Introduction
In the summer of 2001, I was in the shower when I suddenly heard a voice in my head that said, “This is not the way to live life—you must be doing something wrong.”
Life had just spiraled out of control. Here I was, living in a beautiful house, in a great city, with a wife, two healthy children, and a good corporate job, yet I was miserable. My health was failing, my marriage was falling apart, and my job had become stagnant and unfulfilling. I was simply going through the motions of life.
That morning, I was hoping the hot water would help relax my extremely painful back and neck muscles. About a year earlier, I had noticed that my right shoulder ached after I played catch with my son, so I made what would become the first of many physical therapy and doctors’ appointments. The pain just kept getting worse and was spreading through my back even though I kept trying new doctors and physical therapists. I was exhausted and in constant, chronic pain.
I had even tried a whole host of alternative therapies, including cortisone shots, physical therapy, acupuncture, red light laser therapy, as well as massage and chiropractic therapy techniques.
That morning in 2001 began one of the most significant days of my life, though it would be more than 15 years until I recognized it. It was the day I woke up, focused internally, and stopped blaming the outside world for my problems. I had no clue what to do, but I knew I needed to change my thinking before I could heal and live a healthy and fulfilling life again.
Do you have big hopes, dreams, and aspirations that you haven’t been able to achieve? Have fear, doubt, and worry stopped you from doing what you know you are meant to do? Have you found that with each passing year, your regrets seem to grow while your list of dreams and accomplishments never materializes?
Maybe now is the time to make your dreams of being prosperous and fulfilled a reality. Maybe it’s time to have more clarity and confidence in your work and your life, un- cover your purpose, and live the life of your dreams. Anyone who knows there is more to life than what they are currently experiencing will want to read this book. Many people know they are stuck but don‘t know how to get unstuck—how to find their purpose and move forward.
I stumbled upon the “hero’s journey” concept while I was studying documentary filmmaking. It was originally attributed to the mythologist Joseph Campbell but has been refined by many authors and scholars to depict a common theme used in all stories and movies. As you will see, by using Campbell’s initial concept of a hero’s journey as a map of your own life, you will understand who you truly are and that you’ve always been the hero in your own life story. Learning about what makes us tick enhances our self-motivation and self-management, resulting in self-respect.
So how did I do it? Read on. This book is the final stage of my first hero’s journey because as you will see, the journey ends with the sharing of your story with others, thereby helping them identify their own story, and thus begin the process of finding their purpose and living their true authentic lives. And then we start our next journey with new powers and insights.
I am just an average guy with an uneventful life. I have little to complain about and my suffering pales in comparison to that of many others. I know I’m not alone. I feel there may be a lot of us who have had nice lives, yet still get stuck and suffer. We all suffer, but some have the capacity to let things go and forge on while others can’t.
It’s my hope that after reading my story, you will realize you are a hero—the hero of your own story. I hope that you will answer the call to take your own hero’s journey, thereby finding health, happiness, and a fulfilling, purpose-driven life.
In this book, we’ll dissect the stages of the hero’s journey. I have included examples from some of our favorite movies to show how Hollywood uses the hero’s journey as a story structure. For each stage I will also detail my personal hero’s journey which can be used as an example when it’s your turn to put your life into the hero’s journey.
You will be able to place yourself into your own hero’s journey. You will learn to identify how your life has been influenced by each stage of the journey and where in your life you have identified with the hero. Finally, you will understand that you have done the best you could at the time which allows you to be the hero of your own life. You see, when we realize that our life has made us who we are today, we begin to feel empowered to take risks, start trust- ing our internal guidance, and truly live our best authentic life.
In addition to understanding and healing, you will also learn about powerful guided meditations, visualizations, and thought-provoking exercises you can use to help you fully integrate the lessons learned on your journey. These exercises and tools are designed to help you understand past traumas and fully heal as you move from one stage to the next.
We will explore ancient principles of human thought and consciousness to help us recognize that how we think dictates how we live. Once you know the path of your hero’s journey, you will need to apply the latest research on how to live a genuinely extraordinary life. We will then dive into the amazing scientific work of Dr. Joe Dispenza and his Quantum Thinking model where we will learn to train our brains to think differently.
If you’ve been stuck or feel there is more to life, it’s most likely because you’ve been focusing on symptoms instead of getting to the root cause of your suffering. Learning about your own hero’s journey will help you discover why you’re stuck, and help you heal and move forward so you can begin living your true, authentic, and purposeful life.
The only difference between people who truly thrive in all areas of life and those who are stuck and stagnate is that the former have heard the call to adventure and stepped out of their comfortable, ordinary world to begin walking forward into their hero’s journey.
The hero’s journey asks you to answer the call and move from your ordinary world into an unknown world. It is not only the thing you fear the most but it’s real work. And it’s hard—but you can do it. You know you must do it. Joseph Campbell once said, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
You have a deep understanding that there is something of more significance for you and you’re finally ready to figure it out. To find and live your true authentic life though, you’ve got to wander through the desert of your traumas. You’ve got to get to the root cause of what’s kept you stuck and be more honest then you probably have ever been with yourself. You’ve got to face your biggest fear, stare it right in the face, and walk through it. This is serious work. But it will pay off in the highest rewards this life has to offer. It will not be easy. You will want to quit, and you will make a lot of mistakes. It’s going to be messy and scary. But that’s okay. Don’t give up—stay with this process and see it through. Your life depends on it.
For downloadable PDF exercises and videos on being the hero of your life visit http://www.betheheroofyourlife.com/downloads/.
