Yesterday we talked about how it’s not about you. That’s still true and always will be. Your brand, your business, doesn’t exist to be the star of the show. Your customers, your clients, your audience, they should always be number one. So, where does your business come in?

First, I’m going to teach you about the hero’s journey. It’s the core foundation of narratives used throughout history in every major myth and in to-many-to-name folktales. Every successful film or movie franchise, TV show, audio drama, novel, or book series follows this formula. And it’s something you’re hardwired to recognize.

Okay so this is how it goes: Every story has a hero, the main character, a protagonist who is going on a journey. He or she wants to complete that journey but faces some sort of obstacle or problem standing in the way of them achieving their goal. It can be a villain or a competitor, an external factor like needing a special object (think, a magic ring or an infinity stone), it can an internal factor, like crippling self-doubt, ambition, or personal greed, or even philosophical factors, like personal determination or altruism.

Put in a short way, a hero goes on a journey or wants to go on a journey and faces an obstacle. Conflict. Something preventing him or her from fully realizing and/or achieving their goal.

Now let’s synthesize this and put it in business terms. Your customer wakes up every morning wanting to live a successful day. They are going to go on a journey through life but will face obstacles along the way. Maybe they are facing a fierce competitor at work, maybe they need a solution to an ongoing issue, maybe they are looking for a way to speed up their workflow and focus on more of the things that matter, or maybe they just want mental clarity and peace.

Here’s where you can come in. You’re the solution to their problem. You’re not the hero. It’s not about you. You’re the wise guide, the individual, the business, the company, the solution that helps your customer reach their goal successfully. You exist to be a conduit for their transformation, for their success as a hero.

You exist to help them win the day. In the process, of course, you’ll also win the day and build a successful business. But remember, it can’t be about you. If you’re the hero, who is your customer? Your customer must be the hero. It’s all in how you see business. Are you going to be internally or externally focused? Are you going to make it about you or are you going to step back and let your customers shine?

Tomorrow we’ll discuss your role as a guide further. We’ll talk about some popular guides in entertainment and how you can build a successful business by focusing on the success of your customers.