A short Heroic +1 podcast (Brian Johnson) reflecting on Donald Miller's Hero on a Mission: the four story roles (victim, villain, hero, guide) and why a hero who behaves like a victim undermines both stories and real life. Johnson draws on Joseph Campbell and the drama-triangle/empowerment-dynamic (David Emerald) to contrast victimhood with creative, responsible action; practical advice: stop complaining, ask "What do I want?", then take the steps to get it.
Hey, hero, if you're enjoying these daily plus ones, make sure you head to heroic us to check out all of the other goodness we have to help you activate your best every day. And now, today's plus one.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. In our last plus one, we talked about Donald Miller's great book, Hero on a Mission. As you may recall, we focused on the four different roles in any good hero's journey. Pop quiz. Do you recall what they are? Here they are. The victim, the villain, the hero, the guy. I encouraged you to check in on what roles you are playing in your life these days. Pop quiz. What role did you find yourself in most yesterday? Today, we're gonna talk about how to ruin an otherwise great hero story. Here's how Don brilliantly puts it. I quote, if you were a writer and came to me with a troubled story and said, don, this story isn't working. It's not interesting, and I don't know how to fix it. The first thing I'd look at is the lead character. Who is the story about and why isn't this character working to make the story more meaningful? He continues by saying, as I mentioned in the introduction, there are four major characters in nearly every story. The victim, the villain, the the hero and the guide. One thing that will ruin a story fast is if the hero, the character that the story is about, acts like a victim. Then he tells us, you cannot have a lead character in a story that acts like a victim. This is true in stories and it's true in life. In fact, this is true in stories because it's true in life. He says, the reason a hero that acts like a victim ruins the story is because a story must move forward to be interesting. The hero must want something that is different and perhaps even frightening to achieve. This is the plot of nearly every inspirational story you've ever read. A victim, on the other hand, does not move forward or accept challenges. Instead, a victim gives up because they have come to believe they are doomed. Now, as I read that passage, I thought of a line from Finding Joe that happens to be in the trailer. Robert Walter, the executive director of the Joseph Campbell foundation, tells us, I think people wake up to the fact that they are the hero of their own life when they get tired of being the victim of it. Exactly. Remember, you are the hero of your life story. And know this. The fastest way to ruin any story is including your own life. Story is simple. Act like a victim. No one wants to watch a movie in which the would be hero is acting like a victim. So why would you expect to enjoy the movie that is your life if you're not willing to make it interesting by stepping up and heroically facing your challenges and giving us all you've got? As dawn tells us, for practical purposes, it is my position that the author of our stories is actually us. Perhaps the single greatest paradigm shift I've had as a human being is this idea. I am writing my story and I alone have the responsibility to shape it into something meaningful. And he tells us the heroic transformation begins when the hero takes responsibility for their life and their story. The hero becomes the hero only when they decide to accept the facts of their life and respond with courage. How do we do that? Well, later in the book, Don talks about something known as the Cartman drama triangle. That model is the basis of one of my favorite little books called the Power of Ted. Check out the notes on that book, which happens to be one of the first three notes I ever created. The the short story you can be a victim stuck in what David Emerald calls the dreaded drama triangle, in which you are tormented by life in the form of people and challenges you see as persecutors while you seek rescuers to save you. Or you can be a creator living in the empowerment dynamic in which you view those same stressors as challengers rather than persecutors, as you seek wise coaches to support you on your heroic quest rather than rescuers to save you from your misery. The trick to making the shift from victim to creator? Quit complaining and ask yourself one simple question. What do I want? Then, of course, go do what needs to get done to get it. When as always today, 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.
