Category Archives: Hero’s Journey

Elicit Their Inner Hero

Elicit Their Inner Hero

There are a lot of TV shows that are searches for talent.

One story we all seem to love is some unknown goof, just like you and me, who has some crazy skill.

They go on one of those talent search shows, belt out some opera song, and wow everybody.

And they go from zero to hero overnight.

Why are these stories so compelling?

Consider the stereotypical “hero’s journey.” Another situation where a normal goof suddenly is called to a great mission, and becomes the hero. Again, zero to hero.

Why are these so compelling?

Because all of us, deep inside, KNOW we are capable of achieving much more than we have. Doing much more than we’ve done.

And when we watch those TV shows or movies, we imagine it’s us that is the hero. It’s us that’s in that situation where we are being discovered or being pulled toward a hero’s journey.

If you could choose your own hero’s journey, what would it be?

Which demons would you slay? Which kingdoms would you save?

If you were to be discovered for one “talent” that would wow everybody, which talent would you choose?

Sometimes its tough to know what to do. Especially when we’ve got jobs that suck, bosses that suck worse, and just barely enough money to cover the rent every month.

If we could only make that one “Breakthrough” everything would be different, right?

Maybe, maybe not.

Consider that dream you have as your motivating engine. To keep going forward, no mater what.

To crush every obstacle in front of you. To get closer and closer to the defining creation of your life.

In reality, most people that are “discovered” have actually been practicing a certain skill for a long, long time.

What do you practice every day?

Which skills are you making better every day?

One of the most important skills is communication.

If you can effectively communicate your ideas to others, so they’ll not only be heard, but acted upon, you’ll do far better than most.

And the first step is to seek the dreams and desires of others FIRST, before presenting your own.

That way, instead of them helping you, it will be a team effort. A much stronger and longer lasting relationship. Be it a business partnership or a romantic relationship.

First expand THEIR hopes and dreams, to get them excited.

Then show them how YOURS and THEIRS overlap.

Then they’ll be no stopping you.

Learn How:

Interpersonal Resonance

Where Will Your Journey Lead?

Build Your Castle

Occasionally, I’ll re-read a novel I’ve read a long time ago.

I can’t do this with every book, only a few.

The ones I really get into, the characters I identify with or would like to identify with.

It’s interesting to read an epic in different points in your life.

Your response to it, and how you imagine yourself within it is much different from a Junior High School perspective than as an adult.

That’s one of the reasons classics are classics. They appeal across all times, ages, and levels of life experience.

Especially super old stories like mythology or Aesop’s fables.

They touch on the common truths of human existence. What it’s like to struggle. To fail. To succeed.

Many times two people are playing eye contact games across a crowded room.

And they are each thinking the same thing.

“I like that person. I’d like to talk to them. But I’m nervous to make the first move. If they walked over here and started talking with me, that would certainly be cool.”

Most of the time, though, nobody makes a move, and both people go home wondering “what if.”

Most people spend their entire lives like that. Waiting for some external “spark” to get them going.

Even in common stories, there’s always some external “event” that FORCES the hero onto his or her journey.

Rarely does some normal person wake up, and decide that they are going to create a brand new life.

But if you WANT a brand new life, that’s what you’ve got to do.

Remember, stories are the way we WISH life was, not the way it really is.

If they made books and movies about the way our lives REALLY were, they’d be pretty boring.

Even those “reality” shows are highly scripted. Sure, the stuff people are saying and doing are “in the moment.”

But those people are carefully selected in hopes they’ll be MAXIMUM fireworks. And they film a whole week and only edit together the best hour.

Sure, it’s great to get “discovered.” To get “picked,” but it’s not always the best strategy.

Generally speaking, in the real world, people who succeed the most are the people that get out there and make things happen.

Not those who wait for things to happen.

But you don’t have to kill dragons every day. Not even close. All you need is a huge goal, WAY OUT in your future.

And every day, simply take small steps in that direction.

Because you build a massive life the same way you build a massive castle.

One brick at a time.

Get Stated:

Mind Persuasion Ebooks

Destroy The Evil One

Hero's Journey

Start Your Journey

​Many stories have common themes.

If you study any kind of mythology, you’ve likely come across Joseph Campbell.

He pointed out that most myths from most cultures throughout all time have a very common story.

Normal guy or girl. Gets pulled into a big adventure. Makes friends along the way. Kills some evil bad guy.

Of course, the reason all humans respond to this type of story is because this is our lives.

Not just when we were born, but over and over. Every time you go through a different “phase,” you go through the same archetype structure.

You’re safe, yet bored. You’re pulled into an adventure (new school, new job, new relationships, etc). And you’ve got to learn new skills and make new friends.

But who’s the “bad guy” that you have to defeat?

Every time you have a desire “out there” in front of you, there’s ALWAYS going to be some kind of obstacles.

Even if you want to walk over there and talk to that cute girl or guy, the obstacle is always there.

Now sometimes, there really IS an obstacle. Like maybe she’s talking to some goof you need to deal with.

But most of the time, those obstacles, those “bad guys” are in your head.

And the ONLY way to defeat them is to face them.

Because simply by facing them, they will vanish.

Because they are not real.

This is why we LOVE stories like that. When the good guy kills the bad guy, we subconsciously imagine that it is US killing OUR bad guys. Our inner demons. Those imaginary obstacles that are keeping us from where we want to be.

How can you IMPROVE your bad guy killing skills?

One way is to accept that they will ALWAYS be there.

NOTHING worth getting is going to come without some kind of struggle.

Any time you face any kind of fear, of any sort, large or small, think of it as another exercise in “killing bad guy” skills.

And like any other skill, the more you do it, the better you’ll get.

In your imagination, pretend you’re Bruce Lee. Flicking his nose with the thumb of his right hand, while beckoning his enemies with his left.

Or if you want, you can be Scarface:

“Say hello to my little friend!”

There is no shortage of role models to help you kill your bad guys.

Get Started:

Lead The Hero’s Journey

Always Go First

Go First

Long time ago I was reading a book on human behavior.

The author was describing a lot of our “learned” behaviors look instinctive, since we all do the same things.

But in reality, we all have the same structure as children, so we learn the same behaviors.

The example given was shaking our heads back and forth to say “no.”

When we’re very, very young, we can’t move our neck muscles very much. Only slightly to the side.

When we want something, we open our mouths and make a noise. Hopefully we’ll get some milk. But then when we’re full, the idea of “no” pops into our head. And the only thing we can do when we think that thought, is turn our heads slightly to the side.

This is the same reasoning Joseph Campbell gave for explaining why most mythology shares the same structure. Young boy or girl in a safe but boring place. Something pulls them into some wild “hero’s journey,” where they learn new skills make new friends.

He explained (in one of his books) this is precisely what we go through when we are born. Womb to birth canal to the world.

Our lives start out as a hero’s journey. And if you’re honest with yourself, every new experience, every new situation, every new phase of life is yet another hero’s journey.

We also have a lot of the same shortcomings and fears. Public speaking, walking across the room to talk to an interesting person, suddenly being the focus of social attention.

All these were “learned” in childhood. 

If we keep stumbling through life on auto pilot, we’ll never know. We’ll just think “we” are broken, or something’s wrong with us.

But when you realize that we are ALL in the same boat, we ALL have the same fears, it’s not so bad.

Especially when you consider that person you want to talk to is scared of the same things you are.

Those people in that social scenario who are all staring at you are GLAD it’s you and not them.

When you stand up to give a speech, people are imagining it’s them and are nervous.

The EASIEST way to blast through all those irrational fears is to simply go first. Set an example. Show everybody it’s not so bad.

This isn’t so difficult when you remember that everybody around you has the same fears, uncertainties and anxieties as you.

Show them how easy it is.

These tools will help:

Have You Chosen Yet?

Choose Your Hero's Journey

Create Your Mission

One of the most common themes in superhero movies is an “origin story.”

We like to see how the hero “became” a hero.

The general progression is first there’s a story about the hero in his or her prime.

Then maybe another story or two. And then the origin story.

Even in modern movies, origin stories are often times the LAST of a franchise.

Even for ultra bad guys, like Darth Vader, first we see the bad guy, then we get the origin story.

A catholic priest explained to me this was precisely how the “story” of Jesus unfolded.

The first written gospels (Mark and Luke) started in the peak of his ministry. Later they touched on his “origins” (Matthew). Still later, they finally got to the beginnings (John).

Why do we tend to progress through this familiar process? Hero in his prime, then the origin story?

Maybe because we are keenly interested in our origins. First we figure out who we are, then we begin to wonder where we came from. 

Perhaps we feel this can help us better understand the complexities of life that we encounter on a day to day basis.

If we know where we came from, and why we are here, then we’ll maybe have an easier time dealing that stuff we don’t really want to deal with, but have to.

The great promise of life is that to a large extent, we get to DEFINE why we are here.

We are given a great deal of instincts, but even a greater range of learning abilities.

We don’t have wings, but we’ve learned to fly. We don’t have gills, yet we’ve learned to travel great distances underwater.

Our true purpose is that we are to choose our purpose.

To dream big, and then boldly move into our future with nothing but an expectation that we’ll learn more as we move forward.

They say that most people live lives of quiet desperation.

As if many of us are waiting for somebody to come and tell us what to do. Where to go. How to get there.

Once you realize that person is YOU, then it becomes clear.

Where do YOU want to go?

All you need to do is choose, and get going.