I am creating a playlist to inspire you and you write your own hero's journey!
This stage is characterized as the beginning and the "still sleeping" stage. You don't know what you don't know, and in ignorance, you might be drifting along with the currents of life. This stage is the beginning for every hero, a stage where the hero feels major dissatisfaction in all areas of his life. It is marked by life in the conventional world, a world influenced by family, friends, and society. It's a stagnant phase where you're stuck in inertia. You don't see a clear path forward. You feel like your life is wasting away and you cannot seem to carpe diem (seize the day) like other successful individuals. In the "Ordinary World" stage, you stay silent and suffer alone, knowing that you are destined for greatness, but settling for mediocrity.
This is a triggering point in your life. This stage is where you experience a spark of curiosity. You become curious about the world, your reason for being here, and how to overcome anything you might be struggling with. You're getting the call to begin a new journey, whatever that may be. It may be to change your environment, career, or just doing something new. However, this new adventure means that you have to leave your familiar territory and depart from what you've always known. It's time to travel to the "Land of the Unknown." Leaving your current world means that you are leaving the comfort of familiar surroundings and people, although the prospect of traveling to this new land offers up endless possibilities. You have a sense of wanderlust, restlessness, and a fascination for what's to come!
This stage is known as the "Resistance" stage. You're ready to embark on this new adventure of self-discovery and mastering yourself. However, your ego and familiarity have a strong hold over you. You might be battling with your current self versus your future self. The old belief patterns that you have are still prevalent and threaten to suck you backward. You are plagued by victimhood and not yet ready to face your inner demons. You are curious but stuck because of fear.
Your mentor can come in many shapes and forms. It could be someone you admire, someone you ran into who is a great influence on you. The mentor does not have to be a physical person. For me, my mentors were authors of the self-development books I read. The mentors are people who will personally or virtually guide you on your journey of self-discovery. They will have wisdom gleaned from their own experiences and will relay their wisdom to you to help you along the way. The mentor is the person who helps push you to take this path to transformation.
You have decided to leave the past behind and embark on this journey of transformation. You've made the choice and the commitment, so now it's time to take action. The first threshold is the fight you have with your belief systems and hard-wiring that you've had until this point in your life. It contains a series of tests and tasks you need to overcome in order to advance your growth. Defining your life purpose and realizing you have a choice in co-creating your new life will enable you to start detaching from your old false beliefs. In this stage, you are gaining momentum as you also gain clarity and forge your path.
Similar to mentors, tests, allies, and enemies also come in many forms. They can be feelings of resistance and frustration. You will be dealing with risks, challenges, and even some failures in this stage. Allies and enemies can be the people who surround you. During this stage, you may be letting go of friends or people who are not aligned with your path. These people are not supportive, do not understand your journey, and have a negative influence or your path. Somewhere in this turmoil, though, you will discover who your real allies and friends are.
This is where you are doing your deepest internal work and healing unhealed old wounds. This is where you are really developing your internal strength. You are consciously and unconsciously letting go of negative beliefs systems you've held on for your entire life as well as building practices that are helping you align with yourself. You challenge your inner negotiators and start to discover your true identity, your true self.
You might be facing a final test of faith and patience. This could be a period where it feels like the world is against you. Some might refer to this as the "rock bottom phase." This could also be marked by extreme loneliness, feelings of sadness, and confusion. However, through this pain comes remarkable growth. This is another test to see if you've learned the necessary lessons and can implement them as you go through future challenges.
At some point, just around the corner, is your reward! You've been committed to your journey and the universe is delivering your reward now. The reward can be small moments of bliss and happiness. It can be the satisfaction of what you have accomplished. It can be material rewards. Or it can be love and support from the people around you. This is where the results of all your efforts and struggles begin to manifest themselves! You will finally see the "fruits of your labor" from all the hard work you have put in.
The road back is a time to reflect on your journey and see how far you've truly come. It's a time to celebrate the new habits you've developed as you continue on this transformational road. You now have the skills and tools necessary to get yourself out of any trying situation. You've grown a lot, made a ton of progress, and now you can take a deep breath with a sigh a relief... ahhhh! You've made it this far.
The journey is coming close to an end. You are being reborn as you rise up to your full potential and embody your highest self. You've taken all that you have learned and incorporated it into your life. The wisdom you've gained along your journey is in your mind and heart now. It is integrated into your very being. You are enlightened and fully awoken and connected to the hero within you.
When you've learned all that you need to learn, it's time to bring the elixir of your knowledge home. This "elixir" is the essence of what you have learned about yourself. "The highest expression of self," to quote a phrase from David Hartman's The Hero's Journey of Self-Transformation, is when you use this elixir to help other people through their own journey. You can share your story, your wounds, and battles. Most importantly, you offer how you managed to overcome it all. You will become the source of light and inspiration for others. Together, with other "heroes" like yourself, you can change the world.
(Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting a Mentor, Accepting the Call)
Induction into the world.
Call to Action.
Crossing the Threshold.
(Road of Trials, Ordeals, Approach, Crisis, Treasure, Reward, Result)
Mentor teaches protagonist
First challenge
Temptation
Dark Moment
(New Life, Resolution, Discovers Real Purpose)
Final conflict
Returns home with the elixir
A story that keeps our interest is one we can't anticipate. The treasure lies in the unknown.
Life is not designed for ease, it's designed for meaning.
Understanding our place in the world gets us halfway to making the world a better place.
It's the result of aiming at something beyond mere adaptation and survival.
"No vision would be required, no dream would be needed, and no one's soul would be truly tested."
"If we cannot find joy in the journey, there will be no delight in the destination" ~ Will Craig
"Life is like arriving late to a movie, having to figure out what is going on without bothering everyone with a lot of questions, and then being unexpectedly called away before you find out how it ends."
"We teach best what we most need to learn." ~ Richard Bach
It is said that the best teachers are those who have just learned what you need to know.
Become the apprentice of your best life.
"When the hero is ready, the mentor appears."
There's a difference between knowing the path and walking it.
A willingness to trade immediate gratification for lasting courage and heroism.
Getting knocked down reveals you're human, getting back up reveals your character.
We have the opportunity to improve our lives incrementally one day at a time.
Our unwillingness to change (or accommodate change), keeps us stuck, having repeat the lesson. We have to renew or redo.
Reflection allows us to see the significance of the lessons learned.
What you say to yourself really does matter (it's our internal programming).
Our lives are the culmination of every thought we've had.
Our values, principles and boundaries will be forever getting tested.
Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom (Aristotle).
Truth: Be true to your word.
Wisdom: Learn from experience.
Courage: Act in spite of fear.
Integrity: Walk your talk.
Character: Stand true to yourself.
Accountability: Take responsibility.
Generosity: Give more than you take.
Each day, we have the opportunity to live the cycle of the hero's journey. "We have the opportunity to improve our lives incrementally one day at a time."
Call to adventure
Meeting the mentor
Leap of faith
Road of trials
The ordeal
Transformation
Endowment
Mastery The start of the day is where the call to adventure begins. This can also be folded into the 3 phases of creation:
The spark of an idea. You have a vision of the day ahead. It's the call to adventure, and tension is created between the done & undone. Your mentor is within you and you take a leap of faith when you step into the world and put yourself out there.
Daylights (Highlights) What was the best part of your day? Peak Experiences? Best news you heard? Amazing peak when I rode into Edna Valley and the wind was at my back. It was a moment I will not soon forget. Amazing meditation tonight. Rice crispy treats (I made). Single Peak Experience Ride into Edna Valley Creative Sparks VoicesOfReason.org Promo cards for Mary Kay Website tweaks for Jon Nibbling (http://gregory.pubwriter.com/) Wisdom gained (Obstacles you overcame, failures & setbacks) Horrible dinner at Grill Hut. At least it was half price. New opportunities (Requests from others. Follow-ups. New promises.) Started the ball rolling on a hot tub. Grateful For An awesome Sunday!
We all have something that triggers our emotions; pulls on our heartstrings—even tough guys (especially tough guys). What is it for you?
What makes you so mad it’s hard to keep it together? What sends you over the top? more... Inauthenticity. Lacking Integrity. Mean spirited. Angry and aggressive people (bullies). Those who lack humility.
What charges and recharges you?
Writing. Music. Reading. Nature. Yoga. Health. Authenticity. Truth. Being who you are regardless of what others might think.
People that resonate this quality?
Who am I most inspired by? Who do I admire the most?
Danica Patrick
Trevor Hall
Michael Franti
Gold mining Teaching.
What is it that people know they can count on you for?
In your family, you’re the one who ____. At work, you’re the go to person for ____. more...
When will you be worthy?
Even the most confidant of us question if we are deserving. What would need to happen to feel truly commendable? How would you know for sure? more... The universe is providing you with an unprecedented window of opportunity. As of this moment, your lifelong dream has no limitations. We’re not sure how long this window will be open, but for now, you don’t need to come up with the time, money, or any other resources. You don’t even need to have all the answers, at this point. There are no limitations—you cannot fail. Q. What gift will you share with the world? Q. Who or what would you die for? What means the most you? For whom would you make the ultimate sacrifice? more... Your time is up. What is your final wish? The death you now experience is metaphorical and comes with a twist. Before you leave this world, you’ve been granted one last wish (and it can’t be for more time). How will you use it? What will it be for? Who will benefit? more... Q. How do you want to be remembered? Legacy
From Paul Wesselmann Ripples #1025 (Jan 14, 2019): The Greatness of Your Smallness! PEBBLE: The true heroes are more concerned with helping than with advertising their own acts. Become one of them, in the silence of your achievements and the greatness of your smallness. (Joanna de Ângelis, shared by Murillo in Champaign, IL) BOULDER: A true hero gets out of bed every morning and goes about life’s daily tasks, unnoticed, unassuming and unsung. A true hero takes on responsibility, gives out credit, and always looks for ways to solve a problem. A true hero speaks kindly, acts fairly, endures patiently, enjoys easily. And, facing every day with a simple strength, a true hero persists in the things that matter. PONDER: Fictional super heroes tend to be larger than life and do a magnificent job of inspiring hope and excitement while saving the world over and over again. They help us remember that good can indeed conquer evil, and I value their expansive personas. In the real world, I believe most of the goodness gets unleashed by everyday heroes who quietly go about their day, making a difference at their jobs and around their community and even in their back yard. These fine human beings make ethical decisions even when they assume no one is watching; they go out of their way to provide assistance when they spot someone in need; and importantly, they are able to extend patience and compassion even when others seem to be running low on reserves of kindness. While most of them don’t need the ego gratification of being in the spotlight, I suspect they do appreciate knowing that their efforts are making a difference and that what they are doing matters. You can tend to the care and feeding of these heroes by keeping your eyes open for great small things and taking the time to deliver subtle, sincere thank yous in the form of head nods, high fives, or perhaps handwritten notes of gratitude. These small gestures confirm the “greatness of their smallness,” and allow these unsung heroes to “persist in the things that matter.” Quietly acknowledging their heroism not only will allow you to witness first hand how good it feels to be validated by others, you’ll get a glimpse of how good it feels to deliver that validation. It may seem rather small, but it is indeed pretty great, too! Peace, Paul The Ripples Guy
The 12 Steps of the Hero's Journey