Episode 7

Being the Protagonist of Your Own Story

In this episode, we examine the narratives that we tell ourselves about our careers, particularly in times of stress and change.  If your career is the movie Star Wars, are you a side character at that weird bar?  Or are you Luke Skywalker?  We always have some default narrative­­—the question is whether it’s doing us any good.  Michael is joined by Leslie Hom, a coaching colleague from San Francisco. They talk about “the hero’s journey” as it plays out in Star Wars, mythology and everywhere else, and examine what it means to cast yourself as the protagonist of your own story.  This doesn’t mean ignoring the ways that we are challenged by external events but it does mean thinking about what our own calls to action might be, and what types of responses we can create.  Leslie shares an exercise for examining your own hero’s journey, and Michael briefly recounts the plot of the 1990’s business bestseller “Who Moved My Cheese?”  

Exercise from Episode 7 — Your Own Hero’s Journey 

1.     What is your normal narrative about your career?  When you wake up, what is your first thought?

2.     If you make yourself the hero or heroine of your own life, how does that change your first thoughts about your career?

3.     What was your call to action—the event that challenged you to do something different?

4.     Who are your allies on this journey?

5.     Imagine your darkest moments on this journey. What’s your source of strength to get through these?

6.     What would achieving victory look like for you?

7.     How are you going to be transformed by this?

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