A famous part of One Thousand and One Nights, the chronicle of myths compiled from the Islamic Golden Age, his story begins when he’s already retired. Having sailed the world as a traveling merchant, he’s seen a thing or two… and he’s amassed enough bullion to back his own currency.
And when Sinbad leans back in the rocking chair to tell us about his first voyage, something sounds familiar…
After squandering his whole inheritance, young Sinbad takes to sea to rebuild his fortune. He docks on an island, but the island turns out to be a whale and his ship leaves without him. The whale sinks and Sinbad nearly drowns… but by some miracle he washes up on another island, one where he hangs out with a mystical King and bides his time.
When his ship reaches this new island, Sinbad reclaims it and trades with the King for a profit. He comes home richer than before.
Great story, right?
Only, before it ends, Sinbad’s bored and restless… and gearing up to throw himself into danger all over again.
He does this seven times… returns home, then heads right back out on voyages that strand him, strip him down, and pretty much eat him alive.
Crazy? Or in Part of the Programming?
Depending on who you ask, Sinbad’s either really lucky… or out of his damn mind.
Why would anyone who just won the lottery risk their life by betting everything? Especially when there’s wealth management, early retirement, food delivery apps, and oh-so-many adventures to be had in Zuck Markerburg’s Metaverse?
If you ask us, Sinbad ain’t crazy.
He’s just human.
And unlike some humanoids, the couch potato types who binge-watch their adventures and complain when there’s real work to do … Sinbad gets it.
He’s not ashamed of the fact that he’s built for trouble, or that seeking the unknown is part of his programming.
He can’t not sail out again for another wash and rinse.
Like anyone who takes on something hard and glorious, he’s secure in the knowledge that painful lessons―whether in the form of whales that look like islands, or some other cosmic two-by-four―come in cycles.
Retracing the Hero’s Journey
Over the last eight months, we’ve followed major steps on the Hero’s Journey. With bread and butter examples, and a kick-ass closing song or two, we’ve laid out how this primal story is the one most entrepreneurs sign up for… whether they know it or not.
More than a screenwriting tool, the hero’s journey is a roadmap to life’s hard knocks and how they shape us into stronger, wiser versions of ourselves.
More than any other concept, theory, or motivational mumbo-jumbo, the hero’s journey touches on divine mystery… and sets some of Dare Capital’s core values in good, hard concrete.
Going through the steps reminds us of why take big, scary risks, build relationships based on trust and honesty and go to bat for the guys that bigger banks won’t even touch.
If you’re just jumping in, here’s a guide to what the journey looks like, and some handy links to each step we’ve written about.
Everything starts when the hero hears it callin’… and decides it’s much better here on the couch. Like Luke Skywalker finding out stormtroopers landed on Tatooine and killed his family, it often takes a cosmic gut punch to get us moving.
Who can you trust in this scary new world?
Who’s a true friend and not some backstabber in disguise? When what you don’t know can hurt you, having a trusted guide who won’t cut and run is everything.
The hero begins the trial of facing what he fears most. But when the only way out is through, and when you know deep down that stepping toward fear and death will only make you stronger…you find out what old beliefs need breaking.
Deep in the cave, the hero faces his monsters.
What feels like a deathmatch is often the fear of what we have to lose―our insecurities, our assumptions, our excuses, and most of all… our pride and our ego.
Like Luke and Han, who rescue a princess and join the rebellion against a towering adversary, heroes come to life when they answer a higher calling.
In the same way, everyday heroes simmer in life’s crucible, only to emerge from the dark cave with a sense of purpose that the monsters can’t touch.
Here, the hero approaches divine mystery… and finds the Holy Grail. But before that ‘ultimate boon’ goes to the bank―or before it withers in our hands―we remember that there’s more to the story…. and more lessons right around the corner.
No one wants to leave when they’re on top of the world. Trouble is, the folks back home need our insight, our wisdom, and the lessons we’ve won through fire and bloodshed. Here, all heroes make the trek back with what they’ve learned, enriching themselves and lifting up those around them.
The final stage sees the hero becoming a master of both worlds.
The lesson here is that finding success in the new, dazzling, adventure world doesn’t mean throwing out the roots and values of the Shire, the home planet, or the front porch. Rather, it’s embracing new and old with dual balance… and with a renewed expectation of the lessons yet to come.
Your Journey… with Dare as your guide
Our mission is to support entrepreneurs on their journey.
If we’re the trusted guide that’s shouting from the sidelines, then our clients are the heroes… the ones taking it in the jaw but getting back up there for another round.
What does that mean?
We guide our clients through the greatest story ever told; the one we tell ourselves again and again.
When we’re reading these stories, we think of ‘em in terms of other people. But if you start paying attention….it turns out the story’s about you!
We have these opportunities for growth and we think we’re different from other people.
But the truth is we’re not.
Realizing this helps you identify yourself in the story. It’s about finding out what you care about, what your calling is, and what you want to learn.
At Dare Capital, we take all this to heart because we’re all about the non-traditional journey. A bank will want to enter your journey once you’ve arrived home and finished it… and yeah, that might mean a nice, fat profit margin for them and the shareholders.
But to our way of thinking, that’s missing out. We’d rather be the trusted guide who travels beside you from start to finish.
From radical transparency and daring to give, to further and onwards, our values are those of the guide who won’t abandon you―the one who leaps out from the sidelines and lifts you back up while whispering encouragement.
The cycle fascinates us because life takes no prisoners.
There’s something about stepping out, taking a beating, emerging triumphant, and then coming back with a higher calling that makes us stand tall and say ‘hell yeah, that’s us.’
If it’s a journey you’ll take as well… and if you don’t mind that it’s a long way to the top… then give us a call.