What if everything you know, and the skills you’ve mastered to apply it, suddenly no longer mattered?
Not because they were wrong. But because the world around you stopped valuing them.
This is not a distant scenario.
It’s here. AI is already reshuffling what counts as expertise, what earns trust, and what gets rewarded.
The real question isn’t how do you protect what you’ve built?
It’s are you willing to take it apart?
NOW: The Courage to Unassemble
Most of us cling to the story we’ve been telling.
Our education. Our roles.
Our industry credentials. Our hard-won expertise.
But what happens when those stories stop opening doors?
The brave move isn’t to defend them harder.
It’s to unassemble them.
Pull them apart piece by piece.
Think of each piece as a “fragment”.
Name your fragments: skills, instincts, biases, and beliefs.
Expose them to the light.
And ask: which ones still serve me, and which ones don’t?
This is the work most people avoid. But without it, you risk becoming fluent in a language no one speaks anymore.
Ask yourself:
~ Which part of my story am I most afraid to let go of?
~ What skill or belief do I defend out of habit, not truth?
~ If I had to take myself apart, what fragments would remain?
NEW: The Power of Reassembly
The opportunity isn’t in the tearing down.
It’s in the reassembling.
This is where ShiftStory™ comes in.
Because fragments are not failures or successes, they’re the atomic components for your future story.
You can reconfigure them. Reframe them. Remix them.
What looks obsolete in one context can be revolutionary in another.
That’s how reinvention works, not by replacing yourself, but by rearranging what you already carry.
Ask yourself:
~ Which fragments of my story deserve a new role?
~ What would my narrative look like if I emphasized resonance over résumé?
~ How can I reassemble in a way that makes me indispensable in what’s coming next?
NEXT: The Future Belongs to the Reassembled
In the next year, the gap between those who cling and those who reassemble will widen.
Some will double down on the old story.
Others will break themselves open and emerge coherent, relevant, alive.
The Act of Becoming isn’t about adding more.
It’s about having the courage to disassemble what no longer fits
and to reassemble into a narrative built for the world that’s coming, not the world that’s gone.
THE PAYOFF: A Call to Reassembly
In the Now, we face the courage of unassembly.
In the New, we experiment with reassembly.
In the Next, we own the mosaic we’ve created.
So here’s your challenge:
Within the next 12 months, take yourself apart.
Name your fragments.
Discard what no longer serves you.
Reassemble with intention.
Because in a reshuffled world, the most valuable currency isn’t what you know.
It’s what you’re willing to unlearn and become.
"Each wave washes a part of us away and deposits treasures we never imagined. Out goes naivete, in comes wisdom; out goes anger, in comes discernment; out goes confusion, in comes clarity. Every time you allow the tides of life to unbundle you, you also get a chance to rebundle with newfound strength."
— Martha Beck
Your Call to Action
The act of Unassembling and Reassembling requires:
A mirror.
And a map.
ShiftStory™ is both.
If you’re ready to stop editing yourself into old containers,
And start composing your story like the mosaic it is.
Not to reinvent. But to reassemble.
Learn more about the ShiftStory Pilgrimage and sign up here: https://shiftstory.co/
Given the intimate nature of this work, I will only be accepting four (4) new clients for the remainder of 2025. I am pleased by the response and am excited by the impact this approach is having thus far.
I’m Tobin Trevarthen. I am a Narratologist. I am a fusion of coach, mentor, and practitioner. My purpose is to enable you to shift your story from who you are to who you are becoming. Welcome to ShiftStory™.
ShiftStory™ is my evolved idea for building narrative agency in a rapidly changing world, where yesterday’s containers and approaches are no longer valid. I fundamentally believe we are entering a new Renaissance, and owning your story will become more paramount than ever before.
My ShiftStory™ is an intentional evolution: I am building a company and a life where relationships are consciously cultivated through reciprocity. Every connection is formed with purpose, and every decision is guided by mutual support and shared value.
My narrative is not just for those I serve; it is the story I am choosing to live, moving away from the pursuit of scale and toward a future defined by meaningful, reciprocal relationships.
Follow me on LinkedIn. DM at tobin@spatialshift.com or sign up for the ShiftStory™ here: https://shiftstory.co/