“As I understood more about the powerful characteristics of heroes in literature and in movies, though, I became curious about whether embodying some of those characteristics would create a better life experience.
Living like a hero (which is nothing like you might think—heroes are anything but strong and capable; they are simply victims going through a process of transformation), entered me into, unknowingly, something called logotherapy, a therapy created by a Viennese psychologist named Viktor Frankl. I will explain much more about logotherapy in this book.
Entering into logotherapy changed my life for the better. I went from being sad to being content. I went from unproductive to productive. And I went from having certain fears of close relationships to being able to enter into and enjoy those relationships. Mostly, though, I went from feeling life was meaningless to experiencing a deep sense of meaning.
About ten years into living this way, I created a life plan and daily planner that helped me turn all of those helpful ideas into a system. And that’s what this book is all about. It’s about living like a hero so you can experience a deep sense of meaning. The book teaches a simple-to-use system allowing anybody to live a life that delivers a deep sense of meaning.
If you have struggled with a feeling of futility, or if you are tired of the story you’ve been living, or if you are having to start over and create a new reality for yourself, I hope you find this book to be helpful.”
~ Donald Miller from Hero on a Mission
Hero on a Mission.
As you can imagine, as a guy with HEROIC tattooed in rather large letters on my left forearm, I am magnetically drawn to the word “Hero,” especially when I find it in the title of a book. :)
I’m pretty sure I found this book on Amazon as a recommended read as I was buying Admiral William McRaven’s great book The Hero Code.
And, I’m glad I did. It’s fantastic. (Get a copy here.)
Donald Miller is the CEO of Business Made Simple and the author of a number of books including another one I have in my library called Building a Storybrand.
He’s a fantastic writer who integrates wisdom from Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning into our Heroic missions. His inspiring, to-the-point style of writing reminds me of Steven Pressfield and a bunch of his books we’ve featured. Check out our Notes on The War of Art, Do the Work, Turning Pro, Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, and The Artist’s Journey for more.
And, as you’d expect seeing that this is a book about a modern Hero (that would be YOU!) on a mission, Donald also touches on Joseph Campbellian themes throughout. Check out our Notes on A Joseph Campbell Companion, The Power of Myth, Pathways to Bliss, and A Hero with a Thousand Faces for more. And, of course, if you haven’t watched Finding Joe yet, get on that! (Trailer here. Full movie for free here.)
The book is PACKED with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share some of my favorites so let’s jump straight in!
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