I ask people a number of questions to get them to portray their life in terms of story terms: Describe the theme of your life story; Describe your character role in it; Describe the tone of it; Describe the trajectory. For example, one question asks:
Which is your story?
a. A good past has led to a good present
b. A good past has led to a bad present
c. A bad past has led to a good present
d. A bad past has led to a bad present
While it may, at first, seem artificial or simplistic to ask people to reduce their entire, quite complicated, endlessly nuanced history to one of four rather blunt scenario’s (elsewhere I ask is your story a Comedy? a Tragedy? a Overcoming the Monster? a Quest?) I treat this as a first step. It gets one thinking. It enables you to see structure where perhaps you did not before; to recognize that there is an end toward which every life, like every story is driving. And because one’s life is obviously more complicated than broad descriptions like ‘good’ and ‘bad’ (and ‘past’ and ‘present’ for that matter) can ever portray, simple questions like these tend to promote elaboration).
Perhaps there’s something presumptuous about asking questions like the multiple choice earlier and making people comment to the ‘best possible answer’ to describe their incredible stories. But another useful reason to paint it, initially, in such broad terms is that people are pretty adept at describing the mood of their failing story. Only then can they start to pick apart the potentially false, toxic details that have made it so.
What Can I Expect?
Here’s an outline of the THE POWER OF YOUR STORY journey.
Journey Outline
OLD STORIES
- The Power of Your Story
- What is your Story?
- Your Hero’s Journey
- How Faithful are You as Storyteller?
- Is this Really Your Story?
- The Private Voice
YOUR NEW STORY
- A Quest is Never Forgettable
- They Lived Happily Ever After?
- The Three Rules of Storytelling
- The Four Story Scenario’s
- They Lived Happily Ever After!
- Do You Have the Resources To Live Your Best Life?
- Indoctrinate Yourself
- The Story Effect
- Your New Story
- The Premise of your Story. The Purpose of your Life and Art
- The words on your tombstone
- You ultimate mission, out loud
- Questioning the Premise
- Lining up
- Flawed Alignment, Tragic Ending
TURNING STORY INTO ACTION
- Turning your story into action
- Story Ritualizing
- The Storyteller and the art of story
- The Power of Your Story
- Storyboarding your creative process
- They Created and Lived Happily Ever After
About Peter de Kuster
Peter de Kuster is the founder of The Heroine’s Journey & Hero’s Journey project, a storytelling firm which helps creative professionals to create careers and lives based on whatever story is most integral to their lives and careers (values, traits, skills and experiences). Peter’s approach combines in-depth storytelling and marketing expertise, and for over 20 years clients have found it effective with a wide range of creative business issues.
Peter is writer of the series The Heroine’s Journey and Hero’s Journey books, he has an MBA in Marketing, MBA in Financial Economics and graduated at university in Sociology and Communication Sciences.
IS THE HERO’S JOURNEY FOR YOU?
You are a creative professional who is interested in developing yourself and your creative business.- You are aware that there are no quick fixes. Learning is a journey that works when you are fully committed to it. A guide like Peter de Kuster can bring awareness and help you navigate, but in the end it’s you who is in charge of your growth.
- You want to learn more about how to tell yourself a more powerful story, learn about blind spots, and get feedback.
- You are curious and want to engage in an interactive learning journey with Peter de Kuster.
- You are motivated to work in-between journeys on yourself (e.g. working on questions that will help you develop new storytelling, mindsets, skills, and behaviors).
WHAT’S YOUR QUEST-ION?
The Hero’s Journey is all about your development. To make the most out of your journey with Peter, we ask you to prepare topics to work on with him. These topics can serve as a starting point for further in-depth exploration.
PRICING
Three Day Journey in Rome for EUR 2,950 (excl. VAT)
BOOK THE HERO’S JOURNEY
FAQ
Who can sign up for The Hero’s Journey?
Creative professionals who wish to improve their storytelling, mindset(s) and develop their leadership skills.
What language do we speak in the journey?
English
Can I bring my own topics?
Yes, you get to choose your own topic.
Are journeys confidential?
Yes. Peter will not share anything that is discussed in the journey.
Where will the journeys take place?
Sessions will take place travelling with Peter a world city like Paris, Rome, Florence, Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, Antwerp, Venice, New York, Berlin, Madrid.
How do I sign up?
Send Peter an email to theherojourneyquestionnaires@gmail.com
How do I pay?
After you booked The Hero’s Journey by sending an email to Peter you will receive an email with info how to pay.
How do I book and reschedule a journey?
Once we’ve received your payment, our Program Coordinator will book your journey. She will also support you with rescheduling journeys if needed.
What is your cancellation policy?
Individual journeys can be postponed up to one week before the journey.
The Hero's Journey 