Heroes!

Michael here. 👋

I started typing this sitting next to Brian, on the third row of a Greek tour bus, en route to the Temple of Poseidon.

Costas, from of our local Greek event team, just shared a message that sent shivers throughout my whole body.

Here he is with Brian, moments after connecting with us, right before we boarded the bus.

(As Brian said in a post to kick off the week, he shares a little genetic and a lot of philosophical heritage with Greece!)

We’ll get to what Costas said in just a moment.

First, a little context…

Around an hour ago, we officially closed our third Heroic Workshop Instructor training event, capping off an incredible week exploring Athens.

We entered the ancient world of Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Socrates, and Plato, studying and practicing the wisdom of their era, so that we could be Heroic in ours.

The trip has truly been extraordinary: a once-in-a-lifetime, remember forever kind of experience.

(Next year?! Heroic ROME!)

Altogether, since we launched Heroic Workshop Instructor Training earlier this year, we’ve now trained 200+ instructors from 24 countries, 74 states/provinces, and 174 cities. 😳🤯

In addition to the INCREDIBLE stories that each and every one of them has shared with us, it’s also inspiring to see the SPEED with which some folks are choosing to answer the call: from being newly introduced to Areté or Heroic to joining Coach and Workshop Instructor Training events just months later.

All while cultivating that same activated Soul Force energy we need if we want to change the world.

To close our extraordinary week in Athens, we planned a celebratory evening with members of team Heroic, Level 2 Workshop Instructor Trainers, and our families going to the Temple of Poseidon and then enjoying a final meal together.

Here we are at stop one (yes, that’s a real photo 🤯 ):

At dinner, an hour or so after that shot was taken, Brian, Jana, and I thanked the group for all the hard work they put in, and everything they did to make the whole week such an extraordinary success.

Which brings us back to Costas, and his message.

I asked the group at dinner how many of them had seen Costas smile during our time together.

Maybe a total of eight hands went up.

Which, if you’ve ever been to one of our events and felt the energy we bring, tells you a little something about Costas.

He had been in non-stop business mode. Somber and straightforward with an intense, serious expression even amidst a showering of gratitude and joy.

But…

As Brian and I had walked from the hotel to board the bus one final time, Costas took a moment to share a few words with us.

In his thickly-accented and moderate-vocabulary English, he said something like:

“Your entire group... You’re so kind. So grateful. The energy of everyone. So warm.

Experiencing all of you for this week, it gives me hope that the world CAN be a better place.

You must keep growing.

You must.

The world needs hope.

The world needs more of this.”

💪

It was a really special moment…

To feel the power of our Heroic movement, moving this imperturbable man, creating a renewed sense of hope and fierce desire to see that flourishing world.

And…

We’ve got work to do.

As we walked on the same ground where these great philosophers and leaders once walked, talked, and fought the great combat of life—greater than every other early conflict—we constantly reminded ourselves that TODAY is the day to move from theory to practice.

Our world needs heroes NOW more than ever before.

And YOU are the hero we’ve been waiting for.

Note: Forwarded this email? Sign up for updates and a free Heroic membership here.

1. Belonging by Owen Eastwood

This week’s new Philosopher’s Note is on Belonging by Owen Eastwood.

“As our communities and teams become increasingly diverse this wisdom has never been more precious.

In the pages that follow, I identify the aspects of teaming that gave homo sapiens a competitive advantage. We’ll see how these critical elements evolved over time into needs hardwired into our biology and our psychology and how they remain central to who we are today.

We will then see how our ancestors, from all over our world, converted these insights into wisdom.

Finally, we will take a glimpse into the dressing rooms of high-performing teams today to see how these insights continue to underpin great leadership and successful groups of homo sapiens.

I have written this book as a tradesman, not a philosopher. In the work I do, I always come back to the same question: What is the optimal environment for this group to perform to their best?

Over time, I’ve become uncomfortable with the idea that such a small number of people are exposed to these profound insights and our collective ancient wisdom. That does not feel right. All of us can perform at a high level and we should be empowered with the tools to give us that opportunity. In turn, we can unlock how to get the best out of the groups we belong to, from families to nations. Beyond performance, the environments we operate in have a profound impact on our emotional wellbeing. This has been glossed over for too long.”

— Owen Eastwood from Belonging

Read or listen to the full Note here!

P.S. Not yet a Premium member? Get access to this new Philosopher’s Note (and 700+ others and a TON of other wisdom and tools to support your growth) with Heroic Premium. Your first two weeks are free!

2. Envisioning Your Best Possible Self

In The How of Happiness (check out those Notes!) Sonja Lyubomirsky tells us that one of the most scientifically-robust ways to boost our optimism is to do what she calls a “Best Possible Selves” journaling exercise.

Here’s how to do it (find this Tool in the app here.):

  1. CREATE SPACE TO REFLECT: Set aside 5–20 minutes. Read through the next steps, then close your eyes and visualize your best possible future.
  2. SEE YOUR IDEAL FUTURE: Fast forward 5 years. Everything turned out the way you wanted. You worked hard, and achieved all your goals.
  3. EXPERIENCE THE DETAILS: See your best possible self in energy, work, and love. What has made you so energized, productive, and connected?
  4. WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU SEE: Journal what you visualized. Detail how this best possible self shows up so that you can connect deeply to this vision.

Sonja also tells us that doing an exercise like this is kinda like hitting the gym for your optimism muscles. Even if it doesn’t come naturally at first, show up and put in the work to get those optimism muscles stronger!

Pictured above: Candidate Heroic Workshop Instructors practicing leading a Best Self Meditation as part of our training in Athens this week!

3. Celebrating Candidate Workshop Instructors

As mentioned above, yesterday we wrapped an INCREDIBLE week certifying our next wave of Heroic Workshop Instructors.

As we’ve shared before (and will almost certainly share again!) our core promises to you are simple…

And…

And…

We cannot WAIT to see the ripples of impact you create in your local communities.

(Want to become a Certified Heroic Workshop Instructor? Head here to learn more about the next training event in Austin, TX — May 13-18, 2025.)

4. Optimizing for the Modern Hērō 101

How to harness your soul force to create the strength for two so we can change the world together.

Inspired by our time this week in Athens, Greece, and the ancient greek etymology of the word Hērō (aka “protector!”) and our commitment to empowering YOU, the hero we’ve been waiting for… check out this week’s featured 101 class.

In this extra-long class, we start by connecting “Optimizing” and “Hērō” to their ancient Greek philosophical roots then we proceed to walk thru how to go about integrating ancient wisdom, modern science and practical tools to harness our soul force to build strength for two such that we can create our best, most heroic lives.

5. Community highlights

A few favorites from another week of moving from Theory to Practice to Mastery, Together!!!

  • Gina coming full-circle in Athens with her son: After living in Athens at 23 years old, making sacrifices to support her husband’s career dreams, Gina joined the Athens event with her son. “I couldn’t have envisioned that 27 years later I’d be walking these same streets and ruins with my own 23 year old who is indeed one of my HEROES!” 🏛️ ❤️‍🔥
  • Lazolia joining the 900 Club: “This is a huge milestone for me because during the last 900 days, I’ve dealt with the passing of my grandmother, power cuts which broke my streaks… and a health scare, but I’m here.” Way to demonstrate antifragile confidence and the power of consistency! 💪
  • Jen celebrating a big promotion: “I’m a bit stunned - there’ve been times in my career when this seemed so out of reach as to be laughable… And I certainly never expected to achieve it with my sleep schedule and sanity in Check. Man. Heroic *works*.” 👏 Way to work your protocol, Jen! That’s like you!

Plus: Check out a TON of other community shares from Athens by searching for the hashtag #athens2024 in the Heroic app.

+1. Wisdom from the week:

“If you make it your mindset, your vision of who you are, that you’re going to make it a habit to give 100 percent, 100 percent of the time, in everything you do—if you make that your norm, your base level, your default mode—then on your absolutely worst day, even when you slip, you’re still going to be better than the average person on their BEST day.”

— Greg Harden

(Social shareable quote in light mode or dark mode.)

And this week’s Heroic +1s:

This week’s featured Meditation is Heartbeat of the Universe — a 7-minute meditation to connect with your heart, align with the rhythm of the universe, and feel a deep sense of love, power, and connection within and around you. (Available in app only).

And…

Have questions or suggestions about Heroic, or ANYTHING we can help with?

Join us on Wednesday at 1:00pm EST / 10:00am PST for Office Hours. Or reach out to our top-rated Heroic Service team by replying to this note or sending an email to support@heroic.us.

Alright…

With Wisdom + Discipline + Love + Courage + Gratitude + Hope + Curiosity + Zest.

Heroes Unite!

Let’s do this.

Day 1.

-Michael and Team Heroic

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