Answering a Few Questions from A Field Guide to the Hero's Journey

I have recently finished reading A Field Guide for the Hero's Journey by Jeff Sandefer and Rev. Robert Sirico. I highly recommend it.

At the end of each chapter are a series of questions. I thought I would answer a few of them.

What skills and talents do you possess?

I have good writing and proofreading/editing skills. I have a talent for storytelling. I am good at seeing complex patterns, and I am highly analytical. I have developed several skills related to writing poetry -- particularly writing in rhythm (especially iambic).

What do you enjoy doing?

Reading, writing, proofreading/editing, creating plays and poetry, working on spontaneous order theory, thinking, and cooking. I also enjoy watching plays and movies. I enjoy talking about things which interest me. I enjoy time alone to read and think. I enjoy time walking in nature. I enjoy my family, and I often delight in my children.

What do you love doing so much that you lose yourself in it?

Writing.

What do you hate doing?

Pretty much anything I don't enjoy. I hate driving in heavy traffic. I hate dealing with bureaucracies and bureaucrats.

Do you tend to rush into things, or hesitate too long?

I tend to hesitate. I overthink things, and I am sometimes unsure about social situations.

Do you tend to save up for a rainy day, or does every cent burn a hole in your pocket?

Neither, though I am working on doing the former.

Are you a perfectionist who always demands the best, or are you satisfied with better-than-before?

I try to both do my best and to do better than before.

Are you a natural optimist, or do you tend toward pessimism?

I tend to mix the two, which I call "hope."

What do you have to offer?

A love of beauty, a love of ideas, hope for the future, poetry.

What can you do that no one else can do?

No one can write the exact poems and plays I write, because nobody else has the exact combination of skill and experience (life and reading) I have.

What needs do you see in the world around you?

I see a need for people to adopt a more positive, supportive culture, one that is more trusting and more conducive to the creation of wealth across as broad a range of people as possible. I see a need for more liberty so that people can realize their dreams more readily, and so that virtue and hard work are rewarded. I see a need for less poverty and for less collectivist thinking (racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.), for the development of a more heterogeneous culture with institutions that increase trust and social interactions, creating the conditions for wealth production and thus the elimination of true poverty.

Are you willing to take risks in the hope of great rewards?

In respect to my education, I have a history of taking risks; in respect to my career, I have a history of caution. I am willing to be willing to take risks in the hope of great rewards.

Are you ready to use your resources---your natural talents, your ideas, your money---instead of burying them?

I am always using my natural talents and my ideas. However, I need to be more willing to make public my playwriting skills.

Who do you want to become?

I want to become a great playwright and poet.

What would you like to be known for?

My plays and poetry. My work on spontaneous order theory.

What would you like to have accomplished?

I want my plays to be performed around the world. I want to write more plays. I want to write and publish a book on the varieties of spontaneous orders.

What sort of person would you like to have become?

I want to be generous. I like to help people -- especially in the area of writing. I want to be more expressive of my feelings (more expressive outside of my art).