Why You Need to Live the Hero Now

You know something’s wrong. You can feel it.

Like Neo in The Matrix, you know things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be. But we’re not talking about the world around you. There’s something happening with your inner world. It has you frustrated, restless, unhappy. But knowing about the wrongness hasn’t made it better. In fact, it’s made things worse.

I’ve been there, trust me. For decades, I wandered through my own life without a purpose. I often felt useless, no matter what I achieved. It took a lot of time and suffering before I began to suspect I was running on obsolete “social software.”

Like me, maybe you fell for the notion that men are supposed to be pillars of strength that don’t feel too much, think too much, or dream too big. Maybe you were taught the world is a nasty, dog-eat-dog place where dreams are a luxury we can’t afford. This worldview may have sent you into a downward spiral of isolation and depression.

Maybe, like me, you’ve never really given up hope that things could be different.

It’s Time to Live the Hero

The opening line of Allen Ginsberg‘s Howl says “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness.” I saw this line played out too many times in my own life and the lives of those around me. Finally, I realized the madness was being taught to us, blindly passed down because “that’s just the way it is.”

I’d had enough. I waded through years of struggle and a lot of trial-and-error experimentation with different religions, philosophies, and therapies. It wasn’t until I brought together a variety of teachings that I created something that worked for me. Now, I want to share it with you.

I created Live the Hero because I couldn’t sit back and watch my fellow man suffer anymore. I want to give you an alternative to the male stereotype we’ve been slaving under for too long. That old framework is rotted out, and together we can build something better to replace it.

What is Live the Hero? It’s a life path that has helped me escape my own descent into despair. It was inspired by ideas from many sources, including the work of Joseph Campbell, who shed light on ancient beliefs describing what he called “the hero’s journey.” Live the Hero also incorporates the latest discoveries about the biology of our brains, including how we form the habits that harm or help us.

This blog was created to share the Live the Hero path with you, and to build a community of like-minded individuals dedicated to forging a new way of navigating life. 

What Have You Got to Lose?

It’s not just our minds that are at risk. Our lives are also at stake. Approximately 87 men commit suicide every day in the United States. Over six million men suffer from a major bout of depression every year, which not only affects the mind but the body as well (it’s a contributing factor for heart disease).

Let’s be clear: I’m not talking about saving the world. I’m talking about saving you.

But when you save yourself, a funny thing often happens. The Talmud says “whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.” There are opportunities every day, big and small, for us to rise to the challenges of life and act heroically.

I look forward to exploring with you what it means to Live the Hero!

If you liked this post, please share it with those you feel will benefit from reading it. And please leave a comment about your own struggles and what you’ve done to overcome adversity.