Discover Your Hero's Journey

Are you stuck in your comfort zone? Does every day, week, and month feel roughly the same to you? Do you have a sense that you're not tapping into your full potential? Is there a certain hunger for more and a slight dissatisfaction present within you? A curiosity and silent voice telling you to venture out and follow that distant star that you sometimes lose sight of, but that's always there in the sky, ready to guide you?

Allow me to inspire with you my insane story of why I walked 40 kilometers after missing the bus. Tapping into your drive to grow, improve, and excel is an integral part of the human experience, especially if you identify as an entrepreneur or creative, if you have a vision that you want to bring into the world. That's what gets me excited in the morning, and if you're anything like me then you can relate. This drive to grow can be a source of motivation and joy and the very thing that allows you to contribute your gifts to the world.

Entering The Forest At The Darkest Point

Here's the problem: as humans, we are creatures of habit. We are biologically designed to conserve energy. This is a big part of why we gravitate towards habits, for good or worse. One way to say it is: "Our nervous system is wired for comfort, and our "soul" is wired for growth. We can get stuck at a certain level of belief, performance, and capability, unless we are willing to consistently exit our comfort zone and venture into the "dark forest". We can enter an upward spiral of growth by making our life a series of hero's journeys (small, medium, large, and sometimes extra-large ones ;).

This not only infuses our existence with meaning, adventure, and fun, but it also allows us to learn and grow at an astounding pace. Living this way enables us to become a beacon of light and inspiration for others. Here's a quote to consider:

The "Hero's Journey" is a concept by Joseph Campbell. It's a parable for how we reinvent ourselves, by going on a journey that challenges the status quo, as it manifests within our mind and in our life. You can think of popular film characters like Sam from the Lord of the Rings, who goes on a journey to Mordor, to battle evil and save the people of Middle Earth. You can also think of Frodo, but his character is more nuanced and a bit heavier.

The Beginning Of The Journey

The process is very simple. Once you realize that you're stuck, you've already started your journey. There comes a point when a chapter of your story is calling to you so loudly that you cannot ignore it anymore.

You start being on the lookout for opportunities to leave the known world, for adventure. There are secret doors all around you. Some are obvious, others very subtle.

As you are leaving the known world, your ability to predict what will happen is going to diminish. You are entering foreign territory. Your emotional experience will change from comfort or maybe boredom to excitement, sometimes anxiety, maybe fear. As you zoom out, you realize that all of this is part of the journey you are on. It's your choice if you want to walk back into comfort or take a step, maybe even a leap of faith forward.

The Mentor

When I enter a coaching relationship with a client, I serve them in two major functions: to support and to challenge them. This is embedded in a secure relationship based on service and contribution. This is not the same as trying to please my client. A healthy dose of discomfort is a necessary part of growth.

Both need to come at the right point in time, though. If you tune in with yourself, at this point in your journey, you can probably sense if you'd need a little more support from yourself and the people in your life or more challenge.

Now as explained above, the way to break out of the known and "ordinary world" is to go on a hero's journey. That journey involves doing something challenging, maybe something you previously deemed impossible.

The Boon

Think back to Sam from The Lord Of The Rings, or your favorite book or movie. There's a scene in the movie, and it's a very classical example: He comes back from the journey with a newfound sense of purpose and confidence, and he courts his sweet heart who he had lacked the courage to approach earlier.

The boon, of course, is not the woman. The boon is his internal growth and development of character, something that his family and community will benefit from. If it's a good story, you will see that at the end of the story, the protagonist has become a different person.

The boon we gain from the hero's journey is an internal transformation, the experiential knowing that we can outgrow ourselves, acquire new skills, and unlock a new level of thinking and acting. The chances of this translating into our physical reality are extremely high.

The sense of adventure, growth and exhilaration we walk away with on returning from our journey can deeply invigorate our relationships (most importantly our relationship with ourselves), work and how we dance with life. This boon is what enables us to contribute to others.

If you feel like you want or need some support at the current stage of your journey, reach out to me and let’s have a chat.

It's About YOU

Remember: this is a deeply personal experience. What might be easy or mundane for another person, might be a big challenge for you. In this case, only your experience matters, not what others think or believe about what you're doing.

Here are three arguments for why you should go on regular "hero's journeys":

1. Achieving something challenging strengthens your self-image and self-confidence. This is vital if you want to birth your dreams and vision into the world. You can see this from looking back at your own experiences of overcoming the odds, venturing into the unknown, and coming back stronger, more resilient, and more confident. Think back to an experience in your life, I am sure there are many.
   

2. Regularly going outside of your comfort zone is something all successful people do. These movers and shakers, trailblazers, and innovators are perpetual learners, experimenters, and adventurers.
   
   From Richard Branson, who attempted to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon to Elon Musk (love him or hate him) relentlessly tapping into and revolutionizing new industries, or Jeff Bezos' deep-sea expedition to recover the engines of the Apollo 11 mission.
   
   You might think that "these rich and successful people have the time and money to indulge in such things", but I assert that this attitude comes first. It is a pre-requisite to them becoming successful in their given domains.

3. Going on "hero's journeys" is the very vehicle by which humans succeed. Whether we look at Ray Dalio's concept of a "mistake learner's high" or Carol Dweck's "growth mindset", mastering the art of venturing out into the dark forest, the deep sea, the troposphere (the lowest layer of earth's atmosphere) is the way to go, if you're serious about growing and contributing to the world. If not you, who's going to do it?

Now do you have to embark on a physically challenging adventure to reap the benefits of this? No. As the prior example of me working with a client within the container of a coaching relationship, you need to find your optimal skill/challenge ratio (one of the triggers for flow state). What I will say though: Sometimes it's worth going against your habitual inclinations and preferences, fr

om comfort to discomfort. Of course, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. It’s important to create an environment of other heroes for yourself that lifts you up and gives you base you can return to.

Why I Walked 40 Kilometers After Missing The Bus

Here's my personal story on what happened on that Sunday a few weeks ago. I discovered this screenshot of a tweet in my photos from earlier that day. So this certainly gave me some additional inspiration:

I love my business, I love coaching people. Making a steady income to finance an apartment in Vienna, private schooling for my son (let's not talk about the public school system) and my expensive supplements are more challenging than I thought. Working full-time while building your business doesn't leave you with a lot of time and energy, so I decided to move to my parent's place in the countryside. Not such an exhilarating prospect at 36 years old, but I'm grateful for having that opportunity so I can focus on building my life's work. It's a different experience putting wood into an oven in the morning, over having automatic heating. I kind of like it.

I spend the first half of that Sunday with my girlfriend and after having a late lunch together, I embark on the almost 2-hour journey to my new place of residence. I first have to take a streetcar, then the subway, and finally the bus. As usual, my travel plans are rather tight (which has been making people who are close to me crazy for years). There are still irregular intervals because of flooding caused by the heavy rainfalls the week before. I get to the main train station in the center of the city and get onto the train I'm supposed to board. I sit there and the train doesn't depart. Two minutes, five minutes. After about 10 minutes it finally gets going. I check my schedule and it starts to dawn on me: I might not make it in time. I continue in good faith, hoping that the train makes up some time.

Oh no, my bus!

I arrive at the station about five minutes too late and the bus has already left. I would have to wait two hours for the next one. The entrepreneurs mastermind group I'm facilitating every week starts soon and I realize that I'll have to cancel that. I feel frustration and self-pity welling up inside of me. A distinct sense of disempowerment and victim mentality towards my general life situation plus the events of the day.

Fueled by a mixture of anger and insane resolve, I think to myself: "Screw that bus. I'm just going to jog. I've wanted to do a marathon for a long time anyways". It's just over 40 kilometers. My backpack is quite heavy, as it contains my laptop, a few pears, and my full water bottle, which would come in handy a few hours later. It's about 5:15 PM. I just start to jog.

Starting out, my spirits are quite high. I even record a short video to document what I'm doing to maybe inspire someone else. My plan is to split the whole journey into 4 even segments of around 10 kilometers. I think: "The world's best runners take about 2 hours for a full marathon. I should be able to finish in maybe 4?" I feel VERY optimistic.

The pavement is comfortable, yet a bit hard. My backpack is heavy and I’m thinking: “That’s not the best treatment for my joints." After about 40 minutes of jogging, my ankles start hurting. I'm thinking: "I've done about 5 kilometers, that's only about an eight of the entire distance... Slowly my surroundings start to transform from urban to suburban and finally, I'm jogging on the side of the road in the grass and dirt, as there's no longer a footpath to use. My feet respond very well to the softer and more uneven underground. The pain in my ankles vanishes almost immediately and my choice of wearing barefoot shoes, which I started doing about 2 years ago, is confirmed.

Leaving the city

Finally, the strip of grass vanishes and I'm having to fight my way through semi-vegetation. I step into a proper puddle of mud, a remnant of the heavy rainfalls. Nothing too tragic, but it's not encouraging either. A police car is parked on the side of the road as I cross right in the middle of the street. Neither of us seems to mind. Slowly the temperature begins to fall and I put on a cap so my ears stay warm and do my second check-in. My path alongside the road gets more narrow and dangerous until the street turns into the highway. I choose to take a street parallel to the highway, convinced it's the right one, as I notice the impending darkness creeping up on me.

Through a combination of difficult terrain, not being able to see that much, and general exhaustion, I start to slow down. As I take a short rest to eat a pear, I notice that my feet are utterly exhausted and hurting. I decide to walk for a bit. From that point on there seems to be almost zero progress towards my destination. Having covered the route countless times as a passenger and by car, what feels like five seconds takes me about half an hour. My girlfriend calls me twice and encourages me to abort or take the bus. I decline. I'm starting to enjoy what I'm doing, at least for now.

I feel alive

The street I've chosen is leading further and further away from the highway and now there are more trees, more nature, less civilization. I feel doubtful about being on course. It's getting dark to the point that it's very difficult to see anything. It feels like I'm in the middle of the forest, except for the monotonous hum of the highway. I decide that this path isn't working out and try to cross over to the highway. The trees and shrubs are too dense and I can't see anything, so I abort and follow the street for a bit longer. Luckily I have internet reception and check for a proper way to cross. I'm maybe 500 meters away from the highway, in what feels like the middle of nowhere. I step into another puddle. This time it's a proper one, my foot gets entirely submerged. Great. Meanwhile, I'm starting to feel a bit wary of wild animals, not that there are a lot of them here in Austria, but maybe a fox or a dog. My mind goes to the worst-case scenario, rabies. I realize how overprotected I am in my cocoon of concrete, metal, and glass. I feel distinctly alive. While this might be a small adventure, it's an adventure still.

I finally get to the crossing, take a bridge over the highway, and look down at all the cars zooming over the concrete road, that's being eaten up by the darkness.... The evening air is cold and fresh. Walking alongside the highway I find a place where the fence is easier to reach and I climb over it. I’m relieved about being back to civilization.

My Second Encounter With Rabies

For the next two hours, I just walk. I remember parts of the journey that usually go by in a heartbeat feels like an eternity. My feet are hurting, it’s cold and it’s getting late. The distance on Google Maps doesn't seem to be getting any shorter.

I get to another small township where I check out a self service egg “machine” where you can buy eggs and some other produce. Pretty cool. Sitting down I realize that by resting I won’t make any progress so I get up again. The first few steps hurt, but it’s okay. I can feel the blisters on my feet which are not used to this.

Still, I’m amazed. It’s an incredibly good feeling to push myself and do something that I normally would never do. I feel strangely at peace and satisfied with myself.

After that little piece of human civilization there’s a few stretches over the countryside where there’s nothing but vineyards and fields with a few wine cellars in between. The moon is bright tonight and as I walk I can hear and see some movement in the distance. There’s deer rustling in a vineyard and then there’s the sound of a fox.

The cries of the fox aren't exactly soothing to a city boy walking in the middle of nowhere, at around 11:30 PM. My mind goes to rabies, again, but I make some noises (like the large animal that I am, certainly larger than a fox). That should take care of it. Then again, if the fox has rabies he wouldn't mind that, right? I keep looking into the dark, ready to punch if necessary, which again is a bad idea if the animal has rabies. What else are you supposed to do? I laugh at myself.

Hitchhiking?

I'm relieved as I enter the next little village. It's about 40 more minutes of distance to cover. I almost made it. Suddenly a car drives by and stops at the side of the road. I'm blinded by the lights and as I walk over I realize: "I know this car!" It's not the first one that has stopped today. I had 2 other guys stop at the side of the road, offering to let me jump in, which I had gratefully declined. They probably thought I was a little bit crazy.

It's about 11:30 and I know my dad usually goes to bed quite early. The car is heated, and he looks a bit tired. He smiles at me and asks if I want to get in. I feel very grateful and touched to have a father who gets up and drives into the night to pick up his son, who is executing a slightly insane midnight marathon walk across the country.

I thank him and tell him that I want to finish what I started. He hesitates but understands and drives off. I continue my walk through the last village before my destination. It's quiet except for the sound of the wind, as I leave the glow of the last lantern behind me. I'm on the home stretch. The moon throws its lights on the road beneath my feet and the trees and fields all around me. I take a moment and pause to look up at a few clouds covering up and then gliding past the moon.

Arrival

As I arrive my feet and back hurt a little, but I'm fine. Better than I expected. I used to have a lot of back pain for much of my adolescence, which has completely vanished since only wearing barefoot shoes, doing a part of my computer work standing up, and also getting a weird wobbly chair that forces me to move my spine as I sit.

It's about midnight. 7 hours and 7 minutes later. 42,4 kilometers from where I started. I celebrate myself and record my daily social media reel. I say good night to my parents, who are still up. My mom offers me something to eat, which I gratefully decline, as it would mess with my sleep.

It's an amazing feeling to set out to do something I've never done before. Something that is challenging to me, where I dared and achieved it. I feel proud and invigorated.

I realized that I'm extremely tired. I go to bed and I sleep very deeply. In the morning I check my Oura scores and my body temperature is slightly elevated, which indicates that this walk did indeed affect my body.

Over the next few days my feet still hurt, I've got a few blisters, but right away the next morning I get out again and walk (no running on the first day, hah). The second day I start jogging again. I'm amazed at my body's ability to recover. I'm glad that exercise has become such a solid part of my life over the last five or ten years.

Your Hero's Journey

I share this story because I want to encourage you to lean into your potential. Whatever that means. To test your self-imposed limits and transcend them. To gently circumvent, slide through, jump over, crawl under them. Whatever works for you!

What's an area in your life you'd like to challenge yourself with? Set yourself an audacious target and do it. Don't worry about what other people think, if somebody else will find it cool. What matters is that you find it cool, fun, and maybe scary. If you feel like it, document your journey and share it with others to inspire them. What's your mountain? What's your insane challenge that makes you giddy and excited?

If you would like to explore what having my support in stretching your limits would look like, reach out to me, and let's have a chat. If you are more of a group person, check out my Keystone Habit Mastermind Group. We meet each week on a video call and support each other in achieving our most important goals. It's a peer group for visionaries and entrepreneurs that you can count on and that provides you with a framework to review your week, recover and regroup, and then switch to the next gear in your evolution towards becoming who you're committed to being, to live a deeply satisfying life that you can feel proud of. A way of life that enables you to grow and contribute your gifts to the world.

Let’s create what we want to see in the world, starting with ourselves, starting today.