WELCOME TO THE HERO STORY

COURSE

“When you’re clear on your Hero Story,

your work can become legendary.”

COURSE MISSION (i.e., The Tangible Outcome)

To create an about page that communicates the

story of your business.

Hi, I’m Jonathan Mead. !

I like helping entrepreneurs kick ass by giving them

amazing resources like this.

The idea for this course started when I realized I was playing too small…

THE BIG WHY This course will help you craft the “origin” or hero story of your brand.

Once you do this, you’ll stand out and be able to truly differentiate yourself from the masses. In short, you’ll be so awesome everyone else will want to give up or begin to mimic you.

Now, don’t you want a flock of minions beckoning at your call?

Getting a new perspective on branding.

Crafting a Hero Story and Legendary Business

Step 1

Self-interview to uncover and extract your hero story.Step 2

Do the away/toward analysis.Step 3

Amp it up and publish. Step 4

Case Study Resources‣ The anatomy of your Hero

Story and an unforgettable about page

‣ Examples of great pages

‣ Writing tools I use

‣ Story extraction workbook

MILESTONE 1:

‣ Step 1: Finding the truth about your story

‣ Step 2: Declare your awesomeness

‣ Step 3: Owning the magntitude of what you do

UNEARTHING GENIUS

STEP 1: THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU

‣ The truth about you is incredible

‣ You need to realize that your story (and the story of your work) may seem boring to you, but that’s only because you’ve lived it

‣ In other words, it’s normal, integrated, average (to you)

‣ But trust me, it’s incredible, and we’re going to uncover it in this course

STEP 2: DECLARE YOUR AWESOMENESS

‣ Your Hero Story in the digital age generally comes in the form of your about page

‣ This isn’t just any old page, though

‣ Think of this as a living, breathing document

‣ Think of it as the The Origin Story that directs and guides your business

STEP 3: OWN YOUR GREATNESS

‣ If you’re going to have a Hero Story, then you need to stop messing around

‣ You’ve got to get real and own the greatness of what you do

‣ Your work is important

‣ So, stop screwing around and own that what you’re doing really matters

MILESTONE 2:

‣ Step 1: Digging into the past

‣ Step 2: Finding what makes you unique

‣ Step 3: Being a pretender

EXTRACT YOUR STORY

STEP 1: DIGGING FOR GIANTS

‣ The first step is to get clear on your Peak Moments

‣ When have you done amazing work?

‣ What defines you?

‣ Who is your “tribe”?

STEP 2: YOUR JEWEL

‣ Now, we need to get clear on what makes you uniquely incredible

‣ How has your life shaped you to be who you are today?

‣ What unique challenges have you overcome?

‣ If your life were a résumé, what unique accomplishments have you made?

STEP 3: BECOMING A PRETENDER

‣ To get real clarity on your story, you might need to pretend that you’re an outsider looking in

‣ From the perspective of a loving friend, what would they say about your story?

‣ What would they say are your strengths, and what makes you freaking awesome?

MILESTONE 3:

‣ Step 1: Intro to the away/toward

‣ Step 2: The Macro ‣ Step 3: The Micro ‣ Step 4: Get Inspired

AWAY/TOWARD ANALYSIS

STEP 1: INTRO TO AWAY/TOWARD

‣ We’re all motivated by the forces of pain and pleasure

‣ In other words, what we want to move away from and to

‣ Getting clear on this will help you develop a more powerful story

‣ There are four key elements: The Common Purpose, The Common Enemy, Your Superpower and Your Fatal Flaw

Download the Hero Story

Workbook now (if you haven’t yet)

STEP 2A: GETTING MACRO

‣ The Common Purpose. This is what your community or tribe as a whole is striving towards together

‣ Maybe it's personal freedom, maybe it's a world where dads are active and engaged in their kid's lives, maybe it's working toward world peace

‣ Whatever it is, this is where you tell people about why they're here and give them a sense of belonging

STEP 2B: GETTING MACRO

‣ The Common Enemy. This is what your tribe is moving away from or fighting against

‣ This could be something like a world of cubicle drones, women's inequality, or a world without art.

‣ The key here is to really get clear on the pain and what's creating the desire for change

STEP 3A: GETTING MICRO

‣ Your Superpower. This is your opportunity to unabashedly brag (yes, it might make you uncomfortable)

‣ Talk about why you've got the goods; what makes you qualified, awesome, special?

‣ What unique experiences have brought you to be in the perfect position for doing this work?

STEP 3B: GETTING MICRO

‣ Your Fatal Flaw. This is where you share with people your struggle, your embarrassing story about how you overcame a challenge related to your topic or mission

‣ This helps your audience see you as human, empathize with you and, ultimately, like you

PAID TO EXIST HERO STORY

Common Purpose = World where we get paid to

be who we areCommon Enemy =

Working just to survive

Superpower = Deeply seeing the

gifts in others

Kryptonite = Tendency to get lazy

SEX LOVE LIBERATION HERO STORY

Common Purpose = To Create a World of Sexually

Liberated WomenCommon Enemy = Shame and Self-

Repression

Superpower = Leading By

Unapologetically Sharing Her Truth

Kryptonite = Not Trusting

Her Voice

GOLD MEDAL BODIES HERO STORY

Common Purpose = A world where people enjoy the

experience of living in their bodiesCommon Enemy =

Self-destructive attitudes and practices in the name

of fitness

Superpower = Making complex skills accessible to anyone

Kryptonite = We’d much rather be with our families than

in the gym

DEEPEST HEALTH HERO STORY

Common Purpose = World where deep health for

everybody is the normCommon Enemy =

Systems that stand in the way of deep health

for everyone

Superpower = Transforming complicated,

dry material into something simple and fun

Kryptonite = Worrying that what I teach isn't enough

BRETT AND AMBER’S HERO STORY

Common Purpose = A world with more art to reconnect us to

what it really means to be humanCommon Enemy =

Fear and self doubt that paralyzes our ability to

create

Superpower = Inspiring artists/creators to lean into their uncertainty

Kryptonite = Perfectionism

STEP 4: GETTING INSPIRED

‣ Sometimes it can be helpful to take inspiration from others

‣ Find three of your favorite hero stories (about pages) and print them

‣ Underline everything that really stands out to you and see if there’s any way you can incorporate it in your own way

KILLER INSPIRATION

‣ Danielle LaPorte

‣ Nerd Fitness

‣ Gold Medal Bodies

‣ Clay Collins

‣ Marie Forleo

‣ Meg Worden

MILESTONE 4:

‣ Step 1: Outlining your greatness and owning it

‣ Step 2: Preparing to Draft and Drafting

‣ Step 3: Edit with kindness

‣ Step 4: Publish

CREATE AND PUBLISH

STEP 1A: OUTLINE IT

‣ What are the main points you wantto make?

‣ Here’s a simple outline you can follow:

‣ Headline (Big Promise)

‣ Lead (Main Problem)

‣ Hero Story (Intro to Your Common Purpose, Enemy, Superpower, Flaw)

‣ Call to Action (Email Sign-up)

Download the About Page Anatomy

Infographic now (if you haven’t yet)

STEP 1B: NOW OWN YOUR GREATNESS

‣ Follow this exercise to own the impact of your work (remember, you can be bold here; it’s not about you, it’s about the cause)

‣ Imagine the magnitude of impact you’ll have when you give everything

‣ Imagine how the world will be different as a result of you dying empty and complete

‣ Now, realize that you’re doing a disservice to the world to NOT own this

STEP 1C: NOW REALLY OUTLINE

‣ Now, modify your outline with your new brilliance

‣ Really take it to the furthest implications of your purpose and the impact itcan have

‣ Take it global, galactic, universal

‣ And then imagine how it will unfold on a local level each day, week, month and year

STEP 2: JUST FREAKING WRITE

‣ Don’t think - just write

‣ Go to a coffeeshop or somewhere you can focus

‣ Just write unabashedly

‣ Be as goofy or ridiculous as you want, play “We Are the Champions” or whatever pumps you up

‣ Don’t censor right now!

STEP 3: EDIT WITH KINDNESS

‣ Now, it’s time to edit this sucker

‣ Try reading your draft aloud and feel how it flows

‣ Where did you ramble?

‣ Did you bury the most powerful parts?

‣ What’s redundant and needs to be scrapped?

STEP 4: CLOSE YOUR EYES AND HIT… PUBLISH

‣ Once you’re done editing, don’t think about it any more

‣ You can always come back and improve it later

‣ For now, just accept it and get it published

‣ Remember, this is a living document, you will refine and revise many times over the decades of this work

THE END!(now go unleash your badass self on the world)