Capture and share your story

Turn your experience into a source of inspiration, connection, and purpose for your family, company, or as part of your next chapter.

A colorful, gradient background with the motivational phrase "Your Epic Ordinary Life" in bold, white letters.

Your life holds an epic tale.
Or several.
Most are never told.

This guided memoir journey is not about polishing your résumé or listing your best moments. It is an honest account that honors your reality.

Through a series of guided conversations, we help you articulate, craft, and share your story. We treat your memories with care, gather your intuitions and convictions, and, with you, create an authentic story you can tell to loved ones or colleagues.

Start a conversation

Give it as a gift

For loved ones who want to honor a parent, grandparent, or significant other.

Honor your loved one with an extraordinary experience.

Honor someone you love with an experience, not just an object.

We sit with them in real conversations—on Zoom or in person—to draw out their memories, turning points, and life lessons. In consultation with you, we handle the structure, writing, and design. They simply get to show up, tell their stories, and be deeply listened to.

What they receive is a priceless gift that is a bridge between generations—a story their children, grandchildren, and community can return to for the rest of their lives.

Bringing our experience to tell your life story

Jordan and Samir co-founded Epic Ordinary with an unwavering belief that every person has a powerful story—if only they take time to uncover it. We are patient guides who help people claim their epic and pass it on.

A smiling man with a beard and mustache, wearing a white shirt, against an orange background.

Jordan Soliday
Co-founder & story guide

MIT xPRO instructor, writing coach, and author of the forthcoming The Urgency of Slowing. Jordan lives in Boulder and helps people cultivate a non-anxious presence.

“Jordan thrives in coaching people from diverse global cultures and industries.” – Ed Crawley, Ford Professor of Engineering, MIT

Headshot of a smiling middle-aged man with gray hair and a beard, wearing a gray shirt against an orange background.

Samir Selmanović, Ph.D PCC
Co-founder & story guide

Executive coach, transition guide for experienced and new leaders, author, and ordained minister. Samir lives in NYC and sees himself and those he works with as ordinary mystics.

“Selmanović is a storyteller and he does have stories to tell.” – The New York Times

Silhouette of a man standing on a hill during sunset with the sun behind him and an orange sky.

Have a story to tell?

Our clients include:

Experienced leaders in succession, reinvention, or legacy building.

Emerging leaders facing a significant challenge or turning point.

Fathers, mothers, and elders who want to pass their love to the new generation.

People navigating major life events such as illness, relocation, and divorce who want clarity, meaning, and a way to speak to those they love.

Families and partners gifting a loved one with this legacy-building experience.

Our clients
work for

  • “I thought this would be a nice keepsake. Instead it became the clearest thing my children have about who I am.”

    Father, retired educator

  • “I felt safe sharing my story. A lot of respect and patience was shown in the process. It turned out exquisitely.”

    Erica Björkebäck
    Environmental Administrator, Jönköpings Kommun

  • “This moved me deeply and helped me see my history in a totally fresh light.”

    Sam Smith
    Executive Coach, This is the Changing Room

  • "My team read it and now understands what anchors our culture.”

    Founder, regional financial services firm

  • “I wasn’t seen as a project. I was treated as a unique individual.”

    Jacqueline Brito
    Assistant Dean, Crummer Graduate School of Business, Rollins College

  • "We laughed, cried, and learned things we never knew about my mom.”

    Daughter of client, multi-site healthcare group

  • “We had mission and metrics. Now we have an origin story every new leader reads in their first week.”

    Senior vice president, technology company

  • “It turned my scattered experiences into a coherent narrative I could use for my MBA, my startup, and my family.”

    Emerging leader, technology and social impact

The process

We are curators in service of you as the teller of your story. You speak; we listen, write, and edit. Together we finalize your manuscript and prepare and support you as you share your story in your world.

  • An individual is taking notes in a small notebook while interviewing a woman sitting on a chair, in a setting that appears to be an office or a waiting area.

    We listen to your life

    Four to six guided sessions with generative questions. Optional family or colleague interviews.

  • A person's hand holding a black pen over a piece of paper on a desk, with a blurred background.

    We craft your story

    An honest and honoring look at your life. Editing with you, not to you.

  • A man giving a presentation to a seated audience in a conference room with a large blank screen behind him.

    You embody your story

    A professionally designed memoir. Coaching to help you share your story in your way.

What you receive

Story sessions

Unhurried, guided conversations—on Zoom or in person—designed to draw out the chapters, turning points, and quiet moments that matter. We can also host optional family or colleague interviews.

A narrative in your voice

A potent, carefully crafted story that sounds like you: your language, your rhythm, your honesty. This becomes your core artifact—a manuscript you can read, share, or draw from in many ways.

Designed editions

We can create: a professionally formatted digital manuscript, beautifully designed printed editions, and leather-bound or other bespoke physical formats (by request).

Optional additions

For those who want to go further, we can include: poetry woven into the narrative, audio recording of your story read aloud, bespoke elements tailored to your context, and facilitated family or team ritual, reading, or event to “launch” your story.

Privacy and care

We treat your life with discretion and respect. Nothing is shared without your written permission. Audio and drafts are stored securely and handed off to you at completion. You remain in control of what is told, how it’s told, and who receives it.

Intentional cadence

3 to 6 weeks from the first interview to the finished manuscript. Printing/shipping adds 7-14 days. Expedited delivery on request.

Start a conversation

“Your story is your most powerful tool to effect change.”

Samir Selmanovic
Co-Founder & Story Guide, Epic Ordinary

Unfold change in the world

Your investment writes more than your own story. It funds the time, travel, and craft this work deserves. When you choose Your Epic Ordinary Life, you also seed our scholarship fund to bring others’ untold, world-shaping stories to light.

Investment

Packages range from USD 4,000 to USD 16,000, depending on scope, length, and format. Corporate and organizational engagements are available by consultation. Payment: 50% of the client fee or the full amount is due before onboarding. The remaining 50% is due upon final story approval.

Change Makers Fund

Five percent of every project goes to Change Makers Fund scholarships. This fund allows donors and past clients to help others—whose stories could serve the common good—access this experience; and sponsor leaders, elders, or change-makers who would not otherwise be able to invest at this level.

If you’re a donor or organization that wants to propel others forward, we can match your support with individuals or communities whose stories matter for the wider world.

“This is not just storytelling. It is a sacred act of witnessing your life.”

Jordan Soliday
Co-Founder & Story Guide, Epic Ordinary

Case studies

Many stories began as “I am not sure this is worth telling.” Each became an anchor for a family, team, or community. This work looks like fewer regrets, clearer identity, and more possibility. If you feel the gap in your own story, we’ll help you close it.

  • A man in a suit speaking at a podium during a presentation or conference, with an audience in the background.

    The baton, not the pedestal

    CEO in succession (New York City)

    Aaron, a manufacturing CEO, wanted his successor and 1,200 employees to understand the company’s founding values—without a glossy PR piece. Through Your Epic Ordinary Life, we helped him capture his hard-won lessons, near-misses, and decision rules in his own voice. He shared an excerpt of the book at a leadership offsite. HR now uses the story and audiobook in onboarding.

    If you’re transitioning leadership, we’ll help you pass on wisdom, not just a title.

  • A cheerful older man with white hair and a beard, wearing sunglasses on his head, sitting indoors in a brightly lit room, smiling broadly.

    The gift he didn't know they needed

    Daughter gifting father (Pittsburgh)

    Katie had begged her dad for years to “write it down,” and he always shrugged. She gifted him Your Epic Ordinary Life, and after a few conversations his 1970s garage-band days, blue-collar grind, and quiet loyalty became a lean book plus an audio he recorded for the grandkids. At a small family dinner he read one page, choked up, and everyone knew this was a gift they would have missed forever.

    If you’ve wanted to capture a parent’s story for years, we’ll make it easy and dignifying for everyone.

  • A woman in athletic clothing running on a paved path lined with trees and greenery.

    The leader who stopped running on empty

    Ridhima, technologist (Mumbai)

    “People think I am unstoppable.” Marathons, relocating countries, her mother’s funeral between Zoom calls, then a brutal layoff. Ridhima’s ambition was high but her identity frayed. Through Your Epic Ordinary Life, she finally decelerated—weaving family history, mile-after-mile perseverance, and cross-cultural grit into a narrative strong enough to hand an MBA committee and her family.

    If your story feels hurried or scattered, we’ll calmly help you find the through-lines.

  • An elderly woman with gray hair hugging a younger woman with brown hair, both smiling and hugging tightly.

    Before the fog thickens

    Marjorie, early dementia (Raleigh)

    Marjorie felt the slips and said, “I want them to remember me clear.” With her daughter, we caught the good days: the first boy she loved, the tiny first apartment, the holiday recipe nobody else gets right, the one hard story she had never said out loud. The result was a slim, beautiful book and her voice on record, small enough that the grandkids actually pick it up.

    If timing feels tender, we’ll hold the process with care and pace it to what’s possible.

  • An automotive manufacturing worker operating machinery on a white car body on an assembly line in a factory.

    The engineer who took off his armor

    Martin, engineering executive (Berlin)

    For years, Martin demanded his team excel while he dodged memories of his late brother, until alcoholism caught up with him, too. In Your Epic Ordinary Life, he traded perfection for skillful vulnerability, traced the why behind his decisions and named daily rituals he could live at work and at home. When a product pivot hit, he led from a calmer disposition—and his team felt the difference.

    If you’ve led with armor, let’s co-craft the story that builds trust at work and home.

  • A nurse is smiling at an elderly patient in a wheelchair who is wrapped in a blanket, with a window in the background.

    The nurse who faced death and lives to tell

    Jessica, nurse & survivor (Orlando)

    Decades of nursing and a cancer battle left Jessica with a deeper reckoning: in the face of death, who was she? And what did she want her children to carry forward? With fierce tenderness, through Your Epic Ordinary Life she shaped an honest account of her life, a plain-language spiritual testimony, and a family guide to conflict and care. It was a book her children cherished.

    If you’ve carried a lot with quiet strength, this is your chance to pass clarity on.

  • Close-up of a soccer player kicking a soccer ball on a green field.

    The athlete who refused a fake redemption

    Lew, former athlete (Boulder)

    Lew kept his old jersey in the closet and his relapse stories in the dark. In Your Epic Ordinary Life, he walked through the injury, the vodka in water bottles, the night his kid saw too much, and did not clean it up for anyone. Out of that raw account came a simple daily scaffold for his family and a movement-and-resilience coaching offer a major health system trusted because it did not sound like marketing.

    If you’ve outgrown your old metrics, let’s build the story that serves you and others.

  • A woman sitting on the floor painting an abstract colorful artwork on a canvas, with various paint supplies scattered around her.

    The artist who reframed having it together

    Haila, artist & mother (Madrid)

    At 3 a.m., Haila stood barefoot on cold tile, dishes piling her sink, half-finished canvases leaning against a toy-strewn wall. In Your Epic Ordinary Life, she named the miscarriages, the marriages, the art that would not leave her alone, and designed a seasonal rhythm that protected both her work and her kids. Her next public installation read like her life finally had one coherent voice.

    If your creativity and caregiving keep colliding, let’s shape a story that honors both.

Your story matters

The Empire State Building at sunset in New York City with the Manhattan skyline in the background.
A bride and groom hugging against a textured stone wall, with the bride wearing a white wedding gown and veil, and the groom in a black suit, on a wooden outdoor setting.
A pregnant woman with dark skin and curly hair, wearing a white dress, standing outdoors near rocks with a blue sky background.
A newborn baby being delivered by medical professionals in an operating room, with the baby crying and surrounded by medical staff wearing gloves and gowns.
A woman in a checkered dress cooking on a vintage stove in a kitchen.
A person gently petting a gray tabby cat on the head while the cat rests in their lap, sitting on a red and black plaid blanket.
An elderly couple smiling at each other outdoors with a green hill in the background.
Close-up of an elderly man wearing a black hat and a brown corduroy jacket, outdoors with trees and a wooden structure in the background.
An elderly woman wearing a traditional sari sits on an orange plastic chair with her arm resting on the back, appearing to be deep in thought or slightly concerned, inside a simple room with an open window and some blurred background figures.
Colorful intricately decorated Hindu temple tower with multiple tiers and a blue sky background, partially obscured by green foliage.
Three professionally dressed adults, two men and one woman, are outside having a discussion. The woman is holding a black folder or case, and they are talking seriously.
People walking on a herringbone-pattern wooden floor, seen from above, some holding shopping bags.
Two men in suits walking away on a city street in black and white.
A man in a military uniform receiving a medal while another person pins it on his chest.
Male chef seasoning a stir-fry in a commercial kitchen, surrounded by various bowls of ingredients.
A female doctor wearing a white lab coat reviews brain MRI scans on a lightbox in a medical office.
A man with a prosthetic leg is crossing the street at a crosswalk, holding a laptop in his left hand, wearing a navy blazer, a white shirt, tan shorts, gray socks, and black loafers, with trees and pedestrians in the background.
A smiling young girl with glasses sitting in a wheelchair outdoors on a sunny day, surrounded by green trees.
A person with rainbow-colored hair and makeup, wearing a rainbow flag and surrounded by a crowd of people.
Silhouette of a person wearing a cap, holding a microphone, performing on stage with red lighting and smoke in the background.
An elderly man with glasses holds a vintage portable radio to his ear.
Two people riding a horse through a grassy plain with a large mountain in the background under a clear sky.
Close-up of a person wearing ski goggles that reflect a snowy mountain landscape with a few people, snow-covered peaks, and a bright sunset.
A white chapel with a tiled roof and a bell, perched on a rocky cliff surrounded by green trees, with mountains in the background and a dramatic sky at sunset.

Ready to tell it?

A colorful gradient logo with the text 'Your Epic Ordinary Life' in bold white letters.
Yes, I'm ready