Where have I already done all the work?

Film trivia.

I am thinking of a movie where the hero is on a quest to find something of great value. After a long and hard series of adventures, the journey culminates with an encounter with the mentor archetype.

The spirit advisor, a wise old soul who sent the main character on their sprawling quest initially, blows their mind with an insight.

The object they were searching for was in their own possession all along.

It was there the whole time.

Can you name that movie?

Trick question. The narrative above describes almost every movie.

That’s the essence of the hero’s journey. Whatever we’re looking for, it’s hidden in plain sight. Inside of us from very beginning. We simply couldn’t access it until we reached a specific state that could only have been achieved through the efforts taken during our quest.

It’s kind of annoying, but then again, it makes for a compelling third act.

The interesting part about this trope is, we can leverage it for profound growth in our own lives. We can reverse engineer the epiphany to figure out what assets we now possess that can fuel our efforts forward.

One question I’ve learned to ask myself is:

Where have I already done all the work?

Meaning, what journey did I finish, that I can now use as a launching pad for the next chapter?

See, in our world where the answer to virtually every growth related challenge is, you just have to do the work, sometimes you have to stop and empower yourself with how far you’ve already come.

To glance over your shoulder and think, oh wow, look how much ground I’ve covered. I am more equipped than I realized, and it’s all been building toward something bigger. Let’s see how I can use this.

Steven Pressfield writes about this pivotal moment in his memoir:

I have a theory about the hero’s journey. We all have one. We have many, in fact. But our primary hero’s journey as artists is the passage we live out, in real life, before we find our calling. The hero’s journey is the search for that calling. It’s preparation, initiation. On our hero’s journey, we acquire a history that is ours alone. It’s a secret history, a private history, a personal history. No one has it but us. No one knows it but us. This secret history is the most valuable possession we hold, or ever will hold. We will draw upon it for the rest of our lives. Everything that’s happened to us up to this point is rehearsal for us to act, now, as our true self and to find and speak in our true voice.

Steve’s idea is deeply empowering. Realizing we’ve earned access to this valuable thing inside of us that wasn’t there before, it’s a uniquely inspiring. Doesn’t mean there isn’t more work ahead. There’s always more work.

But the difference is, this time our toolkit is bigger. Now we actually know a few things. Now we can be more intentional and discerning with our efforts.

Where have you already done all the work? What are you full equipped to finally try now?

This is the nature of launching pads. There is a supporting structure that sets a particular activity or enterprise in motion.

I wrote my first book when I was a senior in college, and started my entrepreneurial career in publishing when I was just barely in my twenties.

No wonder I didn’t turn a profit for three years.

No wonder I wasted tens of thousands of dollars on foolish purchases.

No wonder I forgot to invoice clients, showed up unprepared to meetings and got taken advantage of multiple times.

What the hell did I know? What the hell does anyone know at that age?

I’m not saying people that age shouldn’t start their own businesses. I don’t regret my choice to venture out into the unknown and fail my way to success.

But as a person gets older and the stakes get higher, they ought to think more strategically about what assets they possess, and how to leverage them to gain an advantage. Otherwise they’re stranded with an ocean of oil at their feet, with nothing to flow and nowhere to go.

When I retired from freelancing and decided to reinvent myself professionally, I dedicated an entire summer to launch padding. I even made a spreadsheet for my transition.

And my thinking was, okay, I spent a decade doing all this work that created value in the world and that I’m really proud of. Awesome. But I was operating alone. There weren’t coworkers, managers, investors or board members to consider.

And so, how does my unique experience translate into a team environment? What might be the impact of an organization’s access to my unique value? Once a company hires me as their full time employee, how will my special gifts elevate their standing in the marketplace? Both on and individual and organizational level?

Never before had I considered such questions. There was no need to. But now that my first hero’s journey was over, the next chapter required me to expand my vision of what was possible.

As you might guess, the transition was not smooth. Lots of false starts and swings and misses. Dozens of job interviews with potential employers where these hiring managers looked at me as if to say, um, what the hell am I supposed to do with this guy?

I still have my first resume on file, which is embarrassing to look at today.

That was the launching pad. Not the bullshit skills that seemed like the right things to lead with at the time.

Long story short, my resume went through multiple iterations before I got it right, and got a job. Eventually I figured out what assets I possessed that would fuel my efforts forward. And it all went back to the original reverse engineering question.

Where have I already done all the work?

If you’re looking for your launching pad for the next chapter, think about what journey you just finished. take stock of the unique initiation experience you’ve survived, and how that has equipped you for what’s next.

Learn how to leverage the specific state that could only have been achieved through the efforts taken during your quest.

And trust that whatever you’re looking for, it’s hidden in plain sight.

How are you empowering yourself with how far you’ve already come?