Why On Earth Did I Write This Book?

I work in marketing, and one of the things I have to do in that role is tell the story about the product I am trying to sell and make the case for why anyone would want to buy it. Recently I was fortunate to sit through a business presentation by a professional storyteller. Tim Riesterer, who is also chief strategy and research officer of Corporate Visions, talked about what he called the Hero's Journey.

Mr. Riesterer was funny and engaging in a way that I am not in my paraphrasing here, but essentially what he said was this: The world starts out as normal, then something shocking happens: The Hero shows up, but initially resists, threatened by a change in the status quo. (Think Luke Skywalker). Then someone else shows up - the Mentor. (Think Yoda!). The Mentor guides the Hero, and finally, the Hero realizes the status quo is not safe, and accepts the quest.

As I sat here writing this post, trying to answer the question, "Why the hell did I write this book, anyway?" recalling Riesterer's Hero's Journey gave me the answer.

We are all heroes in our own story. But most of us are reluctant heroes. Most of us resist that which scares us, that which threatens not only our status quo, but in some cases our very existence. I can't tell you how many times over the past few years people told me they could never do what I was doing.

So it dawned on me that I wrote Semper Avanti because I know what it is like to be that reluctant hero, to be thrust into a life changing situation with no warning and no preparation and to be dragged kicking and screaming into accepting my quest. But accept it I did, and while I would never wish what happened to Bob or our family on my worst enemy, it has brought a depth and meaning to my life experience for which I have become extremely grateful.

So, it is my hope that through my book I can be a kind of mentor to those who find themselves in that unenviable position of being the reluctant hero in their own story. While I'm no Yoda, I hope my book can be a source of inspiration and help those struggling to accept their own quest to move always forward. As Yoda would advise, "Always pass on what you have learned."