Prologue: Paris—A City of Living Stories
Paris is not just a city—it is a living, breathing narrative. Its bridges are metaphors for crossing into new chapters, its cafés are stages for everyday drama, and its monuments are the bookmarks of history. In this city, every glance, every taste, every footstep is a story waiting to unfold.
You arrive in Paris, heart open to possibility. The city’s timeless beauty feels like an invitation: to reflect, to create, to become. You are here to meet Peter de Kuster, a master of narrative journeys, who believes that the most important story you will ever live is the one you tell yourself about yourself. This is not a sightseeing tour—it is a creative adventure through the architecture of story, guided by the wisdom of humankind’s greatest narrative frameworks.
Day 1: The Power of Your Story
The journey begins in a sunlit café on the Left Bank. Peter welcomes you and fellow travelers, inviting you to reflect on the story you tell yourself about yourself. Through gentle conversation and evocative prompts, you begin to uncover the unconscious scripts that shape your choices and dreams.
Peter’s introduction sets the tone: “Your life is a story. The question is—are you the author, or just a character?” You realize that many of your beliefs are inherited or accidental, and that you have the power to rewrite them.
A walk through the Latin Quarter reveals how Paris itself is a city of stories—each building, each riverbank layered with myth and memory. By evening, you gather for a storytelling circle, sharing the first drafts of your new personal narrative. Already, you sense the magic of transformation.
Day 2: The Seven Great Stories of Our Life
The next morning, you enter the Louvre as a seeker of stories. Peter’s online introduction guides you through the seven basic stories of your life—Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth.
You see these plots reflected in masterpieces of art and myth. In a creative workshop, you map your own life onto these timeless arcs. Which story have you lived? Which one calls to you now?
In the Tuileries Gardens, you write a new chapter for yourself, inspired by the city’s beauty and your own emerging voice. Sharing your story with the group, you discover both the universality and uniqueness of your journey.
Day 3: The 12 Archetypes—Heroes and Heroines
At the Musée d’Orsay, Peter’s introduction invites you to meet the 12 classic archetypes—The Innocent, The Explorer, The Sage, The Hero, The Outlaw, The Magician, The Lover, The Jester, The Caregiver, The Everyman, The Ruler, and The Creator.
Through guided exercises, you identify which archetypes have shaped your choices and which are waiting to be awakened. A walk through Montmartre brings these archetypes to life as you meet local artists and storytellers. In a cozy café, you reflect on how to embody new qualities in your daily life, becoming the hero or heroine of your own story.
Day 4: The 36 Dramatic Situations
Today’s workshop dives into the 36 dramatic situations of your life—the full spectrum of human drama, from love and loss to ambition and sacrifice. Peter’s frames the day: “Every life is richer and more complex than a single plot. We are all actors in many dramas.”
Through roleplay and improvisation in a historic Parisian theater, you experience the richness and complexity of your own journey. Evening brings a group dinner where you share the dramatic situations that have defined your path and those you wish to embrace with courage.
Day 5: Your Two Great Dilemmas
In the Marais, Peter leads a philosophical walk exploring the two great dilemmas that define the human experience:
- Freedom vs. Belonging
- Love vs. Duty
His introduction prompts you to reflect: “At every crossroads, we are asked to choose—between independence and connection, between our own desires and the needs of others.” Through journaling and coaching, you find clarity and resolve, preparing you for the next chapter.
Day 6: Happily Ever After—The Flow of Life
The final day is devoted to meaning and fulfillment. In a tranquil Parisian garden, Peter introduces Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory: the art of living fully engaged, where challenge meets skill and time disappears.
You craft your “happily ever after” story—not as a destination, but as a way of being: present, creative, and aligned with your deepest values. A closing walk along the Seine and a farewell dinner mark the end of the journey, but also the beginning of a new story—one you are now ready to author with intention and joy.
Travel Styles and Pricing
- Solo Traveler (€295 excl. VAT):
- Access to Peter’s comprehensive online guide
- Online introductions of Peter de Kuster for each day’s theme
- One personal online coaching session with Peter during your journey
- Group Traveler (€2,950 excl. VAT, 6–10 people):
- All workshops, guided tours, group meals, and closing celebration
- Peer support and shared storytelling circles
- Private Tour (€7,500 excl. VAT, up to 2 people):
- Fully customized itinerary
- Exclusive coaching and premium Parisian experiences
- Private dinners and bespoke moments
Accommodation and some meals not included. Concierge support for hotel bookings available on request.
Benefits for Travelers
- Personal Transformation: Gain clarity on your life’s story, purpose, and next steps.
- Creative Inspiration: Experience Paris through the lens of narrative, art, and myth.
- Expert Guidance: Learn from Peter de Kuster, a master in narrative coaching and creative leadership.
- Community: Connect deeply with fellow travelers on a journey of meaning.
- Practical Tools: Leave with a personalized storybook, frameworks for ongoing growth, and a renewed sense of possibility.
- Unique Access: Enjoy behind-the-scenes experiences, meetings with Parisian artists, and immersive workshops.
Conclusion: Writing Your Next Chapter
As your Paris journey concludes, you realize the city’s greatest gift is not its beauty or history, but the mirror it holds up to your own life. You have explored the architecture of story—its plots, archetypes, dramas, and dilemmas—and discovered that you are both the author and the hero of your own narrative.
You leave Paris with a new sense of authorship. The stories you tell yourself are no longer inherited or unconscious; they are chosen, crafted, and lived. You understand that happiness is not a destination, but a state of flow—of engagement, meaning, and joy in the present moment.
The One Great Story of Humankind is your story. And as you return home, you carry Paris within you—not just as a memory, but as a living inspiration to write the next chapter with courage, creativity, and heart12.
Ready to begin your story? Contact Peter de Kuster at peterdekuster@hotmail.nl and step into the narrative adventure of a lifetime.
The Power of Your Story
An Introduction by Peter de Kuster
Paris, Dawn: Where Every Story Begins
The first light of day spills across the rooftops of Paris, gilding the city’s ancient stones and modern boulevards alike. The city awakens not with a roar, but with a gentle unfolding—bakeries opening, the scent of fresh bread in the air, the distant chime of church bells. It is here, in this city of endless stories, that we begin our exploration of the most powerful narrative you will ever encounter: the story you tell yourself.
As a storyteller and guide, I have walked these streets with travelers from around the world. Each comes with their own history, their own dreams, their own secret fears. Yet, beneath the surface, I have discovered a universal truth: we are all living according to a story—often invisible, sometimes inherited, occasionally chosen, but always powerful. The story you tell yourself is the script by which you live your life. It shapes your decisions, your relationships, your happiness, and your sense of purpose.
The stories we tell ourselves are not just reflections of our lives—they are the architects of our reality. If you want to change your life, you must first change your story.
The Invisible Script: How Stories Shape Our Lives
Pause for a moment and consider: What is the story you are living right now? Is it a tale of adventure or caution? Of hope or resignation? Of possibility or limitation? Most of us are unaware of the narrative running through our minds. We move through our days guided by a script written long ago—by parents, teachers, culture, or circumstance. We repeat familiar lines: “I’m not creative,” “I’m too old,” “I always mess things up,” “People like me don’t succeed.”
Yet these stories are not facts. They are interpretations, often unconscious, that we have accepted as truth. And because we believe them, we act them out—again and again, reinforcing the very reality we most wish to escape.
In Paris, I have seen this in the artist who never dares to show her work, convinced she is not good enough. In the executive who cannot enjoy his success, forever haunted by the story that he is an imposter. In the traveler who comes to the city of light seeking romance, but is held back by the story that love is not for him.
But I have also seen the opposite: the woman who, after years of telling herself she was invisible, rewrites her story and steps onto the stage, dazzling an audience with her song. The young man who trades the story of victimhood for one of agency, transforming his setbacks into fuel for his dreams. The couple who, after decades of conflict, choose to write a new chapter together, discovering connection where there was once only pain.
The Hero’s Journey: Your Life as an Epic Tale
The greatest stories—those that endure across cultures and centuries—follow a pattern known as the Hero’s Journey. Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, and storytellers from Homer to Hollywood have mapped this arc: the call to adventure, the crossing of thresholds, the meeting of mentors and monsters, the ordeal, the transformation, and the return.
What if you saw your own life through this lens? What if you recognized that you are the hero of your own story, and that every challenge, every setback, every triumph is part of a larger narrative? This is not fantasy—it is the most empowering way to live.
I urge you to become the conscious author of your life. To do so, we must first examine the stories we have inherited, question their truth, and choose which ones to keep, revise, or discard. We must become both protagonist and author—living the story, and shaping it as we go.
The Parisian Mirror: Stories in the City of Light
Paris is a city that understands the power of story. Its streets are lined with monuments to those who dared to rewrite their narratives: revolutionaries who toppled kings, artists who reinvented beauty, writers who challenged the status quo. Every arrondissement, every café, every museum is a chapter in the city’s ongoing tale.
Consider the story of Victor Hugo, whose words gave voice to the voiceless and whose “Les Misérables” became a rallying cry for justice. Or the journey of Josephine Baker, who arrived in Paris as an outsider and became a symbol of freedom and resilience. Or the countless unknowns—painters, poets, lovers—who found in this city the courage to begin anew.
Their stories are not just history—they are invitations. They remind us that we, too, can choose our narrative. We can step out of the roles assigned to us and claim a new identity, a new direction, a new ending.
The Science of Story: Why It Works
My storytelling insights are not merely philosophical—they are grounded in science. Our brains are wired for narrative. Stories help us organize chaos, find meaning in suffering, and imagine a future different from our past. When we change our story, we change the neural pathways in our brains. We open ourselves to new possibilities, new actions, new outcomes.
This is why therapy works, why coaching works, why a single conversation can change a life. When you tell a new story about yourself—when you say, “I am a creator,” “I am resilient,” “I am worthy of love”—you begin to act in new ways. And as your actions change, so does your reality.
The Seven Questions: Rewriting Your Story
As we begin this journey together, I invite you to reflect on seven questions inspired:
- What is the story I am currently telling myself about who I am?
- In what areas of my life does this story limit me?
- What is my idea of happiness or fulfillment?
- What is my greatest fear—and how do I face it?
- Who are my mentors, heroes, or heroines?
- What story do I want my life to tell?
- What is the next chapter I am ready to write?
These questions are not meant to be answered quickly. They are invitations to deep inquiry, to honesty, to courage. In Paris, as we walk through the city’s stories, you will have the chance to explore your own.
Rituals for Change: Living Your New Story
A story is not changed by words alone. It is changed by action—by the rituals and habits that bring your new narrative to life. I would like to emphasize the importance of daily practices: the small, consistent actions that reinforce your chosen identity.
In the city of light, you might begin each day with a walk along the Seine, reflecting on your intentions. You might keep a journal, recording the moments when you acted in alignment with your new story. You might seek out mentors—living or literary—whose journeys inspire you. You might create rituals of gratitude, creativity, or connection that anchor your transformation.
The Power of Community: Sharing Your Story
No story is written in isolation. In Paris, the salons of the past were crucibles of creativity—places where writers, artists, and thinkers gathered to share ideas, challenge each other, and encourage new visions. Today, your community might be a circle of friends, a creative group, a virtual network, or a single trusted confidante.
Sharing your story—speaking it aloud, hearing it reflected back, inviting feedback and support—is a powerful catalyst for change. It transforms your narrative from a private script to a living, evolving conversation.
The Promise of Transformation
As you stand on the Pont des Arts, the city spread before you, you realize that your story is not fixed. It is alive, unfolding, full of possibility. The power of your story is the power to change—to become the hero, the lover, the creator, the sage. To face your monsters, to embark on quests, to return home transformed.
Paris is a city of endless beginnings. So is your life. The story you tell yourself is the most important story you will ever write. Make it a story worth living.
The Hero's Journey in Paris 