Are you a villain or a hero?
The deepest rep in the gym. You'll excavate the beliefs behind your proudest and least-proud moments, then face a question most people get wrong — one that changes how you lead once you see it.
Pulls together What's Your Story, Choices, and the ABCs. Warm up with those first if you haven't.
Part 1 · Your movie
You are the star of your own movie.
Drama, comedy, action? What's the soundtrack? Who are your co-stars — and are they cheering for you, or jeering? Every person you meet is a co-star in your movie, and you're one in theirs. Your audience is watching over your shoulder right now.
The most important story you will ever tell is the story you tell to yourself, about yourself.
And here's the part that matters: it is your responsibility to make your movie great — to choose the scenes that make you a villain or a hero. No one else can direct it. That's not a burden; it's the whole freedom.
Part 2 · The villain
Recall one of your least proud moments.
A time you did the wrong thing. Sit in it honestly — this is where the muscle gets worked.
Part 3 · The hero
Now recall one of your most proud moments.
A time you did the right thing. Notice how differently your body holds this one.
Part 4 · The formula
E + R = O
Event + Response = Outcome
You rarely control the event. You always control the response — and your response is what casts you as the villain or the hero of the scene. Same event, different response, different movie.
Part 5 · The question
Can you be both villain and hero in the exact same moment?
Not two different moments. The same one — the same behavior, unchanged. Most people say no. Sit with it before you look. What would make the answer yes?
Yes. Absolutely yes — because it's all about perspective.
When the behavior is identical, the only thing that changes is the frame it's seen through. My daughter is seriously injured and I'm racing her to the hospital, flying through traffic. To her, to me, I am a hero — doing whatever it takes. To every driver I blow past, I'm a maniac about to get someone killed. Same car, same speed, same moment. Hero and villain at once.
That's the whole point. Villain and hero were never just about the behavior — they're about the story being told about it, and from where. Once you see that, you stop being trapped by any single story of yourself, and you get to choose the response — and the frame — on purpose.
Part 6 · Yes, and…
The improviser's rule rewrites the formula: E + R = O, where the response is always "Yes, and…" Instead of resisting the event or shutting down the other person, you accept what's real and build on it. It's how a hero responds — not by controlling the scene, but by adding to it.
What is your one action as a hero?
Not ten. One. Pick a single scene this week where you'll consciously choose the hero's response — and name the frame you'll hold while everyone else sees what they see.
A commitment you could make
"On my drive into work each day, instead of my normal routine, I will identify one way to use empathy for someone I'll see that day."