Storytelling drives our world in information, entertainment, empathy, social media, and marketing venues. The narrative is the all-mighty for getting our attention. So when a story gets our attention, it gets us. We consume the information, and the tale has done its job.

But how do we feel about our personal and business stories consumed by the fleeting moments of time? How can we access our information, so they stay alive and feed our inspiration, motivation, entertainment, and information when we need these stories the most?

Here are five ways to keep your stories strong:

Turn off the “noise” , “the buzz” and the “online” feeding tube on a regular basis. You determine the time frame. Once a day during the week? Every evening? Every other evening? Once a month. Set it up so it’s a fun “spa” time for you. Immerse yourself in the quiet and embrace the “offline” sensation. Do your senses perk up?

2.  Update the Sunday Dinner and give it a fresh look by using meal time as a storytelling time. Invite your friends and family and give everyone a chance to tell their story. You can pick a theme or let people share whatever story they want to. Tell them you are also recording it, so these audio-oral history times our put in a designated folder ready to be listened to for future dates. This event could become a regular,  fun gathering for keepsake storytelling.

3.  Journaling. Make an entry every day or when you have a story to tell. Keep this journal as a useful reference by recording what you’ve written and keeping it in a special folder. Type up the important information in a document file and keep it in a special folder. Or make it a slideshow presentation and turn it into a movie.

4.  Draft ten questions that are important for you to know. Some of these questions might be: If  you were to die today, what would you leave behind? Would you be happy with that story? Do you feel successful? What does that mean to you? What hurdle have you just jumped over? What makes you the hero of your story?

5. Digitize your photo albums and make sure you document the picture and where you were at or who you were with or who the person is in the photo, so you don’t forget.

Our stories matter. Don’t let the internet gobble the stories we want to remember for the rest of our lives.