Making the Most of Donald Miller's Book, Hero on a Mission - Observations from a StoryBrand Guide

Everyone I know has felt like "someone else is writing their story," as Donald Miller states in his 2021 book, Hero on a Mission, and its accompanying online course at Business Made Simple University. (Stay tuned for an opportunity to check it out for free!)

It's those moments Miller wrote the book for, those times when we step off the crazy train just long enough to look around and realize we've lost control. (Heh, I suppose it's for people who also want to get ahead of that moment, too.)

Since I've centered my career on Donald Miller's StoryBrand Framework as a Certified Guide, I was more than interested in following his advice in this book as it builds on the core ideas of StoryBrand.

As Certified Guides, we had early previews of the book, and it was clear he had written a guide which went far beyond setting goals to re-setting your compass. It's a guide to remembering what truly matters to you in life and making the most of the time you have.

You want me to write my what?

To that end, the first major challenge this interactive book poses is to write your own eulogy. It's a simple but unbelievably powerful exercise in imagining how you want your life's story to end. The rest of the book reverse-engineers a plan from there.

This exercise is like an emotional and spiritual freight train which crashes through your defenses and opens up your capacity to, as Miller writes, "Cultivate a sense of creativity about what your life can be."

As it turns out, it's hard.

I hadn't read the book yet or taken the online course, but I knew just enough about myself to know this was a task requiring focus - and a lack of places to run.

And I had made a commitment. At a StoryBrand Guide's event in the fall, my wife and I committed to taking the journey together and seeing what it revealed about the next chapter of our lives together.

So, we set up our own weekend retreat. We got away for three nights and two full days and had a powerful, rewarding experience. The book lives up to its promise to help you "Move beyond just being productive to experiencing a deep sense of meaning."

Here's What Worked for Us in the Hero on a Mission Experience

Our "retreat center," The Inn at Lynden in Washington State

This is no ordinary planning session. This whole“Whatcha gonna do with the rest of your life?” business carries a whole different weight and insists it be honored. Here’s what helped us, at least.

1. Getting out of town turned out to be essential for us. We both agreed this would have been much harder in the distractions of home.

2. We went to a town we’d never been to before. That broke our familiar rhythms, even in getaway mode, and we were looking for a particular balance Lynden could provide. There was just enough to explore in the Dutch-themed, charming downtown so we could take breaks without getting totally distracted and falling off-mission. For instance, on one adventure I found, no kidding, the perfect pumpkin scone. There is no other. That was enough to keep me going and get me back to work.

3. And the breaks were needed! Ha, Don says in the course it can be done in three hours, and if you’re a certain personality type - perhaps. There are some BIG questions being asked, and we were glad we gave ourselves two full days to breathe them out.

4. We expected to come home and hit the ground running on Monday, but we were exhausted. That day was a write-off. In StoryBrand, we talk about how thinking actually burns calories. Well, however many calories a normal day at work burns, making plans for the next half of your life at least triples the count!

5. Sharing the exercise in some way with another person seems essential, I think. I was fortunate to have my wife with me, but I think even if one can find a friend to share their results with after the fact, it would be invaluable. Don speaks truth in the book that writing the things you need to write can feel embarrassing. I owe big thanks to my fellow StoryBrand Guide, Sarah Hackman (A brilliant graphic designer. Look her up!). She gave me the tip to read the eulogies out loud to one another. That really helped affirm that there was nothing to be embarrassed about and, in fact, much to celebrate!

6. The Hero on a Mission book really expands in helpful ways on the Business Made Simple online course. It’s a great companion, and I recommend using them together.

7. We expected to be HOAM Black Belts on Monday. (Well, I did.) Like most big transitional moments, we’re finding it’s a process that benefits from patience and grace.

8. This last bit is more for StoryBrand Guides. Many of us probably have a significant other who has said something like this, “Who’s this Donald Miller? Well, if you trust him, I do. Go for it.” In going through the course, I think my wife gained more confidence than ever about StoryBrand. She finally met the guy - and the heart - behind all of this, and she liked and trusted him. Most importantly, she felt much of the course was “speaking right to me.”

The "perfect scone" at Avenue Bread.

No matter how you tackle it, Hero on a Mission is likely to kick your butt to some degree.

I'm here to tell you it's worth it.

The sense of purpose I have in my days sustains me in a way I didn't know was possible

And there's this. Being middle-aged, it often feels like the clock is counting down to the end. In writing my eulogy and backdating landmarks and goals, I actually feel like I have MORE time than I thought. What I wrote seems possible, and these next couple decades seem more exciting than ever.

However you approach the journey, I think the big theme is this. It functions well with some self-care. It is strengthened by giving yourself room to breathe, time to rest, and a lot of celebration of the wins, both big and small.

Try the Hero on a Mission Online Course for Free!

It just so happens I have an exclusive link to a free, 7-day trial of Business Made Simple University, the platform where the online course for Hero on a Mission lives.

Use this link to register. I want as many people as possible to be able to experience this journey. The book is inexpensive and can be found here.

Business Made Simple University has an amazing selection of business training courses within the platform and also includes access to ongoing online workshops with Donald Miller. If you decide to keep the subscription, it's well worth it.

Where does fixing your marketing fall in your plans?

As you drill down into your long-term goals, one of them may well be to finally overhaul your brand message and marketing platform.

This isn't just practical. When marketing efforts sputter and fizzle, the stress of time and money loss is a terrible drain on everyone involved. The StoryBrand Framework provides the assurance that you're on a proven path to growth.

Schedule a Free, 30-Minute Consultation Here to find the right message and method for connecting with your audience using the StoryBrand Framework and Marketing Made Simple methodology.