I watched Finding Joe this week. There were a lot of things I learned or reinforced what I’ve been learning from the Master Key Experience course. It was about Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey.

It covered the three stages of the Hero’s Journey:

1. Separation
One reality, separated
Call to adventure

2. Initiation
Put into another reality
Initiated
Exploring the unknown

3. Returned
Come back to the start of origin

Every culture has a hero’s story. In the video it explained that the Hero answers the call to adventure and endures trials. What the Hero brings back is the story. Sharing this story is the treasure. Giving back is the essence of the journey.

One of the points that was mentioned was the Chinese symbols for crisis are danger and opportunity. I learned this years ago and was thinking of using it in a blog. I had no idea it would be mentioned in Finding Joe.

There were many things I could point out but the section that stood out for me was about fear and courage. One of the presenters talked about fear being a part of our psyche. Courage was not the lack of fear but dealing and confronting it. It was knowing what to do and doing it. In other words, exploring the unknown.

The term “courage gym” was mentioned. It was a term I was unfamiliar with. “What is a courage gym?” I pondered. The explanation of courage gym was “Practice doing things you’re scared of and soon it gets easier to do.”

This I understood. One of the things I’ve been terrified of doing since the start of the MKE course was creating polo videos. I had no problems watching the polo videos of my guides and tribe but I was too scared to create my own videos.

I’m an introvert who doesn’t like being in videos. So many times I would get close to making a polo and then I’d chicken out. I knew that to get the full benefit of a Mastermind Alliance I needed to participate too but I was scared. I wasn’t scared of the rejection; I was scared of people seeing what I looked like while I expressed my feelings and insights.

Finally, my Franklin Makeover weekly word was courage so I chose to create a polo video. My anxiety level was very high. I didn’t want to create a polo video but I knew I needed to do it. I chose a quote from Nelson Mandela about courage that I shared with my tribe. Once it was done, I was relieved but so proud of myself for doing something I promised to do that terrified me.

Since then I share 1-2 polos a week. I’m not comfortable being in the video so I point my camera at quotes I’ve chosen or things I’ve noticed on my walks.

This week I spotted a small art project in the local park. Someone painted a crab shell green with yellow flowers. They painted two ladybugs, one regular looking the other with a flower motif on its back. The ladybugs were glued to the left side of the crab shell. On top of the green crab shell was a sheep. The head was a rock painted black, and it had blue eyes. The body was an oyster shell.

Someone decided to take ordinary discarded items from the beach and transform them into a pleasing art piece and leave it where others could enjoy it. I was very tempted to take it home but instead I chose to take pictures and create polo videos of it and share it with others. I figured other people could enjoy it too. Maybe it would brighten someone else’s day, too.

So how does this all work together?

1. I answered the call to do something I was uncomfortable doing
by creating polos to contribute to my tribe’s Mastermind
Alliance.
2. I chose to view this “crisis” as an opportunity, not danger.
3. I created my polo video like I said I would.
4. I’m finding more things to create polos about, including during
my daily excursions.
5. It’s getting easier to create polos, the more polos I create.
6. I’m sharing my story with all of you.

In closing, there was a quote in Finding Joe I really liked.

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”

Joseph Campbell