Last month was a slow month for me, as my health was a bit delicate. During my forced rest, I watched an infinite number of historical movies: Second World War movies, Mexican Independence and Revolution movies, survival of the Andes movies/documentaries… Plus read a couple of books: Spanish Civil War and the Sacred Book of the Mayans.
Each one of them really moved me. In each one I found great inspiration to feed my personal mission (to heal the fear of the builders of the upcoming Heart Centered Economy). At the beginning, the combination of material appeared quite random. Slowly a pattern was starting to emerge. I realized that I’ve been exploring the figure of the hero. I got multiple answers to the inspiring questions: what makes a hero? What makes him/her emerge and what makes him/her keep going against all odds? What can we learn from all those (famous and unknown) heroes?
Joseph Campbell dedicated his life to understand how all these stories are actually all just one: The Hero’s Journey. His books will awake your heroic self in you. Here I will just give you a taste of how those heroes’ adventures could inspire your journey as builder of the upcoming Heart Centered Economy.
When do heroes emerge?
The historical moments when heroes emerge have some common characteristics,
- There is a “dragon”/injustice to be fought against: war, disease, poverty…
- His people are losing hope: few resources, things don’t work anymore
- Community fear! People needed peace and protection
Our current business context is pretty similar to those where heroes are born. Who is the dragon of today? The old fashioned, bureaucratic, autocratic, inhumane, unethical corporations! They are now a wounded monster.
People losing hope and experiencing fear is the order of the day today in corporations,
- Staff disengagement (40% of workers describe their office environment as “most like a real-life survivor program. USAToday.com, Jan. 1, 2004)
- Growing global layoffs
- Now there is an overall feeling of fear: losing our houses, being unemployed, fired, not being able to sustain ourselves and our families…
Who are those heroes?
Those heroes are typically the underdog, the rebels, the previously invisible: the poor boy from Oaxaca, that philosophy student who joined the commandos in the UK during WW2, the bastard children of the Mayan gods, David who defeated the giant and the list goes on.
Heroes never thought of themselves as “heroes”. They were called and this gave them enough courage to conquer their fear and doubt. They used their fear as a teacher, listened to it, embraced it and went for it.
Now I see that our upcoming heroes are
- Just laid off. Because they don’t meet the requirements of the dragon corporations.
- Actively disengaged. Again, because they don’t meet the requirements of the dragon corporations.
- Our dear generation I (Internet generation, people born between 1995 to 2009) which is no longer interested in feeding and growing dragon corporations
- Heart centered leaders who are transforming corporations from within.
- Heart centered business owners who are transforming the business horizon for ever!
You are a hero! Else you wouldn’t be reading this! (There are no coincidences) You are already a hero! Even if you might not be aware of it. One thing is certain: You’re not yet aware of how powerful you are. You are a hero in the making. I know that because of the simple fact that you are alive! Your journey is not over! You have a lot to offer and quite likely you are just discovering your own power!
What makes them take on the challenge?
The hero’s journey transforms every single one who takes it. The first step is always taken with a spirit of selflessness, with a spirit of service. Heroes take the first step in the unknown never for themselves, but for the people who they are meant to serve. No hero ever considered to become one. They don’t think about fame or fortune. They do it to serve, to serve the people who they are meant to serve, those ones specifically.
When you find the cause of what you are meant to serve, you have all the power of authenticity and uniqueness. With this power, you can not only initiate the journey, but also continue during challenging times.
What keeps them going?
The journey of the hero has many challenges, many turns and many possibilities. Being in this journey has a way back just after many transformational experiences. I like to see it as a labyrinth. Just imagine the journey of the young men who took part in D Day or the Uruguayan young men who survived the plane crash in the Andes in 1972. The ones who made it back home alive where completely different people. So transformational this is!
Mentorship and Self-belief go together in the journey. In order for the hero to know everything about his own power, he will need the support of a mentor, a wise teacher who will show him the path. Accepting the need of a mentor is critical for heroes to rise. Just as Mr Myjagi is for Karate Kid or Aristotle for Alexander the Great.
In my own personal experience, every time I’ve hired a mentor I have gotten back my investment 3 to 4 times back in no time! Every time you invest in your own development, you are telling the universe you are worth the investment, because you know there are more powers in you still to uncover. When you don’t open yourself to the support of a mentor, you are halting your own growth.
This links directly with self-belief. When they fought the dragon, the enemy army or rescued the princess… they needed to take decisions very very quickly. There was never time to go back and ask the mentor. They needed to act in a split second with all the wisdom and courage that they could gather. This self-belief made them leap into the risk and come back victorious.
You will build your own self-belief of course with the support of a relevant mentor. Even more powerful than that is your taking imperfect action. Instead of waiting for the right timing, the right equipment, the right support, sufficient funding… Go for it! Take imperfect action listening to all the wisdom of your very own self. You’ll be amazed of the results. Your courage will increase and your impact as well.
Own what you are meant to do. Now is the moment!
This moment belongs to YOU!
It doesn’t matter if you cannot yet see yourself as a hero. Now it’s the moment to start taking action to transform your current fear reality into a hope, tolerance, creativity and innovation reality.
Let us experiment with all the lessons of past heroes. I assure you, your business and overall impact will be enriched. You will be able to change the game.
Look into your own heart and choose your very own trench. Don’t ask how. It will be shown to you. Just, embrace and own what calls you. If it is regarded as impossible, you are in the right track! Because, thinking it so makes it possible!
Just try it!