Become the Hero of Your Own Story

In the Batman movie series Dark Knight Rising, Bruce Wayne is stuck in the Pit along with the other prisoners. He continuously fails after making three attempts in trying to escape by using a rope to get him out. 

A Blind Prisoner tells him "You do not fear death. You think this makes you strong. It makes you weak." 
Bruce Wayne: "Why?"
Blind Prisoner: "How can you move faster than possible, fight longer than possible without the most powerful impulse of the spirit: the fear of death."
Bruce Wayne: "I do fear death. I fear dying in here, while my city burns, and there's no one there to save it."
Blind Prisoner: "Then make the climb."
Bruce Wayne: "How?"
Blind Prisoner: "As the child did. Without the rope. Then fear will find you again."

As Bruce attempts to traverse the Pit without the use of the rope, the prisoners begin chanting "Deshi Basara," meaning “Rise.” He jumps, makes it, and is able to save his city. 

After watching this movie it got me thinking, "How do the lives of heroes compare to the lives of humanity?" There isn't a difference. Each person has the capacity to become the hero of their own story.

Here are some of the challenges and circumstances heroes almost always experience. 

Heroes have fear just as you read in the example above, but they embrace it and use it to propel them forward. They don’t allow fear to paralyze them, they conquer it.

Heroes are given a mission. The mission entails encountering certain challenges, meeting mentors, fighting epic battles with villains, and most importantly it allows the hero to make a change in people's lives and make improvements in the world (whether its inventing a product, becoming an artist, starting a startup, becoming a parent etc). Heroes set the examples in this world. People aren’t chosen to be heroes. They choose themselves to be heroes. They choose to take the stance in believing in something far greater than their selves and they go after it. 

Heroes get wounded and fall down, but they find a way to pick themselves up and carry on. They plunge into the dark abyss, yet they also find a way to see the light again. They realize the light was there the whole time clouded by darkness and in return darkness turns into their ally. Once they recover and gain their strength, they’re never the same. They’ve experienced a rebirth. They can now show themselves to the world with courage, a heightened sense of inner wisdom, and humility with a new set of eyes and a new perspective. The world needs to hear the lessons that they’ve learned.

Heroes have a solid healthy relationship with themselves. They believe in themselves, and don’t need to rely on the approval and validation of any person outside of them to carry out their mission. They trust their unique gifted super powers in which they've taken the time to discover and develop. They're able to call upon those powers to make their contribution in the world.  

Heroes face villains. The people that display characteristics of villains in your life - they appear as your inner dragons. They test you and push the buttons you need to work on within yourself. Villains show you that you can fight them at their level or rise above and operate from your higher self. They can show up as the test of doubt or betrayal. Through this understanding, the hero takes responsibility for things and he or she doesn’t play the victim to circumstances. 

The world needs more heroes. They need people like you to step up and bring your higher self forward. Becoming the hero of your story is raw, and its real. It is a tale of authenticity, adventure, humility, love, integrity, grief/loss, compassion, courage, failure, triumph, and happiness. 

And I have one ask and challenge for you… to rise and become the hero of your own story.

Have a Safe and Happy New Year!

Another year is upon us and we're fixing to cross a threshold that gives us the opportunity to let go of what was and embrace the new. It is a time to honor this year for what it taught you, the gifts it brought you, and the people it sent to you. They all have served to help shape you into a better person.

Open your eyes to the people that surround you. We tend to overlook the people in our everyday lives assuming they will always be there and take them for granted. Life is impermanent, and all situations eventually change. 

Each action you make in each moment affects your future. Choose wisely on what you create and how you react to situations.

Grow to embrace self awareness. It's huge. Are you speaking to yourself kindly or harshly? Those words will create your life situations. 

Keep your head and palms up always. It shows that you are open to receiving, and you are worthy of greatness. 

Don't blame anyone for any situations your unhappy in. If you want to change things for the better, make the change yourself. That's exercising personal power. Blaming puts you in victim mode.

Watch the assumptions you make about situations and people. The mind loves to create stories and assume things that may not even be true.

Let it be. You will often come across uncontrollable circumstances that you simply cannot change no matter how you would want the outcome to be. Accept it for what it is, and most importantly don't let those situations deflate you. 

Lastly, appreciate yourself because you're amazing regardless of your profession, status, looks, etc. The ego loves seeking validation from external things. Nothing externally can ever permanently give you value, because it's all temporary. Your value and worth come from within.

In 2016, I hope you choose to live boldly, passionately, authentically, and most importantly make some magic out there! Have a safe and happy new year everyone!

A Few of My Favorite Quotes

1.) “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Paulo Coelho

2.) "Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius." Peter Thiel

3.) "You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it." Robin Williams

4.) "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." Joseph Campbell

5.) “To belittle, you have to be little.” Kahlil Gibran

6.) “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” Stephen King

7.) "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." Oscar Wilde

8.) "All artists, whether they know it or not create from a place of inner stillness, a place of no mind.” Eckhart Tolle

9.) “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.” Pam Grout

10.) "Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don't let the noise of other people’s opinions drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs

11.) "Whatever happens around you, don’t take it personally. Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves." Don Miguel Ruiz

12.) "So many of us choose our paths out of fear disguised as practicality." Jim Carrey

13.) You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it." Benjamin Mee - We Bought a Zoo

14.) “There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind- you are the one that hears it.” Michael A. Singer

15.) "We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause." Steven Pressfield

15.) “You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.” Deepak Chopra

16.) "The future was uncertain, absolutely, and there were many hurdles, twists, and turns to come, but as long as I kept moving forward, one foot in front of the other, the voices of fear and shame, the messages from those who wanted me to believe that I wasn't good enough, would be stilled." Chris Gardner - The Pursuit of Happyness