of uncovering the origin stories behind their deepest-held values. This isn’t memoir or journaling, and you don’t need to be a writer to do it. It’s something more fundamental: a way of mining your own life for the wisdom you didn’t know you’d already earned.
My approach, rooted in values-based personal storytelling, gives people a foundation to stand upon in their careers, their relationships, and their sense of self. When you know why you believe what you believe, traced back to the real moments that shaped you, everything else gets clearer: how you lead, how you connect, how you show up.
And in a time when so much pulls us apart, I’ve seen firsthand that sharing our authentic, heartfelt stories is one of the most powerful ways to bring us back together.
I deliver this work through immersive workshops for organizations, leadership teams, and communities, and through my book My Life in Paragraphs: Find and Tell Your Stories. In 2013, my commitment to putting storytelling tools directly in people’s hands led me to co-create StoryCatcher® for iPhone—a video storytelling app built on the principle that your stories belong to you (zero data collection, ever). StoryCatcher® and my broader work have been featured in The New York Times, WIRED, USA Today, and Fox News.
April Bell
I am the founder at Tree of Life Legacies, a storytelling and wisdom-keeping project based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 2008 I’ve been helping people find and tell the origin stories behind their values, often on video.
As a child, I spent my days listening to stories from which ever elder-neighbor would have me. More recently, I’ve crafted my story-mining process into book form with My Life in Paragraphs: Find and Tell Your Stories. As my storytelling focus lends toward the spoken word, people daunted by writing love my approach. I am co-creator of StoryCatcher® for iPhone.
What’s your story?
What’s included:
This workshop uses heart-centered contemplation and thought-provoking prompts to help you access memories and insights.
If writing isn’t your thing—or even if it is—this approach offers a pathway to discovery rooted in your inner wisdom. We’re excavating the foundation—the story beneath all your stories.
For Reluctant Storytellers and Seasoned Wisdom-Keepers
Perfect for you if:
- You think “I’m not a writer,” but you know your life has shaped you in important ways.
- You’re in transition and wish to reconnect to what truly matters to you.
- You want to understand yourself better, but journaling feels forced or overwhelming.
- You’re curious about values-based storytelling and want to experience it before diving into deeper work.
Not for you if:
- You’re looking for writing instruction or feedback.
- You prefer action over contemplation.
- You’re not willing to sit in silence or turn inward.
If you’re ready to stop searching outside yourself for answers and start listening to the wisdom you already carry, join me for one focused hour. Let’s find the story that has been shaping you all along.
Join me for this illuminating workshop
Whether you’re joining as an individual, with a close-knit group of friends, or as part of a larger community, this workshop empowers you to harness the transformative power of personal storytelling. Together, we’ll explore how your unique narrative can inspire, connect, and even lead with impact. Your story matters—let’s give it the voice it deserves.
Testimonials
What participants are saying…
“April’s process gives you permission to play with your story in a safe environment. She has a magical way of prompting that guides you deeper and deeper and deeper into your story until you’re face to face with the values you hold most dear.” —Dan Senter
Steve Alparone
- ★★★★★
Hearing story examples of what’s been important to other people helped me go further in my own thinking about what I want to tell.”
Dan Senter
- ★★★★★
The real gift in this process is you think you’re simply telling a story, and then suddenly you’re standing on the frontier of your own values set. That’s when you realize, “This story matters to me because these things matter to me!”
Carolyn Goto
- ★★★★★
The questions prompted me to see what I learned, what my values were and how I grew.