The Circle of Life

Every Tuesday, The Productive Disruptive delivers storytelling science, message makeovers, cultural commentary, and a little rebellious hope for anyone still stubborn enough to believe communication can change the world.

Author

Dorian Johnson
September 23, 2025

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We love when something’s relatable.

My best friend and I literally send each other horoscope memes every day. Her “Cancer” ones? Always spot on. My “Aries” ones? Not as much, but I still eat it up.

That’s the power of relatability. Even when it’s not perfect, it feels familiar enough to make you lean in.

Now, what if our work could land like that?

it can!

The secret? Tapping into patterns people already know.

Use the Circle of Life archetype

We all instantly recognize these stages:

  • Child → playful and innocent, but also frail and naive.

  • Adult → adventurous and clever, but also rebellious and cynical.

  • Parent → wise and supportive, but perhaps overbearing, dominant, judgmental.

And it doesn’t have to mean literal humans.
A new idea is a Child.
A seasoned program that went through growing pains and is now sustainable? Adult.
A funder setting rules for everyone else? Parent.

It works because we’ve all lived these roles, or at least peeped them. You don’t have to explain the dynamics. The audience already knows what a Child, an Adult, and a Parent are like. That’s instant story fuel.

🧠 Story Science Side Note: Psychologists call this schema theory. Our brains love shortcuts(for better or for worse). When you frame your idea as a Child, Adult, or Parent, your audience’s brain does less heavy lifting.

📝 Message Makeover:

Universal life stages? I do like them, and unless Benjamin Button is real, how we age is gon be how we age.

I would make over that term to life lenses.

Because that’s what archetypes really are. You’re giving them a lens to see their work through.

🛠️ The PHacilitator’s Corner:

Try this:
Pick something you’re working on. Label it Child, Adult, or Parent.

  • Launching a new workshop? Child.

  • Running a practice that’s weathered ups and downs? Adult.

  • Guiding a mentorship program? Parent.

Now tell a 3-sentence story about it from that stage’s perspective. You’ll be surprised how much faster people get it because you handed them a life lens they already know.

A quick way to make stories more relatable? Plug into patterns our brains already know.

And hey, if a horoscope meme can make me feel seen (same format, different situations, every time)… imagine what your story can do when you use the right lens.

bye-bye-bye (bye-bye)

PS: Did you see my recent child Story Sauce?

It’s very starter kit.. Here’s a quick peek inside.

It’s a 10-page eBook that reads very quickly and gives you some tools you can apply in your very next story.

If you’re interested, check it out!

How’d I do?