How far I want to take this mission
I want to push this as far as my ambition and my youth and energy allow me to go. For the work I choose today, that means caring about helping people gain the confidence to speak and amplifying what they have to say. Reaching everyone is an aspiration. What gives that ambition meaning is the real person whose message might otherwise go unheard.
By Eric Yim, Protocol Text
How big the ambition feels right now
When I think about helping amplify every single person's message in the entire world, that'd be pretty cool. Even imagining that happening in a year says something about how ambitious I feel right now. It doesn't describe a delivery timeline or what I can currently do.
The other side of that thought is harder. If I get to the end of my career, whenever I want to hang it up, and feel like I haven't told everyone's story, that sucks. I know that's an enormous standard. It expresses how much I care about the stories that never get heard.
Why I care about helping someone speak
When I was a kid, there were so many things I wanted to say, but I was always too afraid to say them. So I didn't say anything at all.
As I got older, I started seeing how much my words could actually impact someone. That changed how I thought about sharing. I think it's partially like our duty to share our message, because you never know how much your experiences or values could touch somebody else.
That's my belief, not an obligation I'm putting on somebody else. There's something really cool about being part of helping someone gain the confidence to speak. It matters to me because I remember wanting to speak and holding back.
What an unheard story can mean for a service business
That concern helps explain my motivation for the marketing work at Protocol Text in Lincoln, Nebraska. I think it's really important to let people know what services exist and what solutions are out there.
The example I come back to is a neighbor who could have the perfect solution for someone. If that neighbor feels intimidated about speaking, the person looking for help might never hear about them. They might choose somebody else because they don't have time to keep looking.
I think that's unfair for the neighbor. It also leaves the customer making a choice without knowing about an option that could have mattered. That's a hypothetical example, but it explains why I care. A useful message can give someone enough information to consider a business they would otherwise miss. It can't guarantee that business will be chosen.
How I think about scale without losing the person
Wanting to help more people raises a question I need to take seriously: how do you amplify more stories while still understanding the person behind each one?
My starting point would be to understand what that person wants someone to know. For a service owner, that might mean explaining an overlooked service or why a particular part of the work matters to them. Those are possible directions, not accounts of projects I've completed.
A common format could help organize that explanation. But I'd want the owner's actual words and priorities to guide what goes into it. If every story ends up saying the same thing, the person I wanted to help becomes harder to see.
What I can choose now
I don't know if I'll have this ambition for years. I'm very ambitious right now, but you never know. I think I have the skills to tackle this problem, and I want to put that energy toward helping people be heard.
For a service owner considering my approach, that explains my motivation. A specific project still needs a concrete conversation about the work and expectations. A broad mission doesn't settle those details. What I can choose now is to take someone's message seriously and pursue work where that purpose fits.
Questions about sharing your story and finding a fit
Do I have to share my whole personal story to work on my message?
No. A useful starting point is choosing details that help someone understand your work and that you're comfortable sharing. You can leave unrelated experiences out. Before developing public content, define what stays private and what you're willing to include. Having a message doesn't require making your whole life public.
What if my values differ from Eric's?
This article explains why I care about this work; it doesn't ask you to agree with every belief I have. For a potential project, we'd still need respectful understanding and a clear fit. Discussing the message you want to communicate can help establish whether that fit exists.
Can a focused business need fit within a broad storytelling mission?
Yes, in principle. A focused need, such as explaining one service more clearly, can belong within a larger purpose of helping people be heard. But we'd need to discuss the scope concretely. My mission statement alone doesn't define a service commitment, deliverables, timing, or expected results.