The Power of Myths in Everyday Life

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If the eyes are the window to the soul, myths are the glasses of the mind. They help us to see more clearly and find our way. The only hero of your life is you. But what kind of hero are you? And who are these characters that make up your world?

Let's take this as a daily game. A game of knowledge, an intelligent game, a useful game. Because whoever knows how to name dynamics sees more clearly and can orchestrate them according to their own.

Since the dawn of humanity, we have been exchanging wisdom and information through stories passed from the mouth of a parent to the ear of a future parent. Then storytellers take hold of them and the stories become myths. Each time reworked, deepened, refined, and enriched by the experiences of others. After a while, myths and our psyches are so closely linked that it is difficult for us to tell the difference between one and the other. One serves the other and the other serves the one, so that a myth can help us understand today's reality or at least put words to and structure our thoughts. They sometimes describe reality, but they always reveal its invisible structure.

All around the globe and throughout all of humanity, myth is a grid for reading the depths of our souls. They are a universal language, an implicit code that we understand without thinking. They are as much theaters for our inner and outer worlds as they are keys to understanding. Advertisers, screenwriters, and politicians know this well: whoever masters myths masters attention. And whoever masters attention...

A story awakens, gathers, asks questions, persuades... or manipulates. We have often seen symbols distorted to better reign. In the 19th century, Napoleon III led his people by resurrecting the myth of the strong, fierce, but always defeated Gaul. The implication: you are strong, so you work hard and without counting your hours. But don't try to negotiate your salary because you are a loser. Vicious, isn't it? That is the power of myth and its rewriting. It is no wonder that class struggles appeared and gave birth to political movements that still divide us today.

We already knew that the right wing and the left wing belonged to the same eagle. So, we invented anarchy to do without this eagle, this bird of prey, the eternal symbol of the Roman Empire. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, today totally unknown and a great theorist of anarchy, was as widely read as Victor Hugo, who was the only human being to have his own avenue while still alive. "Victor Hugo on his avenue," they wrote on envelopes... Victor and Pierre-Joseph were international stars like Michael Jackson, The Beatles, or Taylor Swift. To those thirsty for power, the anarchists were comparable to the Jezebels of the Bible because they diverted the people from the absolute power of the eternal. In their mouths, anarchy and disorder were amalgamated, even though these terms are essentially antagonistic. If Taylor Swift were in ideological disagreement with them, they would turn her into a succubus, a demoness who takes hold of your soul while singing and turns you into a vegetable...

The devil is hidden in the details, and from there he corrupts us. It is a bit like the negative growth of a former French president or the "war is peace" of 1984. This eminently political term has been used and transformed so many times that we lose our way in it. Indeed, the word "anarchy" comes from the Greek an-arkhè: absence of power. It is not disorder or terrorism, but the radical utopia that one human or group of humans has no more power than another human or group of humans. Which, for a professional of power, is unacceptable and must be fought. Indeed, a people convinced by these theses would deprive leaders of their functions, taxes, and privileges. They would then have to start becoming productive to earn a living. Which is intolerable for them and well explained by Machiavelli in his famous "The Prince." They therefore had to break the myth while promoting the necessity of a leader endowed with the power of coercion to establish order. It was very well played. Let's take a breath and draw inspiration from these examples of real mystification.

We will also study the question of God: if He is everything, if He is one, how can He be jealous? How can He order war in the name of love and not tolerate difference if He is everything?

Myths tell us about power, loyalty, pride, doubt, betrayal, sacrifice, initiation, and love.

• Cassandra, ah, if only the Trojans had listened to you
• Prometheus, an eagle eats your liver because you gave fire to men
• Loki, you sow trouble to make the true world emerge (according to you)
• Penelope, you never cease to weave meaning in the shadows
• Satan, the accuser, you test the solidity of a project or a leader
• Thor, you right wrongs
• And many others.

Each of us is a hero in the making. A contemporary Ulysses in search of meaning, direction, and connection. This manual will help you better understand allies, enemies, tensions, and hidden resources, within yourself and around you.

A manual to see better – and act better

• Identify the archetypes present in your team, your organization, your environment.
• Understand the deep dynamics at play (loyalty, sabotage, clairvoyance, exclusion...).
• Find keys to better manage, better decide, and better navigate crises.
• And sometimes... simply to live better.

Because these stories, even ancient ones, speak to our daily reality:

• Draw punchlines from them for your presentations, your transformations, or your strategies
• Find keys to better situate yourself, understand tensions, and take action
• And everyone, deep down, will find something of themselves in them

In the final part, we will also visit certain modern myths such as The Golden Boy, an avatar of Midas and Narcissus; The Zombie, the result of a virus that does not kill... but transforms; The Providential Savior, who concentrates hope... and sometimes manipulation; The Magic Machine that solves everything and escapes its creator. These pop stories are our new myths and, like the old ones, they say a lot about our fears, our desires, and our blind spots. Each chapter will simply explain a myth to you, give you practical lessons, and provide phrases to slip into your discussions, speeches, or meetings.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are embarking on a journey of spiritual and practical adventures.

Welcome aboard