How to Slay a Dragon in 2024

Three Steps, Including One We May Have Been Missing

If you’ve ever dreamt about achieving one truly great thing — or, having a heroic moment — you are not alone.

Many of us long to live a life of purpose. To leave our mark. To make a difference, even if, as it usually must be, in the humblest of ways.

But if you take this desire seriously—especially in today’s world, which is awash in big challenges—you likely also know you must slay some dragons.

Ravit Sages via Unsplash.

I am talking about those dragons that often appear as mere whispers but carry the weight of mythological figures. The ones that ask:

Who do you think you are?

What difference do you think you can make?

Or, worst of all, Aren’t we a bit helpless to right this ship?

So, what, then, is the art of slaying a dragon in 2024?

First, We need to properly assess the beast we’re up against.

It’s not just all those “issues” we are all too familiar with, including climate change, threats to democracy, growing polarization, an unprecedented mental health crisis, and much more.

We are also often stopped from engaging in these issues by the belief that we can’t make a difference.

Second, We must consider our armor or the equipment we bring to battle.

For some challenges, like climbing a snow-covered mountain, the right equipment might include concrete things like crampons, ice picks, and ropes.

For other challenges, like tackling the youth mental health crisis, the right equipment might include having certain skills, such as the policy chops to effectively lobby for the funding and public services needed.

But in the case of many challenges we face these days, there is that all-important thing that comes before action—namely, once again, the will to engage.

Third, We need to ask: What are we missing? What have we not yet considered that could help us? And then how can we develop it?

Here, I believe the answer is that we have not yet learned how to develop the mindset to navigate a world that is suddenly dizzying in its complexity, uncertainty, and rate of change.

But as always, once we recognize the foundational problem, we can do something about it: We can develop a mindset that helps us rather than hinders us by developing the skills to:

• Perceive challenges in ways that make engagement easier.

• Relate to the emotions stirred by today’s uncertainty in ways that help us transform fear and anxiety into courage and conviction.

• Engage in strategic and sustainable action to maximize our chances for impact and minimize the odds of burnout.

In other words, developing a success mindset for a changing world may be the prerequisite action we need to take to meet the unprecedented challenges before us. Like a scrim lit from behind, doing so can transform what looks like something solid as a dragon into something as insubstantial as a dream.

Please note: I’ll be changing the name of this newsletter to “B-Heroic: Developing a Success Mindset for a Changing World.” It will continue to build on the idea of leading with courage as one of the three elements of a success mindset for a changing world.

If you’d like to learn more about my workshops and coaching, please visit my website here.