Heroism: 101
A Philosophy Founded on Ancient Wisdom and First Principles Thinking
“First principles” are the ideas that are true at the most fundamental level. The Hero’s Journey contains a first principles understanding of: the essential aspects of human nature, the philosophy that allows us to leverage them to our advantage, the framework to create a plan to live well, and the ethos that allows us to see those plans through to completion.
Human Nature
Everyone is born with the potential for excellence and the desire to unleash that potential.
Everyone needs someone who treats them like their potential matters.
The struggle at the core of human life is the wrestling match between conscience and distraction.
A human being will sacrifice everything for their highest priority.
Once you understand these things about yourself, you need a philosophy. A philosophy is a set of priorities that determines the sacrifices you will make and the skills you will develop in order to complete your quest. The purpose of philosophy is to become a better person.
The Philosophy of the Hero
Everyone is born with the potential for excellence and the desire to unleash that potential. Life is the quest to unleash human potential because the saddest thing in life is wasted talent. Talent gets wasted by people who are distracted. Unleash your talent by developing a distraction free connection with your conscience because your conscience knows the path that will challenge you to be your most courageous, most authentic, most excellent self. Surround yourself with a community who supports your quest. Develop the skills you need to unleash your potential. Then enter the arena and leave all of your effort on the field. Never surrender your quest to the temptations of status, comfort, or pleasure.
You can witness the embodiment of this philosophy in Alex Honnold’s “Free Solo” climb of El Capitan in Yosemite and Conor McGregor’s performances against Jose Aldo Jr. and Eddie Alvarez.
The Framework for your Quest
If life is the quest to unleash human potential by developing a distraction-free connection with your conscience because your conscience knows the path that will challenge you to be your most courageous, most authentic, most excellent self, how do you do that? What is a practical framework you can use that will allow your decisions and actions to flow from your conscience rather than your ego, your fear, or your id?
The quest to unleash human potential begins with asking yourself the questions that connect you to your conscience.
If you dedicate your life to the development of courage, authenticity, accountability, discipline, sacrifice, and flow, what could you accomplish? What could you contribute to humanity?
Who would you become? Would you like to become that person?
Is there something else you would rather do with your life?
So, who are you? And what do you want to do about it?
What is the biggest, most important problem you can solve with your gifts and skills? And what is your plan to solve it?
Who are the peers and mentors who can and will help you achieve your mission? What help do you need from each person in your community?
What are you going to do to help your peers and mentors achieve their respective missions?
Which skills do you need to develop to accomplish your mission?
Which milestones do you need to achieve to accomplish your mission? In what order?
What is your plan to develop those skills and achieve those milestones?
What sacrifices do you need to make so you can reach for what is most meaningful to you?
What are you spending your time on? Are those activities more important than your mission?
What are you spending your money on? Are those items and activities more important than your mission?
The Ethos of the Hero
The only thing more precious to me than my life is my soul, so I will never sacrifice my soul to save my life because survival is insufficient.
This ethos is embodied by heroes like Eddie Aikau, Marc André LeClerc, Alex Honnold, and David Goggins.
“Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of human life.”
The Mythology of the Hero
Joseph Campbell was the world’s foremost authority on humanity’s tradition of heroic myths and legends. In his groundbreaking book “The Hero With A Thousand Faces,” he outlined an archetypal narrative pattern that was consistent in myths and legends from all over the world and throughout history. He called that narrative pattern “The Hero’s Journey Monomyth.”
The steps that narrative pattern follows are:
The Call to Adventure
Refusing the Call
Meeting the Mentor
Crossing the Threshold
The Road of Trials
The Ordeal
Apotheosis
Return with The Elixir
The pattern is cyclical. The completion of one cycle leads into the beginning of the next cycle. Upon receiving a new call to a new adventure, the protagonist begins a new Hero’s Journey.
If you’re looking for proof that The Hero’s Journey contains clues to human potential, you need look no further than the popularity of stories that follow that pattern. Hero stories have been retold, reimagined, and revivified for thousands of years. Hero stories have generated billions of dollars in global box office: “The Wizard Of Oz,” “The Lord Of The Rings,” “Rocky,” “Star Wars,” “The Matrix,” “Harry Potter,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” The MCU, and “Avatar,” are only a few examples of Hero’s Journeys that have captivated audiences around the world.
The reason these stories are so universally loved is precisely because they contain clues to our potential. Audience members imagine themselves as the hero, and walk away from the stories inspired by their own vision of courage, authenticity, and excellence.
Our philosophy is called “Heroism” because it is derived from the clues embedded in “The Hero’s Journey.” The objective of our philosophical practice is to create a framework that allows you to align your decisions and actions with your conscience so you can develop the skills you need to unleash your potential for excellence.
Building a Community That is United by a Philosophy.
The fundamental story of the community is sacrifice because human beings will sacrifice everything for their highest priority. A community is a group of people united by a common priority because they can trust each other to make the necessary sacrifices.
When you have a community united by the same priorities, focused on developing the necessary skills, and willing to make the necessary sacrifices, there is no obstacle to success that cannot be overcome, and there is no achievement that is beyond your capabilities.
The quest to unleash your potential is cyclical. There will always be a new call to adventure, and you must answer the call. After completing a cycle that leaves all of your effort on the field back in the arena, you will feel totally spent. You will need your community to reinvigorate you. You will need someone who treats you like your potential still has meaning. You will need to treat someone like their potential still has meaning.
The quest to unleash human potential is what James P. Carse defined as an “infinite game.” The objectives of the game are to play for as long as possible and to perpetuate the game. Players drop out of the game when they run out of the will or the resources to continue, so we need to effectively manage will and resources because we do not want people to drop out of this game. People who drop out of this game become villains who fight against human potential by punishing courage and authenticity anytime they see it. You see these people every day in the form of “haters.”
Effectively managing resources means practicing courage, authenticity, accountability, discipline, sacrifice, and flow. Effectively managing will means building a community of people focused on the same priority. If we share the same priority, then we have trust. That is the foundation of a shared ethic, and a shared ethic is the foundation of any community. Our ethic is…
“Everyone is born with the potential to achieve excellence and the desire to unleash that potential. I believe in your talent, and I can’t wait to see what you become. How can I help you embody your most courageous, most authentic, most excellent self? How can I help you develop the skills you need to follow your conscience so you can unleash your potential?”
The most important thing in this community is human potential because the saddest thing in life is wasted talent. Wasted talent leads to regret and despair, and that is the path to villainy. You have the opportunity to become a hero, and you have the duty to avoid becoming a villain, so be the hero of your own journey. Focus on sharing your gift with the world, and surround yourself with a community who supports your quest. Enter the arena, and leave it all out on the field.
Be the hero of your own journey. Answer the call to adventure. Join the quest to unleash human potential by allowing your decisions and actions to flow from your conscience, and never surrender your quest to the temptations of status, comfort, and pleasure.