Grow Your Business Part 11
THE HERO’S TWO JOURNEY’S
Good stories are really simple. There can be layers of complexity, but at the core they are all very simple. Depending on the complexities You share, you can tell the same story in 60 seconds or 60 minutes-all with the same desired effect.
Any good story is built on three foundational element, character, desire, and conflict, also know as the plot. These are the basic elements of every movie, book , play, TV show, opera- any type of story.
Remember every good story is about a captivating character who is pursuing some compelling desire and who faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieving it. That’s it. If you’ve got those three things, then you’ve got a good story.
Your Plot statement. The first Epiphany Bridge story you will tell is the one that got you excited about your new opportunity in the first place. Take a few minutes to think about your story.
You are the character, so that step is easy. But what desire started you on your journey? What did you want to achieve? Write that down.
Now what was the conflict you experienced along the way? Write that down. You’ve got a plot. Now write out your basic plot in one sentence.
That is the basic structure of every story. When you first start building out your inventory of stories, always start with a plot statement. This allows you to tell the entire story in just a few seconds, if you need to. or you can fill in the details and talk for hours.
Now that you have the basic plot written out. Let’s dig deeper into each element so you have the tools you need to flesh out your storied and really hook into people’s emotions.
- BUILD REAPPORT WITH THE HERO. The first 10% of any movie is all about building rapport with the hero, so you have a vested interest in their journey. If you don’t build rapport with the hero in the story, then no one cares what else happens to them on their journey. If you do a good job of building that rapport up front, the audience will be engaged throughout the whole thing. You want people to get into a rapport with the hero quickly. The fastest way to do that is to connect with two or more of these core identities.
- Make the character a victim of some outside force, so people will root for them.
- Put the character in jeopardy, so people worry about them.
- Make the character likeable, so people want to be with them.
- Make the character funny, so we connect with them.
- Make the character powerful, so people what to be like them.
After you've introduces the identities, it’s time to introduce the characters flaws that have caused them to struggle. Sharing flaws is critical to gaining rapport. I know that sometimes its’s scary to share these flaws in your stories, but they are the key to building rapport.
2. INTRODUCE THE DESIRE FOR SOMETHING MORE. Every story is about a journey either towards pleasure or away from pain. The hero must have suffered some type of wound, or carry an unhealed source of continuous pain, in the backstory. Because the wound has never healed, it causes the fear and pain, that drives the character. Usually, the hero desires to accomplish something they believe will heal that wound. There are four core desires that drive most heroes. Two of them move the hero towards pleaser, and two move away from pain.
TOWARDS PLEASURE
- TO WIN. The hero may be trying to win the heart of someone they love, or they may want to win fame, money, a competition, or prestige. But as you now know, they are really looking for an increase in status.
- TO RETRIEVE. The hero wants to obtain something and bring it back.
AWAY FROM PAIN
- TO ESCAPE. The hero desires to get away form something that’s upsetting or causing pain.
- TO STOP. The hero wants to stop some bad thing from happening.
The story describes the journey to achieving the desire. But in all good stories, the hero is actually on two journeys, the one that everyone sees — The journey of achievement, and the one that’s hidden — the journey of transformation. The second journey may not be as obvious, yet it’s the key to the whole story.
THE JOURNEY TO ACHIEVEMENT
This is the first journey, the one that everyone listening to the story is aware of. There’s a visible goal with a finish line that everyone can see. It’s the reason the hero sets our on the journey in the first place. The audience is rooting for the hero to accomplish this journey. While this journey is what drives the story forward, it’s the second journey that actually matters the most. In fact, in may stories, the hero's never actually achieves his end desire. Or if he does, he gives it up for the real transformational journey that they been on throughout the story.
THE JOURNEY OF TANSFORAMATION
During the first 10% of the story, you learn about the character and the beliefs they have that make up their identity. A particular identity is very important to the hero at the beginning of the story, but along the way they become someone else. Someone better. It’s almost like the death of their old belief systems, and the resurrection or rebirth of a new person. This transformation is the real journey that our hero has actually been on.
3. INTRODUCE THE CONFLICT. Desire is essential to the story because it shows the end goal. It provides a reason for the journey to move forward. But emotion doesn’t come from the desire, it comes from the conflict the hero faces while trying to gain the desire.
When pursuing the goal, there must be seemingly insurmountable obstacles., If it doesn’t seem impossible for the hero to get what they want, people won’t care as much. Our primary goal as storytellers is to elicit emotion, and you can’t do that without conflict.
There are five turning points that create the emotion in almost all stories. As you review each one, think about every story you’ve read and how they fit into these five turning points of conflict.
- THE NEW OPPORTUNITY — After you share the character’s backstory, some event causes the character to physically leave where they are and start the journey. This new opportunity is what sets them off to achieve their desires. This leads our hero into a new situation that seems good at first, until they move into turning point #2.
- CHANGE OF PLANS-- At some point, the original desire will transform into a very specific, visible goal with a clearly defined end point. This is where the hero’s outer motivation is revealed. From here, they will start to make progress towards that goal, until they hit turning point #3.
- POINT OF NO RETURN. At this point, the hero must fully commit to reaching the goal up to this point, they’ve has opportunities to turn back. But something happens here that make this a do or die situation. It’s no longer a should: it’s a must. The hero must burn their old bridges and Dive in with both feet, or turn back forever. This forces them to start moving into more compilated situations with higher stakes, which lead to turning point #4.
- THE MAJOR SETBACK. Something happens to the hero, and we believe that all is lost. This event initially leaves the hero with no chance of success, but then we see a small glimmer of light. The hero has only one option. He has to take one last all or nothing shot at the desire. This leads the hero to the final push that drives him to turning point #5.
- THE CLIMAX. Now our hero must fact the biggest obstacle of the entire story and determine their own fate. The journey of achievement will be resolves once and for all, and the journey of transformation will be revealed. Then we move into the aftermath of the story, the hero’s new life is revealed, and the journey is complete.
Once you learn this process, you will become excited. You need to find a way to simplify it, but not lose out on the key elements needed to cause emotion and create an epiphany. And that’s what you will learn with the epiphany bridge script what will be in part 12 of this series. If you learn nothing else form this, mastering this process will serve you for the rest of your life in everything you do.
If you want to work with me and my team to grow your business you can contact me below. Just click on one of the links.
Email: tinadonovan@secretwealthcreators.com
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