When you get clear on your work's Hero Story, your business can become a movement. Your work can become legendary. Get the full course here: www.theplaybook.co This presentation guides you through the process of developing your "Hero's Journey" story via the form of a compelling about page. You can use this story anywhere though to talk about your work and purpose, on your Twitter bio or over coffee with a potential partner. When you tell people about the work you do and why it matters, you'll no longer shrink of hesitate, you'll stand tall knowing that what you're doing is vital in the world.

1. WELCOME TO THE
HERO STORY
COURSE
“When you’re clear
on your Hero Story,
your work can
become legendary.”

2. COURSE MISSION
(i.e., The Tangible Outcome)
To create an about page that
communicates the
story of your business.

3. Hi, I’m Jonathan Mead.
!
I like helping entrepreneurs
kick ass by giving them
amazing resources like this.

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

5. 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?

6. Crafting a Hero Story and Legendary Business
Getting a new perspective
on branding.
Step 1
Step 2
Amp it up and publish.
Self-interview to uncover
and extract your hero story.
Step 4
Step 3
Do the away/toward analysis.

7. 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

8. ‣ Step 1: Finding the
truth about your
story
MILESTONE 1:
UNEARTHING GENIUS
‣ Step 2: Declare
your awesomeness
‣ Step 3: Owning
the magntitude of
what you do

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. ‣ Step 1: Digging into
the past
MILESTONE 2:
EXTRACT YOUR STORY
‣ Step 2: Finding
what makes you
unique
‣ Step 3: Being a
pretender

13. 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”?

14. 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?

15. 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?

16. ‣ Step 1: Intro to the
away/toward
MILESTONE 3:
AWAY/TOWARD ANALYSIS
‣ Step 2: The Macro
‣ Step 3: The Micro
‣ Step 4: Get Inspired

17. 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

18. Download the
Hero Story
Workbook now
(if you haven’t yet)

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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?

22. 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

23. PAID TO EXIST HERO STORY
Common Purpose =
World where we get paid to
be who we are
Common Enemy =
Working just to
survive
Kryptonite =
Tendency to get lazy
Superpower =
Deeply seeing the
gifts in others

24. SEX LOVE LIBERATION HERO STORY
Common Purpose =
To Create a World of Sexually
Liberated Women
Common Enemy =
Shame and SelfRepression
Kryptonite =
Not Trusting
Her Voice
Superpower =
Leading By
Unapologetically Sharing
Her Truth

25. GOLD MEDAL BODIES HERO STORY
Common Purpose =
A world where people enjoy the
experience of living in their bodies
Common Enemy =
Self-destructive attitudes
and practices in the name
of fitness
Kryptonite =
We’d much rather be
with our families than
in the gym
Superpower =
Making complex skills
accessible to anyone

26. DEEPEST HEALTH HERO STORY
Common Purpose =
World where deep health for
everybody is the norm
Common Enemy =
Systems that stand in
the way of deep health
for everyone
Kryptonite =
Worrying that what I
teach isn't enough
Superpower =
Transforming complicated,
dry material into
something simple and fun

27. BRETT AND AMBER’S HERO STORY
Common Purpose =
A world with more art to reconnect us to
what it really means to be human
Common Enemy =
Fear and self doubt that
paralyzes our ability to
create
Kryptonite =
Perfectionism
Superpower =
Inspiring artists/creators to
lean into their uncertainty

28. 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

29. KILLER INSPIRATION
‣ Danielle LaPorte
‣ Nerd Fitness
‣ Gold Medal Bodies
‣ Clay Collins
‣ Marie Forleo
‣ Meg Worden

30. ‣ Step 1: Outlining
your greatness and
owning it
MILESTONE 4:
CREATE AND PUBLISH
‣ Step 2: Preparing to
Draft and Drafting
‣ Step 3: Edit with
kindness
‣ Step 4: Publish

31. STEP 1A: OUTLINE IT
‣ What are the main points you want
to 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)

32. Download the About
Page Anatomy
Infographic now
(if you haven’t yet)

33. 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

34. 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 it
can have
‣ Take it global, galactic, universal
‣ And then imagine how it will unfold on a
local level each day, week, month and year

35. 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!

36. 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?

37. 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

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