Hero - critical summary review

Are you struggling with the life you are living? Do you have a dream and don’t know how to achieve it? Do you have the nagging feeling that there is something missing in your life? Well, you are right. You have been born with a unique mission on this planet. In “Hero,” Rhonda Byrne explores how you can find and fulfill your mission and become successful and happy in the process. So get ready to discover eternal happiness!

The Calling

Once upon a time, there was a hero. He came to beautiful planet Earth -  with its lush jungles, breathtaking mountain ranges, and vast oceans - to experience life. Life on Earth was defined by duality: where there was light, there was also darkness. But still, the hero wanted to come to this planet and experience the adventure of living.

The hero is you. You are unique. Every single one of the seven billion people on this planet were born with unique abilities and with a mission that only they can fulfill. You also have a unique mission to fulfill in your life. And for your hero’s journey, you have been equipped with immensely powerful abilities that only you have.

But how do you know what your calling in life is? Your calling is what makes you special in life. Your unique ability, your passion. It is something that deeply moves you and that makes your heart sing when you are doing it. Maybe this is something you have daydreamed about or something that was your dream as a child.

Take Pete Carroll as an example. His dream had always been to become a professional football player in the U.S. But then, he did not make the grade in the National Football League and was at a loss as to what to do next. Then, he realized that his dream was still a possibility, just in a different way than he had originally imagined: he could become a football coach. He had been coaching since he was 13 years old, but it was only when he was at graduate school that he started to follow his calling. Recently, Carroll was awarded the NFC Coach of the Year award.

You might already have an idea of what your calling is. But if you don’t, how do you find your dream and follow your calling? You can use a kind of meditation to access your calling. After all, it is not given to you by your conscious mind, but by the universal mind, or by the universe. So try and let go of the perceptions you have of yourself, get into a calm state of mind and ask, “What is the purpose of my life?” 

Try not to answer the question consciously, but instead observe the answers that float into your mind. You can also ask questions such as: “What would I do if I could do anything? What would I do if money weren’t a consideration at all? What would I do if success were guaranteed?”

Most likely, the realization will hit you in a flash. Sara Blakely, for example, knew that she wanted to create a multi-million dollar business, but she needed a business idea. So she asked the universe for one. A few days later she encountered a problem when getting dressed and that was when the idea of Spanx was born - a new kind of women’s underwear!

The Hero

You are the hero of your story, and every hero is characterized by certain attributes. Your most powerful ability is your belief. You can achieve anything if only you believe in yourself. 

Maybe this is something you struggle with. But the truth is: you, and everyone else on this planet, were born with a strong belief in yourself and your abilities. If you have lost that, that means that your self-perception has become contorted by things that other people have said about you, and that you have adopted those things into your thoughts about yourself. 

Changing this destructive self-talk is remarkably simple: start thinking the opposite of what you have been thinking about yourself. You can do this! And you have everything within you that you need to achieve your dreams. 

By changing your thinking from negative to positive, you will reprogram your subconscious mind. This will transmit your newfound self-beliefs to the universal mind and the universe will see this as an instruction to help you achieve your goal - by sending you people that believe in you as well.

Another incredibly important characteristic of the hero is your attitude. Whether it is positive or negative, you create it yourself. For your attitude, you cannot depend on external circumstances because that would require the whole world to be perfect so you can achieve your dreams.

Instead, adopt a positive attitude from within yourself. Pete Caroll’s mother, for example, always told him to believe that something good was just about to happen! He adopted this hopeful optimism, and this helped him to achieve his dreams. 

Finally, the hero is always aware that his actions have consequences. It is important to treat people well. If you harm another person, you are harming the universe. We are all connected, and the universe is for all of us. If you treat others kindly, then kindness will be returned to you by the universe.

Take Laird Hamilton as an example. He is now one of the greatest big-wave surfers in the world, but his path to success was a rocky one. He grew up in a broken home in Hawaii. He set out to prove himself as a surfer which led to many injuries and even being lost at sea. But no matter what his achievements were as a surfer, his mother would always reply: “Great. But how are you treating people?”

Hamilton also says he has been blessed with instant karma. Whatever he does, the universe reflects right back to him. So if he is rude to someone, he will instantly stub his toe. It even affects his surfing: when he does or says something negative to someone before going surfing, he will often be hit by a giant wave. But when he stays positive in his behavior, he is blessed with great waves.

The Quest

The journey to your goal will never be a straight path. You may know what you want, but you don’t know how to get there. Your path to the fulfillment of your dream looks more like a labyrinth. At most, you can see a few feet ahead of you. And even though you will likely hit dead ends where you will have to turn back, you will also find surprising shortcuts along the way. So always take one step at a time and try not to think too far ahead.

Just like any hero on a quest, you will encounter obstacles. Liz Murray definitely knows how to deal with obstacles: she lost her mother at a young age, her father moved into a shelter and Liz became homeless. Overnight, she lost everything. 

But she had a dream to go to Harvard. And at some point, Liz realized that there were a lot of things in her environment that she could not control. The only thing in her control were her own actions. These days, Liz is extremely successful as one of the most sought after motivational speakers in the world.

One type of obstacle you will certainly encounter on your journey are naysayers. Every person who has ever done something remarkable had to face criticism and people who did not believe in them. No doubt, many people thought Thomas Edison was crazy when he said he would invent something to light up an entire room.

Rest assured, the more people tell you that what you want cannot be achieved, the more proof you have that what you are wanting to achieve is something that you can do! So in fact, naysayers should propel you onward in your journey. 

Sometimes naysayers are in a power position and obstruct your path, by not giving you a promotion for example. In that case, you can also thank them. Perhaps they are redirecting you onto a different path in the labyrinth that will ultimately lead you to your goal.

Overcoming obstacles reveals unknown strengths within you, and you will need these qualities to maintain your success once you have gained it. Just think of motherhood as an example. Most women discover unknown reservoirs of patience, tolerance, determination, and physical endurance within themselves through the journey of having children.  

The universe will never challenge you beyond your capabilities. If you are stuck on a problem and you are worrying about how to solve it, fear not. The universe will send you the answer. If you worry too much, you won’t be able to hear the solution. Liz Murray tackled the overcoming of obstacles by envisioning a runner jumping over every hurdle in her path. This would help her to get out of bed in the morning and to do the things she needed to do to achieve her dream. 

The Reward

Picture an athlete winning a gold medal. They are so deliriously happy, and you can feel their happiness as well. You are moved to tears of joy. Your feeling in that moment, however, is nothing compared to how you will feel when you have completed your hero’s journey and reached your goal.

The end of your journey does not mark the end point, though. Once you have made your dream a reality, you will find that countless other ideas and goals suddenly come to you. Money, friends, and opportunities will keep pouring in. Best of all, you will experience a glorious sense of freedom.

You will be able to get up every day and to decide what you want to do. You will love your job, and you will find holidays a boring alternative to your everyday adventures. But maybe most transformative of all is the last step on your journey - the step that will transform you from a mere human being into a hero.

Once you have achieved everything you have ever dreamed of, you will find yourself wanting to share your success with others. Your passion turns into compassion. You will want to share your “magic elixir of life” by helping as many people as possible on their own hero journeys.

When Liz Murray finally started earning money, she was exhilarated. Finally, she had the opportunity to help her adopted family, the people she was struggling with when she was homeless. Together, they all went to the dentist. She also was able to get surgery for a friend’s dad who had cancer. She calls this ability to help others one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.

Even if you have not completed your journey yet, you can already give to others. Help lift them up by giving them confidence, inspiration, and encouragement. 

Once you have completed your journey, the possibilities will be endless. You will have found eternal happiness in the discovery of who you really are.

Final Notes

You are the hero of your own life. With your unique abilities and qualities, you can achieve your dream. It is your mission in life, and once you have achieved it, you will lift up others around you as well. No matter how impossible it might seem, a hero always overcomes the obstacles put in his path and emerges victorious on the other side.

12min Tip

Sit down and get yourself into a calm state of mind. Then ask yourself, “What is my purpose in life?”