CHAPTER III - Call to Adventure: Know Who You Are

The call to adventure arises the moment you realize the ordinary world is no longer sufficient. To answer it, you must first know who you are at the deepest level.

MTP – Massive Transformative Purpose is your highest-level, aspirational mission. The concept was popularized by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler in the mid-2010s. It builds on earlier ideas such as Jim Collins’ BHAG but adds a deeper layer of transformative impact and intrinsic meaning. A strong MTP is massive in scope, transformative in effect, and rooted in a clear “why” that goes beyond self-interest. It is typically phrased as “My mission is…” or “I exist to…”.

Exercise – Discovering Your MTP (20–30 minutes)

• List 10–15 big problems or issues in the world that genuinely move you.
• List your deepest passions and activities that make you lose track of time.
• Look for intersections between the two lists.
• Draft several versions beginning with “My mission is…” or “I exist to…”.
• Test each version: Does it give you goosebumps? Would you commit ten years to it? Is it bigger than yourself?

Example

“My mission is to help people awaken the hero within them through transformative storytelling.”

Autonomous motivation rooted in a clear MTP is one of the strongest predictors of long-term goal persistence (Koestner et al., 2019). (5)

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