31 Oct My (Not So) Secret Love

How a nerdy girl found her secret love … and calling

Written by Daniela Cavalletti

5 min read

Hands up: have you ever had a crazy, impossible crush on someone? Been madly in love? Felt those bunches of butterflies in your stomach, … paired with a pounding heart and sweaty palms?

I bet you have! Perhaps it was with David or Tina back in primary school – or maybe it happened just last week.

Picture This, and Feel

Let me take you back there for a moment.

In your mind’s eye, … imagine what your love or crush looks like.
Picture that quirky thing they always do.
Hear their voice, … listen to what they say.
See and hear how they laugh.
Feel their touch.

Feel the sheer excitement of being around them.

They might have some rough edges – but to you they’re absolutely perfect.

My (Not So) Secret Love

The way you feel now? I feel that way when I’m writing.

To me, writing is a bit like having a passionate love affair … that feeling of simultaneous excitement, calm and happiness.

It’s exhilarating to tell stories that are remembered. I love how a story unfolds and comes alive – if you take the time to dig deep and really get to know something or someone.

All good writing is based on feeling and understanding. It takes authenticity, empathy and curiosity to write what’s worthwhile reading.

Connected Writing: Synch Your Head and Heart

You might think right now that this all sounds lovely, but has a place only in fiction writing, in novels.

You’d be wrong, though.

I can tell you from experience (and science backs me up on that) that this connected writing – storytelling from both the head and the heart; with structure and flow matched with feeling and understanding – works equally well in marketing and business writing.

Why? Because at the end of the day all of us, – writers, readers, clients, suppliers, CEOs and employees – we are all just people. We are humans with the same basic cravings for connection, love, safety and belonging.

We all feel. And we feel before we think.

I never tire of seeing the power of words carefully chosen and stories well told. In business, the powerful way of talking about a company’s’ uniqueness in a relevant and memorable way will attract new prospects; prospects who feel they have met their perfect match.

How an Asterix Comic Changed My Life

Let me tell you a story … about a little girl who was enchanted by words.

I grew up in Germany, raised by my German mum and my Italian dad. My adventurous young Papa had travelled through Europe to perfect his skills in his chosen profession when he met my Mama in Northern Germany. He never left and they got married.

Now my dad had to really learn German, and quickly!

If you ever tried your hands at a new language (and before the time of video tutorials on the internet and 7 million channels on Foxtel) you might remember that reading comics is a great and fun way to get results fast.

My Papa loved the Asterix comics, and now he bought them in German.

So, fast-forward a few years and one day (and I remember it so clearly) I was lying on the “Persian” rug in our hallway. On my belly, legs kicking the air in a happy rhythm, flicking through the Asterix comic “Der Kampf der Häuptlinge”(“Asterix + The Big Fight“). My mum was next door in the kitchen, humming quietly to herself as she was helping my dad prepare dinner.

Goodness, I LOVED that comic. It started to fall apart because I’d been flicking through it so much.

Suddenly, you could hear a little voice spell out the title: “Dddd … Der … Kkkk … Kampf… der … Hhhhäupppp ..Häuptlinge!”.

I was proud as punch! I’ve finally been READING!!

What followed was a mighty clattering and cursing coming from our kitchen as my mum dropped a plate, and my dad swore colourfully in Italian as said plate hit his big toe.

They came into the hall, starting at me wide-eyed.

The Girl With The Pigtails Finds Her Calling

Why did I tell you this story? Because my lifelong love for language, reading and writing was born then.

My parents were so shocked because their pig-tailed, precocious 3.5-year-old had actually not yet ‘learned’ to read – but had somehow taught herself.

I’ve always been asking questions from the moment I could talk (to the occasional annoyance of my parents, no doubt). I was curious about the connection between things and people, images and words.

It was a world of wonder that I wanted to be part of.

And that hasn’t changed to this day.

A Magical Way of Living

That curious girl with pigtails that asks oh-so-many-questions and has a fierce love for stories, people and words – she wrote this piece you’re reading now.

Once you fall in love with words – with asking, probing, thinking; with reading and writing –, once you fall in love with stories, there’s no turning back.

I’ve indulged that love by tutoring fellow students, travelling many countries to be surrounded by and dabbling in different languages. And I built my business to live and pass on that love for words. I want to:

Create powerful stories that connect people and ideas.
Inspire discussion, thinking, wonder and excitement.
Discover new viewpoints, meaning and also common ground.

It’s a magical way of living. And I feel lucky.

To me, it’s a beautiful way of connecting – with myself and with others. A way to make myself vulnerable, and open up to creativity, ideas, and a world that’s full of stories in the tiniest moments, if only we dare look close enough.

So here’s to love – to yours, to mine.

Here’s to all our stories.