Creativity, Connection, and Change—NLP Story Coach, Savannah Lani

Storytelling is an ancient art, yet its power continues to shape how we understand ourselves and connect with the world. Savannah Lani, a gifted story coach and NLP practitioner, is committed to helping individuals and businesses uncover the narratives that define them. In this conversation, Savannah shares her unique approach to storytelling, the transformative impact of rewriting old narratives, and the rituals that fuel her creativity. From uncovering "threads" in origin stories to embracing the intersection of art and commerce, her insights are both practical and personal. Join us as Savannah reflects on the magic of storytelling, the complexities of identity, and her vision for cultivating creativity and community in the year ahead.

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity

MUDRA LOVE: As a story coach, you guide companies in developing their brand identity by helping them uncover their origin story. Could you share more about how you approach this process?

SAVANNAH LANI: Everyone has an origin story, but often they’re so immersed in it—their life and business—that it’s hard to see the bigger picture. My approach is to uncover the “thread”: the common thread that has shaped their choices and led to the life and business they’ve built.

Through thoughtful questions and deep, reflective listening, I help identify this thread and reflect their story back to them.

ML: A pivotal story in a business owner's life often becomes the driving force behind starting their business and continues to shape their brand. Do your clients or other business owners you know recognize this connection? If so, to what extent?

SL: It depends. Some clients come to me aware they have a story but unsure how to untangle it. Others seek help with specific tasks like updating website copy or posting on social media.

My clients are asking questions like, “What’s my unique value proposition?” “How do I clarify what I do?” and “How do I ‘market’ myself?”

Through our work, this notion of “marketing yourself”—which can feel inauthentic or disconnected—naturally shifts. My clients find a sense of groundedness, not just in their marketing but in how they communicate their value to the world. It evolves from I am marketing myself to I am speaking my truth, creating a trust that the right audience will resonate with their message.

There’s also a focus, now, so they can effectively act on marketing strategies free from the resistance, the “ickiness” of “selling.”

ML: Beyond identifying origin stories, you also help clients rewrite or reshape them. How do you guide clients through working on stories they struggle with or dislike?

SL: NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) has profoundly transformed my life and the lives of my clients. In NLP, the phrase “The map is not the territory” reminds us that everyone holds a unique “map” of the world. Reality doesn’t always match these maps, so we create stories to make sense of it all.

When you think of these maps as “stories,” it becomes clear that many of the narratives we carry—often formed before age five—are likely untrue. I help my clients distinguish belief from fact and truth from story, enabling them to live more intentionally in the present, reflect on the past, and envision the future.

The hardest part of changing an old story is recognizing it as just that—a story. We often accept these narratives as truths without questioning them. Naming them for what they are is the first step to rewriting them. 

From this place of empowerment, we go from reacting to responding, consuming to creating, from reader to writer of our lives.

ML: You’ve mentioned before that you didn’t like your own story. Can you share where you are now? What has helped you move past some of the negativity?

SL: My story was once rooted in regret—regret for choices made and not made, for the life that might have been. I was trapped in shame over my past and longing for an impossible future. What helped me heal was being seen—truly seen—by those who understood me, even when my stories distorted reality. To me, that’s the essence of coaching.

Life’s stories often only make sense in hindsight. We recognize our growth only when we look back and understand its purpose once we’ve moved through it. I overcame the negativity by holding onto an inner knowing that one day it would all make sense—and it did, when I chose to give my story a meaning that empowered me.

Coaching is about recognizing the possibility, wonder, struggles, and uniqueness of the person before you, sharing tools and skills you’ve practiced yourself until they can see their own power.

ML: Do you have any rituals or activities that fuel your creativity or support your process as a storyteller?

SL: Being in the ocean. Moving my body. Unplugging. When heavy moments come up, I take myself through NLP exercises and visualizations. One of the biggest shifts I’m currently working on is dropping the narrative that creation = production. It’s a difficult one to drop.

What fuels me is writing for the sake of writing, doing things without posting about them (and letting go of the sense that I should be sharing my life online)—breaking that connection between “content creation” and “creativity.” It’s about grace, too: giving myself grace when the creativity isn’t there, because it’s a sign that a more basic need (rest, comfort, nature) isn’t being met.

ML: Books played a significant role in your childhood, offering comfort and safety. Is this still the case? How has your relationship with books evolved over time?

SL: I see books as an opportunity to be enveloped in someone else’s creativity. They are still one of the most deeply powerful ways I get to expand my worldview and see things from new perspectives. Now that I think about it, my love of reading is probably why I possess such a strong empathy muscle. I’ve been stepping into other people’s stories since I was four years old! I just finished reading So Far from God by Ana Castillo—ugh, what a gorgeous and brutal book—and I’m still floored that I can go into such a vivid, colorful, and profound places by black-and-white words on a page.

ML: Writers sometimes feel excluded from the broader art scene and unsure whether to identify as artists or creatives. What are your thoughts on this?

SL: Writing is more difficult to consume than other mediums. It takes more effort than watching a movie or viewing a painting, and I’m coming to terms with that. My “art” isn’t going to always be as accessible.

I believe an artist is anyone who seeks to transform someone’s emotional, spiritual, or mental landscape.

ML: How do you see the intersection between art and commerce?

SL: Dicey. Fun. Confusing. Exciting.

I’m grappling with this one right now, especially with social media—the whole If a tree falls in a forest dilemma. I have all these ideas for essays and posts and creation, but when it comes time to share it, sometimes the energy falls flat and sometimes it comes through. I ask myself what my intentions are and check in with who I am being.

It’s a beautiful thing to have something you love have “value” in the marketplace. It’s also complex and sticky.

ML: What new ideas, practices, or concepts are you currently exploring that might shape your creativity or business? What’s next for you?

SL: I’m starting a writing group that I’m ridiculously excited about. It’ll be open to any kind of writer—professional or personal or otherwise—who wants a supportive community to write and create with. I’ve always loved The Moth, so I’m eventually going to add in quarterly in-person storytelling sessions, plus occasional “Creative Resets” where we get together to do something unrelated to writing, like painting, reading poetry we love, going for mindful walks … with no other agenda except to create for ourselves.

Expanding my NLP skillset and seeing how I can work with different populations is also on the horizon for 2025, learning what other trainings I need to serve people who are recovering from disordered eating or working on sobriety. There were so many people who helped me recover and choose sobriety—who held space for me to rewrite my story—and I’m excited to give back now that I’m so clear.

My "what was it all for?" is to become that person for someone else.

Those are my only two clear visions for the New Year. I’m playing with the idea that I can ease into growing my business rather than striving in it. “We make plans and the Universe laughs,” is another favorite quote of mine. It reminds me not to take myself too seriously.

I’m exploring what it’s like to hold close to my story yet also remain open to how it wants to unfold.