I find a lot of the people who are called to this journey have these big challenges perhaps earlier on in life.
As you mentioned I think not belonging is a big one.
I mean I can certainly relate to that.
It kind of grew stronger in my teens.
As a kid I didn't have it so much.
Me being different was okay.
I could read superhero comics and go and watch my Doctor Who whatever but that was fine.
I could play games with my friends it was fine.
I have a big imagination.
But as a teenager I felt that was becoming more of a well am I slightly weird or something.
This sense of not belonging grew.
I was a round peg in a square hole as I mentioned.
So I felt a great sense of disempowerment like you've said.
Certainly in my teenage years and early adult years I had that feeling of oh a feeling of not on track.
I used to read all these sci-fi books or fantasy books about heroes who were on track and having these magical adventures and you know and somehow was comparing myself.
There are people having amazing lives.
Why am I having this very ordinary very boring very stressful life.
Somewhere along the line I kind of had a feeling somewhere that maybe there was something more for me but I kind of dismissed it as fantasy.
I'm just fantasizing.
It's never going to be for me.
But what I found is the journey as you mentioned is whatever the challenge is of I don't belong points to the opposite of community.
I found great communities.
I'm still finding great communities now of people who are more in line with my values my interests my outlook.
I felt I had no voice and now I feel I have a very strong voice you know.
I've gotten these 91,
000 people on YouTube following me and on Facebook I think there's about 60,
000 on a few pages and 10,
000 on Instagram and suddenly I've got a voice and people are interested or for some people it might be experiences around the heart or love or betrayal or and then of course the opposite of that is finding love or it might be feeling trapped finding freedom and liberation.
So whatever the challenge it actually points to the journey.
So if someone feels trapped the journey of the hero's journey is going to be one of liberation and expansion of freedom for them.
It's going to be a breaking out of what the challenges and finding the gold in that.
I think part of the journey is also one of values.
A values led life which is a very coaching way of looking at it I think but when I look back on my life when I was working in the corporate world I had no idea what values meant.
It's like an inner compass isn't it?
What's really important for me.
When I eventually heard the term values and I heard someone saying well what's that?
And then I found out I did a little process on it I found my values of creativity learning spirituality and community.
And when I looked at that old job I was doing that it didn't tick any of the boxes actually not one.
And the next job I did being a direct of alternatives it ticked all of them which is why it's very hard for me to leave.
But now it's ticking all those boxes in a different way perhaps more intense way.
Where we come from these challenges also leads to activating our inner potential which is a vague term.
Because if you say well we've all got inner potential well what is it?
Well I've got no idea.
Part of the journey of going through this calling refusal and then the whole process of the journey does which is brings you challenges and there's kind of allies that comes in and all of this that people probably know the journey the template of the journey.
That something vague within it starts to activate.
So we may have that someone the analogy one person might be have a seeds of an apple tree and another person seeds of a pear tree another person a plum tree you know.
And so it's only when it activate my journey is is apple.
And these are the gifts I've come to share my journey is plum or my journey is pear you know.
So when I was working in the corporate world I had no idea that I could write books I was reading lots of books I had no idea I could write any.
This was something just seed form within me.
I had no idea I could write blogs there was no such thing as a blog even then I don't think I had no ideas I could run events.
I had no idea I could be a director of a spiritual organization.
I didn't know I could run webinars.
There was no such thing as webinars.
I think coaching was very very new when I was working the corporate world.
There was no such thing as a YouTube channel or podcasting channels.
So I had no idea any of this was possible.
One of the things for me creativity was so important and I did explore it conventionally in many ways I did jury courses and stained glass courses and creative writing courses and none of it did anything for me.
I was like yes but it's not quite.
So it's only the when I went on the journey and it suddenly exploded you know all this kind of explosion of creativity happened and I realized I actually am a creative person.
And so we ignite this creativity and I think one of the things I know we talked about it before the podcast is we become a resource point for our descendants.
We're a gift for the bloodline.
I think there's a kind of healing that goes on in their bloodlines you know.
So when I look at my father and his work he was totally unhappy in his work.
You know he used to come home from his job.
He wouldn't say much about his work but I could tell by his body language and way spoke you know work is not great.
And so I had this idea work is not great.
It's kind of a almost like a squashing or he felt like trapped or unhappy or I have to do this you know this is something I have to do for the family.
And so now I think what I've been doing is transforming this in the bloodline.
See gift is to my children and grandchildren and hopefully they'll read some of my books at some point and the grandchildren might do that actually work is about play is about creativity is about fun.
It's not about slog or it doesn't have to be about slog it can be about slog.
It can be about nose to grindstone but it can be about something else.
And so when I look at my family none of my family were resource points for where I am now.
All of them were working class nose to grindstone unhappy as all the ones I've met were kind of like that as you know some were more happier perhaps than others.
But I didn't have anyone that was really on their path on track going yeah this is what I'm doing.
So I think what I am now is a resource point for other people but also for family you know my kids my grandkids will look at me and actually I think I've helped my children as well in where they've gone you know I've encouraged them to follow their hearts even though where their journey is led was never where I want to go but I've encouraged them go there.
That's what you want to do just do it.
You know whereas if I was still in the corporate world I don't think I could really say that with with all my heart.
Just follow your heart because I wouldn't have followed my heart.
So if a parent says follow your heart but they're not following there's a kids kind of pick up on that I think.
