Have you ever noticed there are tragic people all around? They’re in the present age, and they have been here forever. The poor souls, the losers. You know, at one point, they may have been successful, but eventually, they stumble. Some great tragedy befalls them, and down they go to Hades, to hell, a living hell, and they never escape, do they?
I had a friend when I was in high school. I played in a rock and roll band. I played the piano. He was the lead guitarist. Fantastic musician.
Absolutely fantastic. But today, he’s dead. I loved him, and I miss him because I should be saying today, I know such and such a person and people would say, no. That’s impossible. He’s too famous.
No. No. Really. We grew up together. Leon.
Not true. Instead, he’s gone. Why? Well, I think the truth is his life story. Right?
So whatever life story you may have right now, if the story is negative, I’m too ugly, I’m too fat, I’m too stupid, I’m too lazy, I’m too poor, whatever it is, change your life story. It really is that simple to say. Honestly, change your life story. However, it is much, much harder to do, to implement, to actually change this mindset from being a loser to being a hero. Because all of us, I feel, deserve to be heroes.
Don’t we? Perhaps we don’t achieve the status of perhaps Elon Musk or people like this financially, but I can achieve success in my own life. So what do I do? Well, as I said, I must change my story and I must change my personal self image. I must get out my notebook and begin to write.
And each and every day, I must begin my day with gratitude. I thank God that I am here. I am so lucky, so lucky to be me. So now I must begin. I cannot change the past.
I must remember this. I have no regrets. A regret is something that occurred in the past that I bring forward and suffer over, But forget it because the past has no value. Only lessons. Yes.
You may have done some horrible things, said some nasty things, hurt some people. Apologize if you can, move on. If they accept you or probably not, still move on. The past is over. The future is an illusion.
You only have today. So then, we’re going to go to Joseph Campbell’s view. We’re going to adopt a positive and a hero’s mindset. Imagine a hero from Greek or Roman mythology. You get the idea.
Right? A hero’s mindset. And the narrative of you, write it down. Begin to document the narrative of you. Travel.
Travel and explore this beautiful world. Begin to see things in a totally different way. If you practice, when people ask you what kind of work do you do, what kind of career do you have, Where are you from? Tell me a little bit about yourself, etcetera. You can set the narrative for sure.
And, of course, dress the part. If you’re a hero, you must dress like a hero. Don’t dress like a slob, a loser because you’re not, are you? Absolutely not. You’re a hero.
Say yes to as many as you possibly can for sure. And surround yourself with grand friends, the right friends, the positive friends. Now in our hero’s journey, you will feel, according to Joseph Campbell, you’re gonna feel a call to action. Initially, because you feel so bad about yourself, you’re going to refuse this call. But eventually, through prayer, introspection, you’re gonna realize I have a choice.
I’ve come to that point in my life that I must decide whether I’m going to die and disappear as a loser or I’m going to take a chance on me. Wherever it goes, and then you cross a threshold, and then you can’t go back. You’re never gonna be the same person again. Along the way, there are tests, ordeals, frustrations. At one point, you might even think you’re going to die, but then you’re resurrected.
Gosh. I’ve lived. You returned home and you’re a different person. It’s still home, but you are a different person. You’ve changed the narrative.
You’ve changed the story of your life. You are now a hero. This is from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a man who certainly experienced great tragedy in his life. Both his wives died. First one in childbirth.
The second one got burnt to death. You’ll see him perhaps with a beard. He wore a beard for the latter part of his life because his face was burnt trying to save his second wife supposedly. Horrible story. But this great poem, he leaves us with this great poem. It’s called a Psalm of Life.
“Tell me not in mournful numbers, life is but an empty dream. For the soul is dead that slumbers, and things are not what they seem. Life is real. Life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal.
Dost thou art to dust returnest was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment and not sorrow is our distant end or way, but to act that each tomorrow find us farther than today. Art is long and time is fleeting, and our hearts, though stout and brave, still like muffled drums are bleating. Funeral marches to the grave. In the world’s broad field of battle, in the bivouac of life, be not like dumb driven cattle.
Be a hero in the strife. Trust no future, however pleasant. Let the dead past bury its dead. Act. Act in the living present, heart within, and God overhead.
Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime and departing. Leave behind us footprints on the sands of time. Footprints that perhaps another, sailing or life’s solemn main, a forlorn and shipwrecked brother, seeing, shall take heart again. Let us then be up and doing with a heart for any fate. Still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait.”
So change your life story. Be a hero. You are. You truly are. But you must believe it to yourself first before anyone else will.
And you know what they say. You know what they say. Critical thinking is necessary, especially if you’re going to change your life story, and critical thinking is great. Truly great. God bless. You take care. Bye bye.