what is the most important quality when it comes to living a great life? What is the non-negotiable when it comes to personal evolution and collective flourishing? Some may say support, family, friends, community. Others may say qualities like letting go, empathy, compassion, hard work, or discipline. And some others may say money, health, vacations, retreats, things of that nature. And all of those are important, but again, what is most important when it comes to flourishing? I would say heroism. Now, this may seem dramatic or melodramatic, but this is the secret that all of our ancestors knew. You see, there was a reason that the hero has been the center of our cultures and myths since the dawning of time. The hero is what moves life forward, is what progresses us through personal and collective blocks. But the thing is, the West has lost the heroic impulse. This is evident in everything from our dumbed-down Hollywood stories to how we coddle the youth to how we deal with personal challenges and danger. You see, without personal heroism, you're screwed. Life

hits hard on so many fronts, and even if you're doing okay right now, there's going to be more problems, challenges, tragedies, pains, diseases, losses, and suffering to come, and that sucks, but that is just the reality of Earth. Our ancestors tended to airm life because they lived closer to Nature and hardship. They couldn't escape from the daily problems and tragedies, so they stop to thrive through the Battle of Life. The ancient Greeks, Nordics, Kelts, Cians, Persians, Samurai, and even indigenous peoples like the Native American, all of them were hero worshippers. Heroic myths once shaped their psyches so that they were prepared to face the ordeals of living and to thrive through challenge. I could go on and on about ancient heroic cultures, and I plan to on this channel, but in this video, we're talking about the heroic ideal in ancient Greece, what it was, why it was celebrated, and how to incorporate heroism and the heroic ideal into your own life. This video is adapted from part one, the hero, from my new book.

the psychology of slaying dragons. Now, for just a few dollars, you can get this book on Amazon and help support this Channel. And also get access to my best years of work on heroism, the heroic ideal, ancient cultures, and N. Without further Ado, let's get into the video. Hellenic Greece was a high point in history at the beginning of Western Civilization. The ancient Greeks were an exceptional people, the product of an exceptional culture, and Leadership. Their artwork, sculpture, and architecture were carved by the hands of genius men and gods working in tandem. Their Warriors are to this day spoken of with awe and respect. Greek dramas and epics Remain the foundation in our education system and have inspired centuries of Art Theater and literature. Greek thinkers, poets, and philosophers were some of the best the world has ever produced. Their ideas Thunder Through the Ages all mathematics, science, philosophy, and even Western religion were shaped in that Hellenic world and have since flowed outward from that golden age of humanity. What made the ancient Greeks so

extraordinary. There's a long list of advantages and opportunities that I could cite here, but I am more interested in their overall culture, their attitudes, disposition, and in their way of living. Culture is the underlying cause of all success in both personal life and collective evolution. If we measure a culture by the great men and women it produced, ancient Greeks are at the top of the list. So, what lies at the bedrock of Hellenic culture which gave birth to such titans who strode across all domains? The heroic ideal. I'd break down the heroic ideal into three elements: aspiration, courage, and excellence. This video is mostly centered around aspiration and excellence, so make sure to stay tuned for the next. Arete to the Greeks meant excellence - physical, mental, and moral excellence. It was a quality attributed to a thing reaching its highest state of nobility and usefulness. A sword could have Arete, just as the craftsman who made it and the soldier who wields it. Men were measured by their Arete, and this virtue was worshipped in the Homeric world of feats.

and heroes striving, struggling, and overcoming as expressions of purity made up the fundamental core of the heroic ideal and Greek Mythos. And life we live far from nature, so we have forgotten Nature's original Creed, that of savage Excellence. Nature demands Excellence of the wolf chasing down the Caribou, of the rabbit escaping the fox, of the insect creating its nest. Everything in nature demands Excellence, or it Shall Perish. And this goes deep even into the inner life of man. There are always challenges, addictions, roadblocks, pains, suffering, fears that we have to address and overcome. And all personal transformation and personal Liberation is from this pursuit of internal excellence and heroism. What is Excellence to you? I know for me Excellence is an impossibly deep practice. Anytime I ask myself, even when I think I'm doing great at martial arts or making a video, there's always a deeper level of presence, of joy, of playfulness I can bring, a more engagement, more focused, stronger me. There's always another edge of Excellence, of Arete, and the Greek heroic

idea was about finding it Arete for the Greeks started in their body. Their first statues were always of athletes and Warriors, and they celebrated the ideal male form. They prized physical excellence and believed a beautiful body was an outward manifestation of a beautiful character and strong mind. Everything good to the ancient Greek was embodied courage. For instance, was seen in heroic action. Truth wasn't some abstract thing, it was honesty. Beauty was seen in the symmetry of the body and the symmetry in architecture. All things good were embodied, and that's where Excellence begins. Physical Excellence being able to be impeccable in your body and how you move your body and how you train your body, and this leads into the heroic mindset. I'm going to read further from a chapter called The Warrior spirit in my book. For the warrior, all things are training. Each day and each challenge is an opportunity to sharpen his Spirit. The Warrior sees each act as a chance to master himself, to be in excellence, and to live with greater love and will. Action is an end in and of itself. How it

is done is all that matters. Again, we see the embodiment element coming in here. The warrior spirit is not just a hard masculine virtue reserved for strong thought and action, but applies equally to the feminine and softer sides of life as well. It means to be all in on whatever is before you, the purpose of the present moment. Embodying the warrior spirit is always heroic, and it takes effort, but heroism comes in many forms. The warrior spirit says whether you decide to go out, make love, enter a sparring match, climb a route, play a game, or talk with a friend. Whether you sit down to write, work, meditate, cry, or sleep, do it as if it was your last thing on earth. If this was your final showing, how would you like to go out? With playfulness in spirit or half measures and timidity? To be timid now, to avoid living now, is to be timid tomorrow, timid next year, and timid at death. When shall you start living? The warrior spirit is not something you slowly develop; it is an attitude you claim all at once. It is a

fire you seize from the heavens by walking in this fire. The character of The Warriors forged often through the hero's Inferno. For who else can initially seize this fire from heaven but the hero himself. I think that's where a deep level of Excellence comes from the awareness of mortality. So many Warrior cultures talk about this, whether it's the samurai, the stoics, the Spartans, all of them, our ancestors lived closer to death. They had encounters with death often, so they weren't lost in the sanitized, safe, comfortable World. They realize that this could be their final breath, their final day, their final year, this could be their final time with their friends, with their lover, with life. So why live timidly, why not live absolutely all in, and that is what the heroic ideal is. It comes from this remembrance of death, remembrance of this minuscule blink of Eternity that we have on Earth. And because we live such a short life, like why not live it well, why not live it beautifully, why not leave

behind the crutches, the addictions, the fears, the limitations that assail you, and Rise into Freedom. Rise into your most heroic life, that is where the heroic and Warrior ethos come from. The awareness of death and the inspiration towards Excellence associated with it. Now, Excellence is the foundation of the heroic ideal, but Excellence is fortified by aspiration. Where Excellence is this internal to outward push, aspiration is a higher ideal that pulls you upward. Whatever you venerate, whatever story and Mythos and ideal value you set for yourself is going to pull you towards it. And believed and the ancient Greeks in a huge way exemplified that aspiration is a spiritual force of evolution. We must Aspire first off. Man must know where he aims the arrow of His Highest hope. This is your aspiration, your purpose for being, the highest aim of life in your eyes, your ideal. It may be vague like the surface of the Moon, but it should be a direction if not a defined Target. Let your aim soar High. Great aspiration lays the foundation for

excellence and Defence in the face of the dragons that stand in your way. Aspiration lives in the soul, in the heart of man, hence it deals more with dreams and feelings. The feeling of your dream is what is most important. Strong images and feelings are directly communicated to the subconscious mind, the hidden master of our waking lives. The subconscious loves emotionally inspiring stories and heroes, hence the importance of heroic myths in ancient times for guiding the Soul's Evolution. These ideals and values therein clarified targets for veneration and aspiration. Joseph Campbell, the American writer, and professor of comparative religion, once said that heroic myths give inspiration to aspiration. Classical Greek culture, brimming with these heroic myths and ideals, gave birth to a strength of character and vitality of will that is quite lacking in the modern day. Let's look at some of those myths, huh? Imagine growing up and hearing stories of Heracles every night, the stories of a man, a hero who overcame Divine challenges and ascended as a god. Heracles was cursed by the goddess Hera.

and in a fit of Madness, killed his whole family. Heartbroken, he had to pay Penance by performing impossible labors that Hera designed. These tests were designed to trap him or destroy him, but Heracles went forward undaunted, overcoming himself and the gods alike. He found the strength and courage to Bear the unbearable and the wit to beat the unbeatable. Imagine growing up in a world where heroic myths were your Cartoon Network. Heracles was your honored ancestor and the ilad was your Bible. Think of the virtues you would be inspired to emulate and the psychological resiliency you would possess with that kind of upbringing. When hardship struck, when great internal battles ensued, when Misfortune or opportunity arose, how would you respond? Trained from youth to strive and struggle well, to anticipate tragedy, to thrive on Challenge, and to honor the memory of their ancestors, the ancient Greek would have risen like a lion when 2 million Persians came to the doorstep to destroy and Conquer everything in 480 BC. The Spartans greeted the challenge.

with joy, marshalling a Suicide Squad of 300, they went to Feast on the greatest challenge of their lives. They fought and died with such Valor and heroism that their story is still told today. They gave their Nation a fighting chance, and their sacrifice, along with the destruction of Athens, ignited the fighting spirit in the Greeks and finally United them in a war for Liberty. In the end, against Mighty odds, they Rose in defiance to deliver crippling blows against their once Invincible adversary, sending the Persians limping away. They rebuilt their cities with a cry of Victory and ushered in an unprecedented Golden Age. Songs and stories celebrated this Triumph for generations to come, and youth sought to exemplify The Valor and R of their forefathers. Great Souls like Socrates, Plato, Pericles, Ides alabes, and Alexander the Great emerged from the resulting Nation: philosophers, political leaders, Statesmen, poets, and conquerors that would come to reshape the world. Without such a heroic culture, the Greek city-states would have folded under the mighty Persian Empire, as many others.

nations had the heroic ideal, and the love of Freedom pushed the Greeks upward through adversity and birthed within them a spirit of excellence and genius that has inspired Humanity for thousands of years. Now, the story of this great battle against Persia, this long war, is also a reflection of the long war that happens inside of us - the inner holy War over, you know, limitations, fears, resistances, addictions, traumas - these things that block our path to our highest Liberty and freedom. And if that heroic ideal can inspire that great overcoming and the flourishing into a golden age against Great external adversaries, so can it create a golden age within us against our internal adversaries. This is what the psychology of slaying dragons is all about. We have these great dragons to slay inside of us, and until we fix ourselves within that heroic ideal of Excellence, courage, and aspiration, and face our tragedies, face our downo, so we can see our sunrises once again. Only through doing that and taking that heroic path can we

create the highest flourishing and transformation within. That is why the heroic ideal is what made the Ancients badasses and made us so stuck and stagnant because of the lack thereof. Thanks for watching wisdom Warriors. I'm Christian. I feel like consistent inspiration and accountability are Priceless on this path we walk. It's why I love reading heroic stories and Warrior philosophers of the past. That inspiration, that check-in is so important for me. It's also why I love hanging out with inspiring Brothers. If you're ready to actualize more excellence and heroism in your life, it's really hard to do it alone. It's why I invite you to work with me one-on-one or join my new men's group. I'm looking for a few leaders to join me for weekly call workshops and challenges where we can all level up together. If that interests you, you can apply for a free Discovery call to talk with me one-on-one. Link in the description below. Thanks for being here, guys. Get my new book, The Psychology of Slaying Dragons.

this thing will change your [Music] life.

Why your ancestors were BADASS and you are miserable

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