The Ordinary World
Recognising your hero before change
Before any story begins, there is a life already in motion.
Habits already formed.
Problems already tolerated.
Language already in use.
This is the Ordinary World.
Stage 1 is not about defining a market or building a persona. It’s about recognising a real person who is already living with the friction your work exists to ease.
If you skip this stage, content becomes generic.
If you rush it, content becomes performative.
This stage grounds everything that follows.
What this stage is for?
Stage 1 exists to help you answer one question:
“Who is already living with the problem I care about?”
Not who might need you.
Not who you want to sell to.
Who is already tolerating the friction your purpose points toward.
When you get this right:
your content feels personal without being invasive
your language sounds familiar instead of polished
your message lands without explanation
What this stage is not
Before you continue, let go of these expectations:
You are not building a perfect profile
You are not narrowing a niche
You are not predicting behaviour
You are not writing copy yet
If you feel pressure to “get it right,” pause. Stage 1 is about seeing, not deciding.
01. Start with one real person
Do not begin with a segment. Begin with a person.
Someone you’ve spoken to.
Worked with.
Met in a conversation that stuck with you.
If no one specific comes to mind yet, imagine the kind of person you most want your work to help, not aspirationally, but realistically.
Ask yourself:
What does their day actually look like?
What do they tolerate because they feel they have to?
What problem do they keep circling without resolving?
That’s enough to begin.
02. what life looks like now
The Ordinary World isn’t dramatic.
It’s familiar.
Busy.
Slightly uncomfortable.
And easy to ignore.
Describe it plainly.
What does a normal day involve?
Where does friction show up quietly?
What feels heavier than it should, but has become “normal”?
This is not about pain points. It’s about tolerated friction.
03. The friction they live with
People don’t usually complain about the thing that exhausts them most.
They normalise it.
Your job here is simply to notice:
What keeps repeating?
What never quite gets resolved?
What costs time, energy, confidence, or clarity?
This is not about judgement.
It’s about recognition.
If you can name the friction without blaming the person, you’re doing it right.
04. The patterns you keep seeing
Look for repetition, not exception.
When does this friction show up most?
What triggers it?
What do people tend to try, and abandon?
Patterns are powerful because they say:
“This isn’t just you.”
At this stage, you are not fixing anything.
You are observing what keeps looping.
05. The language they use
Listen carefully.
People tell you what matters to them in the words they choose.
What phrases do they repeat?
What metaphors come up?
What do they say when they’re tired of explaining themselves?
Avoid translating this into “better” language.
Use it as it is.
Familiar language builds trust long before advice does.
A quiet check before moving on
Before you leave this stage, ask yourself:
Could I recognise this person in real life?
Does this friction connect directly to my Stage 0 purpose?
Would this person feel seen if they read my next post?
If yes, you’re ready.
You do not need a full profile.
You do not need certainty.
You just need someone real in mind.
WHATS NEXT?
Stage 1 gives you recognition.
Stage 2 introduces friction.
You’re no longer asking:
“What should I say?”
You’re asking:
“What is already being lived — but not yet named?”
When you’re ready, we move to the Call to Adventure.
