The most beautiful stories always start with a wreckage – Jack London
David Goggins retired navy seal and ultramarathon athlete says, “If you are a storyteller you suffer.” Just as a journalist finds stories to cover in his line of work, the storyteller’s job is to find challenges and conquer them. The storyteller knows that to create amazing stories he must learn the skill of growing and conquering challenges. If the storyteller can’t take suffering and overcoming obstacles, then he does not truly know the hero’s journey.
Stories that resonate with people are made by storyteller’s who put themselves at rock bottom and learn to climb up; they enroll in the class of the hero’s journey. Sylvester Stallone was 30 years old, broke and lonely when he created Rocky. James Cameron was living in his car when he was trying to create the Terminator, and Jack London became a famous writer as he tested himself as a sailor, gold hunter, and vagabond.
A storyteller puts himself in stressful environments because he is looking for answers. Where others are too scared to go, he ventures out. A storyteller creates stories from the lessons that he learned. He knows that their is a prize, strength in the suffering that we encounter.
It’s your story so love the suffering you are in. If you are suffering it means there are answers to discover. The hero’s journey is finding those answers and becoming a light for others. By knowing how to suffer the storyteller discovers what gives a character his depth.