As You Like It is a pastoral comedy written by William Shakespeare in 1599. The play features one of Shakespeare’s most famous and oft-quoted speeches…
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.”
A moment’s reflection will confirm that Shakespeare nailed it…as we are all actors in a play, we are all stars in our own movie…for which the stage is set every day of our lives.
Husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mother in laws, jealous ex-lovers, managers, employees, customers, clients, neighbors and friends to name just a few of the parts we play and which are all part of the constant, swirling emotional drama which exists each day of our lives.
Life in many respects is a high stakes drama…it’s a plot involving victims, villains, and heroes.
Rejection, sabotage, lack of appreciation, miscommunication, suffering, deception, disappointment, determination, failure, broken promises as well as commitment, resilience, discipline, sacrifice, courage, persistence, love and victory are all part of the plot.
The struggle between good and evil is the underlying theme of any drama…and whatever relationship you venture in to, you’ll find the same plot being played out wherever two or more people get together…be it in the boardroom, locker room, classroom or living room.
The script of Goodness Triumphs Over Evil features three starring roles, the evil villain who abuses the victim, the innocent victim who is saved by the noble hero, and the noble hero who defeats the evil villain.
THE VICTIM
Here are some of the feelings the victim role allows people to access and put on full display.
Grief, powerlessness, sadness, low self-esteem, submissiveness, anguish, fearfulness, suffering, hopelessness, feeling rejected, incapacity, depression, self-doubt, fragility and dependency and vulnerability.
THE VILLAIN
The role of the villain can recognized by observing the following attributes…
Arrogance, selfishness, addiction, deception, scheming, sneaky, cruelty, greedy, manipulative, dissatisfied, intolerant, belligerent and hypocritical.
Villains have a psychotic capacity to lie to you with a smile on their face…and they are often seductive, charming, flattering and mischievous.
They create diversions and operate with great speed so as to hide their true intentions…and they are an energy draining nightmare.
Since the days of Greek tragedies to today’s modern thrillers, the bad guys move in the half shadows, scheming, cunning, cleverly plotting, and doing whatever they please… undeterred by public opinion.
Villains take many shapes and sizes, from the executives and boards who depress wages for workers but who grant themselves enormously large pay packages…to politicians who cater to lobbyists and special interest groups instead of serving the best interests of their constitutes…to the news media who manufacture and distort news to accommodate their biased agenda.
The villain role is played by many parties…and in as many diabolical ways that you can imagine.
THE HERO
I created the 100 Day Challenge so that you can learn to become your own hero…and here are some of the many qualities that you can, must and will develop by acting out the hero role in your own life.
Determined, compassionate, focused, powerful, strong, bold, nurturing, persevering, loving, idealistic, inspiring, giving, disciplined, committed, responsible, patient, honest, caring, humble, open, passionate and courageous.
Triumph, the thrill of victory…the capacity to dare something worthwhile is the passion that drives the hero into action.
That’s why one of your primary goals is to become the hero of your own story…the noble hero that overcomes every challenge, the courageous hero who defeats the evil villain, the empowered hero who refuses to be victimized.
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. It takes character to do the right thing. It takes tenacity to make your dreams come true…and if you’re not the hero of your own story, than you’re missing the whole point of your humanity.
Goodness must triumph over evil and virtue must always overrule vice. It’s only when you become your own hero, when you can stand on your own two feet and save yourself that are you complete.
Everything Counts!
Gary Ryan Blair
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