You‘re already online, but you may not yet see how being online as part of a journey.
Perhaps you’re online for distraction. Perhaps you came on for some fun.
Maybe you’re making a quick buck. Or maybe you’re working on the next great disruption.
However, in this essay, I am exploring how the decisions you make and the paths you take online actually have deep impact on your own personal growth in real life, as a human being, versus as an online avatar.
The reason is that going online is a way for you to personally live your life in accordance to the Hero’s Journey.
Hero’s Journey as Your Framework for Living
I heard about the hero’s journey as a way to write (and to understand) great stories.
It’s become pretty common knowledge. Hardly any mysteries and secrets here.
But how many people actively think about living their hero’s journey and see how going online may be their way of experiencing that transformation?
It’s almost counter-intuitive.
Most people spend too much time in a state of distraction. As a result, their real-lives plateau or stagnate.
But it doesn’t need to be that way. You just need to change your perspective.
Real Life = Known and Online = Unknown
One of the most critical “beats” in the Hero’s Journey is that moment when the Hero crosses the “Threshold” of moving from the Old World to the New World.
It’s Luke Skywalker discovering the world of the Rebels and Jedi’s (New World) versus his life as a farm boy (Old World).
It’s Harry Potter finding his friends and the school of Wizardry (New World) and his prison-like life with his aunt and uncle (Old World).
For most of us, however, the online world seems to just bleed into our current world. Email, social media, blogging — all of this just seems like our regular world.
Often times, discovery of that “New World” does require seeing something right in front of you, then going down some kind of a “rabbit hole.”
But most people don’t cross that threshold, despite the fact that there’s literally another world available to them online. I’m not talking about a fantasy, escapist world of video games or virtual reality.
The bigger picture from the Hero’s Journey is that, whatever the hero goes through in the “New World” results in a transformation which the hero then brings back to the “Old World.”
If you remain in Stasis, that’s akin to Death (it’s one of hundreds of “sub-beats” in the elaborate Hero’s Journey.
So how do you escape the orbit of the Old World?
Hearing the Call to Adventure
There needs to be a call. Something needs to summon you to desire seeking.
It’s Princess Leia in Star Wars crying out, “Save me.”
It’s the terminal and then later the cell-phone call from Morpheus in The Matrix.
While we mostly wish that call to be obvious and direct, it often isn’t. And as a result, we often miss it.
But I think if we don’t actively open ourselves to that beacon, we can miss it.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of false sirens. These can come in the form of scammy Internet marketers claiming you’ll have endless vacation and passive income if you just go online and follow their $5000 coaching package.
For many Internet entrepreneurs, that siren call is a hint or observation of some “seam” in the universe through which they catch glimpse of a better world: easier credit card payments; a more secure Internet; the ability to auction off junk with the click of a mouse.
But it doesn’t just need to be a business (either scammy or legit).
The call to adventure could be a deep realization that the Old World isn’t really working for you. It’s more likely to be that nagging feeling that Neo had than getting an actual magical letter as Harry Potter did.
But that online journey needs to have that call, which can best come from those who have made the cycle, returned to the Old World, to share genuine, believable glimpses into this New World.
These used to be secrets.
But are becoming less and less.
Building in public, authentic creators, and crypto communities are all opening the seams to a whole other world and instilling into those who will listen that Call to Adventure.
This is hard and can lead to stagnation without clarity.
For myself, I’ve longed for “entrepreneurship” and “independence” and have been trying different online businesses for years — none of which have stuck, despite being in multiple paid communities and having taken multiple courses.
It’s not an easy road, and feeling a vague call may not be enough.
I’ve realized that the adventure needs to be clearer than just the vagaries of “independence” and “financial freedom.” Those are siren songs, and they are also true benefits from living the dream.
But I’m realizing than, because the online “New World” has such a complex journey, a near infinite Idea Maze, that this journey needs to be a genuine call, a call almost purpose made for you.
It needs to be more than just a fantasy, without losing the fantastic.
The Rebels weren’t just promising Luke a way to escape the boredom of his farm. They were out to save the Princess and destroy an Evil Empire.
The elements that make for a good Call in real life to be more effective online include:
- Whom to help (developers, crypto newbies, parents with kids who love chess)
- Defeat of the Enemy (wasted time, centralized financial institutions, commodified education)
- Inciting Incident (what pushes you to really heed the call?)
While these work for movies, they can also make great preparation as part of your journey online.
It’s far better than just jumping onto the latest platform to be a consumer.
Suddenly, the various online worlds are a New World with supernatural surprises and wonders.
Why bother with these questions?
The difference between the online world being a time-suck and an adventure which changes your career hinges upon you being intentional and directional.
After all, the best outcome is if, as a result of spending time online, your real world self changes for the better.
You develop new skills.
You find greater meaning.
You bring back something to the real world that changes it.
Without it, in many ways, the online world is just a part of your Old World. It’s all ultimately ordinary, while the adventure passes you by.
But what else should you be searching for in this online journey to help you?