The BIG problem with the hero’s journey

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Hey my friend!

Back when I was a journalist, I covered all kinds of athletes.

Gold medalists. Record-breakers. The ones with perfect endings.

Then one day, I interviewed a netballer.

Not a national star. Not a championship MVP and she was also working a 9-5.

She’d wake up at 5 AM, hit the gym before work, spend the day at her desk, then lace up for training until late at night.

Weekends? Game days. Travel. Recovery.

She told me how exhausting it was. How sometimes she wanted to quit. How she didn’t have a dramatic “this is my moment” turning point.

And my first thought?

Where’s the story?

Because we’ve been trained to look for a clean-cut hero’s journey.

The struggle. The breakthrough. The epic win.

But what if the real journey looks more like:

➡️ Putting in the work with no guarantees.
➡️ Showing up when no one’s watching.
➡️ Repeating the same drills, day after day.

That’s the part of the story no one talks about.

Because the biggest problem with the hero’s journey?

➡️ It makes success look too simple.
➡️ It convinces people their story isn’t big enough.
➡️ It skips the messy middle, the doubts, the grind, the work no one sees.

But that is the real story.

Success isn’t about one big moment.

It’s about the moments before the win.

So if you feel like your journey isn’t “heroic” enough to share?

Tell it anyway.

Because people don’t connect with fairy tales.

They connect with real life.

Plug in your own story using this formula.

1️⃣ Hook: What’s the struggle?
2️⃣ Agitate: What made it feel impossible?
3️⃣ Solution: How did you break through?

Make your audience the hero.
That’s how you keep them hooked.

Talk soon,

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