Most people spend their whole lives reacting to the world. Self-authoring is the practice of stepping back, reading your own story clearly, and deciding — for the first time — who you actually are and where you're going.
How this works: You'll move through 6 chapters of guided questions. Take your time — there's no rush. When you're done, we'll generate a powerful AI prompt that takes everything you've written and reflects your complete, cohesive story back to you. This is for you, not a resume.
Your journey0% complete
Your 6 chapters
Each chapter is a different lens on your life. Answer honestly — this is private, and the more real you are, the more powerful your story will be.
1
The Foundation — Who Are You?
Chapter 1 of 6
Before you begin: There are no right answers here. You are not writing for anyone else. You are not trying to be impressive. You are trying to be honest. That's the only requirement.
Question 1.1
How would you describe yourself to someone who has never met you — not what you do, but who you are?
Go beyond job titles and roles. What do people who know you well say about you? What do you value most deeply? What kind of person do you try to be?
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Question 1.2
What are the 3–5 values that guide your life — and where did they come from?
Think about what you refuse to compromise on. What makes you angry when you see it violated in the world? What do you respect most in others?
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Question 1.3
What do most people misunderstand about you?
What do people get wrong at first? What do they see on the surface that doesn't capture who you really are? What takes time for people to see in you?
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2
Your Past — The Experiences That Shaped You
Chapter 2 of 6
On this chapter: Your past is not who you are — but it is where you came from. Understanding it clearly is one of the most powerful things you can do. You don't have to share anything you're not ready for, but the more honest you are, the more useful this becomes.
Question 2.1
Describe your childhood environment. What was your home like — emotionally, not just physically?
Was it stable or unpredictable? Warm or cold? Did you feel safe? Seen? What was the unspoken culture of your household? What rules were never stated but always understood?
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Question 2.2
What is the most formative positive experience of your life — the moment or season that most helped you become who you are?
This might be a relationship, a challenge you overcame, an achievement, a place, a mentor. Describe it in detail. What happened? What changed in you because of it?
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Question 2.3
What is the most formative painful experience of your life — the wound or difficulty that most shaped who you became?
You don't have to name it if it's too raw. But try to describe what happened, how it affected you, and — if you can see it — what it made possible or gave you that you wouldn't have had otherwise.
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Question 2.4
What beliefs about yourself did you pick up from your past — and which ones do you think are actually true?
e.g. "I'm not smart enough," "I have to earn love," "I'm destined for more than this," "People can't be trusted." Where did these come from? Which ones have you outgrown?
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3
Your Strengths & Struggles
Chapter 3 of 6
On this chapter: Real self-knowledge requires you to look at both sides clearly — not the curated version you show LinkedIn, and not the self-critical story you tell yourself at 2am. Both are distorted. The truth is somewhere in between, and usually more interesting than either.
Question 3.1
What are you genuinely great at — not what you're trained to say, but what actually comes naturally and effortlessly to you?
Think about what people always come to you for. What tasks feel like play when they feel like work to others? What have you been told you make look easy?
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Question 3.2
What do you struggle with most — not situationally, but as a pattern in your life?
What does your recurring struggle look like? The same conflict that shows up in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself? Be specific — patterns are more useful than general labels.
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Question 3.3
Where do you consistently self-sabotage — and what do you think is underneath it?
Self-sabotage is usually protection from something. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being seen. What do you protect yourself from by staying stuck?
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Question 3.4
What feedback have you received repeatedly throughout your life — both positive and critical?
What do people always say about you? What have bosses, coaches, teachers, or loved ones consistently pointed out — the praise that keeps coming up and the critique that follows you?
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4
Work & Purpose — What Drives You
Chapter 4 of 6
On this chapter: Most people separate "work" and "meaning." But the best careers don't feel like a trade — they feel like an extension of who you are. This chapter is about finding the thread that connects what you do to why you're here.
Question 4.1
Describe the moment in your professional or personal life when you felt most alive — completely absorbed, energized, and in your element. What were you doing?
Think beyond peak performance — this is about when work felt effortless and meaningful at the same time. What was the context? Who were you with? What was the impact you were having?
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Question 4.2
What kind of work drains you — even when you're technically good at it?
Being competent at something is not the same as being built for it. What work have you done that was fine on the surface but left you hollow? What were you doing when you watched the clock?
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Question 4.3
What problem in the world — or in people's lives — do you find yourself most drawn to solving?
What makes you angry when you see it not being addressed? What do you notice that others walk past? What would you fix if you had the resources and freedom to try?
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Question 4.4
If you could not fail and money wasn't a factor — what would you spend the next 10 years building or doing?
Don't filter this. The thing you dismiss as "not realistic" is usually the most important data point in this whole exercise. Write it without editing it.
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5
Relationships & Environment
Chapter 5 of 6
On this chapter: You cannot understand yourself in isolation. Who you are is partly defined by who you're with, how you love, how you fight, and what kind of environment makes you come alive versus shut down. This chapter goes there.
Question 5.1
Who has influenced you most in your life — and what specifically did they give you?
This could be a parent, coach, friend, mentor, or even someone you've never met. What did they model? What did they see in you? What did you inherit from them — good or difficult?
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Question 5.2
What patterns do you notice in your closest relationships — romantic, family, or friendship?
What kinds of people do you gravitate toward? What roles do you tend to play? Where do your most recurring conflicts show up? What do the people closest to you say you need to work on?
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Question 5.3
Describe the environment where you do your best work and live your best life.
Not aspirational — actual. When have you been most yourself? What did the environment look, feel, and sound like? Fast or slow? Solo or team? Structure or freedom? City or quiet?
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6
Your Future — The Life You Are Building
Chapter 6 of 6
Final chapter: This is where you stop looking back and start looking forward — with everything you now know about yourself. This isn't about goals or 5-year plans. It's about articulating the kind of person you are becoming and the life that would make your whole story make sense.
Question 6.1
Who do you want to become? Not what you want to achieve — who do you want to be?
Think about character, not accomplishments. What qualities do you want to have fully integrated by the end of your life? What would your best self look like on an ordinary Tuesday?
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Question 6.2
What would your life look like in 10 years if everything went the way you most deeply hope — not the safe version, the real version?
Describe it concretely. Who are you with? What are you building? What are you known for? What is your relationship with work, with people, with yourself? How do you feel?
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Question 6.3
What is the one thing — if you did not do it — you would most regret at the end of your life?
Not a bucket list item. Something that is uniquely yours to do. Something that, if you left it undone, would mean you didn't fully show up to your own life.
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Question 6.4
What do you most want to be remembered for?
Forget titles and accomplishments — what do you want the people who loved you most to say about you when you're gone? What is the mark you want to leave?
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Your story is ready.
You've done the hard work. Below is your complete AI prompt — built from everything you've written. Copy it into any AI and it will reflect your full, cohesive story back to you.
Step 1: Copy the promptStep 2: Open an AIStep 3: Paste & receive your story
How to use this prompt
1
Copy the full prompt below — use the "Copy to clipboard" button to grab everything at once.
2
Open one of the AI tools below — Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini all work. Claude gives the most nuanced narrative responses.
3
Paste the prompt and send it. The AI will read your full story and reflect back a cohesive narrative — who you are, what drives you, what your patterns mean, and what your future could look like.
4
Keep the conversation going. Ask follow-up questions. Ask it to go deeper on a specific chapter. Ask it what it notices that you might have missed. This is a dialogue, not a one-time output.
Based on everything you wrote, these are the five values that run most consistently through your story. They are yours — not aspirational, but already present in how you live, what you protect, and what you can't stop caring about.
These values were drawn from your answers. They are a starting point — refine them, challenge them, or use them as-is. Copy them into the AI prompt below and ask it to go deeper on any one of them.
Your complete self-authoring prompt
Copy this entire prompt into your AI of choice
What to do after you get your story
Once the AI reflects your story back to you, here are powerful follow-up prompts you can use to go even deeper:
This self-authoring program is inspired by identity-development and narrative psychology methodologies. It is a personal reflection tool for educational purposes only — not a clinical, therapeutic, or professional assessment. If you are working through significant trauma, please do so with a licensed professional. To go deeper on these ideas in person, join Hunter at the Transform Today · Thrive Tomorrow seminar on September 15 in Trabuco Canyon, CA.
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