Skip to content

Life looks fine from the outside.

But inside, something feels wrong. You’ve been going through the motions, but it leaves you feeling empty and disconnected. You don’t know what you want anymore—but you know this isn’t it.

A New Way to Navigate Change

Most self-help advice tells you to follow steps or stick to someone else’s system.

That’s not what we do here. At The Next Story Project, we use the Signal Decoder System—a way of noticing and interpreting the signals life is giving you, testing your conclusions with small next steps, and gathering the evidence you need to see which direction is truly calling to you.

Your Next Story Starts Here

I Know This Path Because I’ve Walked It

I’m Colleen M. Story, award-winning author of ten books, symphony musician, German-shepherd lover, and guide for people at the crossroads of change.

I know what it feels like to reinvent yourself—more than once. I’ve gone from band director to corporate copywriter to freelance writer, and eventually to author, speaker, and coach.

I’ve navigated shifts in relationships, moving from single to married to divorced to happily solo. I’ve worked for others and built a business of my own. Each turn has demanded that I listen more closely to myself and find the courage to follow where that inner voice was leading.

The Next Story Project is the system I created to help you do the same—listen, decode, and build a life that fits who you’re becoming.

  • Fear or INtuition

    Is It Fear or Intuition?

    If you’re trying to figure out if what you’re feeling is fear or intuition, it can feel maddening in the moment, because both can show up at the exact same crossroads. In this post, I want to give you a simple one-minute test to check so you can stop second-guessing

  • New Identity

    Your Old Identity Has Expired. Now What?

    Are you wondering if your old identity has expired? If you’re still working harder than ever to make your life the way you want it, and getting half the results you used to, it could be that you’re trying to live a new chapter of your life while you’re still

  • Life Signals

    How to Recognize Your Life Signals

    If you’ve ever wondered whether something was a sign or just random life noise, you’re already in the territory of life signals. Maybe you feel a pull, or you see something that lands a little too sharply, and then your brain jumps in with, “Oh, please, don’t be dramatic.” If

  • Do more with your life

    Feeling You Should Be Doing More With Life

    If you’ve ever thought, I should be doing more with my life, you’re not alone. And when you think about that, you think, well, gosh, I’m already doing a lot. Maybe you have a job, family, and caretaking responsibilities. Maybe you’re involved in the community. It’s not like you’re not

  • Big life decisions

    When a Big Life Decision Feels Like a Final Exam

    Have you ever noticed how choosing how making a big life decision can suddenly feel overwhelming? Like this isn’t just a decision, it’s the decision. The one where if you choose correctly, everything will finally settle into place and your life will be perfect. But if you don’t, well, that

View All

Need a Speaker for Your Event?


Keynote | Conferences | Workshops
Topics include: navigating life transitions, decoding your inner signals, building confidence through small steps, rediscovering your direction, trusting your inner compass, and more!

2026