coming back should be as important as the going in the first place. This is the return, when you, the hero, have been on a road of trials and are now bringing the reward back into the old world, so that it can become new. In terms of a holiday, once again, this is the time to reflect on what you’ve seen and learned, who you’ve met, how they’ve made

If you’re not happy with how things are in your ordinary world, for instance, maybe you’re refusing your call to adventure? Perhaps what you need is to hear and accept your call and maybe a mentor will help. Or, if something or someone seems to be deliberately trying to stop you achieving your aims – no need to fret, this is just a test or an enemy

‘Life unfolds as a chain of subjective experiences … The quality of these experiences determines whether and to what extent life was worth living.’

But everything you learn will expand your capabilities, put you more in control, and also increase the amount of good fortune that comes your way – because the more you know, the more likely you’ll understand how to take advantage of any opportunities that come along. 2.

Eighth, during a flow experience, time has a strange, elastic quality. On the one hand, a moment can stretch into what seems like minutes. On the other, time flies by, as you’re caught in a reverie of flow.

So, for the storyteller to connect with their audience, whether that’s one person on a date, or a thousand people at a rally, the story must be as familiar as possible. Even if the content is new or different, then the audience should at least recognise the shape. And I think this is why man in hole or hero’s journey has entertained for at least th

What’s interesting here is not only that the shape of redemptive stories mirrors the man in hole and hero’s journey shape. What’s really interesting is that people who tend to describe their life through contaminated stories are more likely to be depressed, have lower levels of life satisfaction, and feel that they can’t make a positive contributio

Here’s the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s take on it: ‘The popular assumption is that no skills are involved in enjoying free time, and that anybody can do it. Yet the evidence suggests the opposite: free time is more difficult to enjoy than work. Having leisure at one’s disposal does not improve the quality of life unless one knows how to

Then, if you’ve time and inclination, you could follow all seven branches: S: Will this experience give you a story to tell others, or that tells you who you are? T: Will it help you develop, grow, transform? O: Will you be outside and offline? R: Will it bring you closer to others, and enhance your relationships? I: Will it be intense, and launch