Your stories determine your happiness and success. When you think like an everyday hero, you open the door to new possibilities.
When you work in a company of heroes, communication increases, silos break down, and creative ideas multiply.
You experience greater camaraderie, openness to new ideas, and receptivity to change.
Telling hero stories does more than change your state of mind. These stories lead to actions that produce:
Career success
Improved relationships
More effective conflict resolution
Increased adaptability to change
Stronger leadership
Reduced stress
Greater happiness
These outcomes arise from telling hero stories, and we can all tell hero stories. I have divided these stories into three types:
People stories.
Heroes choose to feel others' pain and seek to understand their actions. Victims focus on their own pain and blame the people around them.
Situation stories.
Heroes see the best in their lives and appreciate what they have. Victims focus on what is wrong in their lives.
Self stories.
Heroes believe they can influence their lives and choose to take action. Victims believe nothing can be done to improve their lives.
No one tells hero stories all the time. We all lapse into victim mentality occasionally. Part of being an everyday hero is recognizing those lapses and shifting back to hero stories.
The techniques and strategies presented in this book come out of my years of corporate coaching and consulting, helping everyone from senior executives to line workers to entrepreneurs achieve greater success and peace of mind at the same time. These strategies also come from my personal experiences as an employee, manager, business owner, husband, and father.
In the last decade, first as a founding member of an internal consulting group at a Fortune 500 company, then as the founder and president of my own consulting company, I have coached hundreds of corporate executives facing work crises, family challenges, life decisions, and moral dilemmas. I have taught thousands of people how to accept accountability and lead themselves to the life and work experiences they desire.
Each time I explore a story with one of my clients, we both learn from the experience. I am grateful to all of my clients for helping me understand the power of our stories. Each time I catch myself in a victim story, I also learn. Th e lessons from all of these experiences are captured in this book.
To support you in shifting your stories, the book is divided into two parts: a parable and a resource guide.
Parable
In the parable we follow the story of Jeff, a good guy with talent and high hopes whose life throws him some unexpected challenges.
