A short podcast episode (Heroic +1) in which Brian Johnson summarizes and recommends Donald Miller's book 'Hero on a Mission.' Johnson highlights Miller's idea that stories — and our lives — include four character roles (victim, villain, hero, guide), notes influences (Viktor Frankl, Joseph Campbell, Steven Pressfield), and encourages listeners to notice and choose which role they play.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. Donald Miller wrote a great book called Hero on a Mission. As you can imagine, as a guy with heroic tattooed in rather large letters on my left forearm, I am magnetically drawn to the word hero, especially when I find it in the title of a book. I'm pretty sure I found this book on Amazon as a recommended read as I was buying Admiral McRaven's great book the Hero Code. Check out those notes and I'm glad I did. It's fantastic. Donald is a great writer who integrates wisdom from Viktor Frankl's man's search for meaning into our heroic missions. His inspiring, to the point style of writing reminds me of Steven Pressfield in a bunch of his books we've featured. Check out our notes on the War of Art. Do the Work Turning Pro. Nobody wants to read your stuff and the Artist's Journey for more. And as you'd expect, seeing that this is a book about a modern hero, that would be you on a mission. Donald also touches on Joseph Campbellian themes throughout. Check out our notes on a Joseph Campbell Companion, the Power of Mythology, Pathways to Bliss, and the Hero With a Thousand Faces for more. And of course, if you haven't watched Finding Joe yet, get on that trailer is linked and the full movie for free in this plus one Now Donald tells us that I quote, in stories there are four primary characters. One the victim is the character who feels they have no way out. Two, the villain is the character who makes others small. Three, the hero is the character who faces their challenges and transforms, and 4 the guide is the character who helps the hero. He continues by saying, as you read a story or watch a movie, you feel sympathy for the victim, you cheer for the hero, you hate the villain, and you respect the guy. These four characters exist in stories not only because they exist in the real world, but but because they exist inside you and me. Now, those are the very first words in the introduction to the book. The victim, the villain, the hero, the guy. Those are the four characters we find in any given story, and they're the four characters we each play every day. As Don tells us, and I quote again, in my life, I play all four characters every day. If I'm faced with an unfair challenge, I usually play the victim for a minute, feeling sorry for myself If I am wronged, I dream of vengeance like a villain. If I come up with a good idea and want to make it happen, I switch into hero mode to take action. And if somebody calls and needs my advice, I play the guide. Now, helping us make the shift from victim or villain to hero and ultimately, guide is of course, what the book is all about. And of course, it's also what all of our work is about. So today's plus one what role are you playing these days? See if you can pay a little more attention today and choose your roles wisely.
Hero we hope you enjoyed today's Heroic one. For more ancient wisdom, modern science, and practical tools to help you flourish in energy, work, and love, head to Heroic Us, where you can get started on your heroic journey for free.
