The Heroic and Exceptional Minority

A Guide to Mythological Self-Awareness and Growth

Non-Fiction - Self Help
188 Pages
Reviewed on 12/07/2021
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Author Biography

Gregory V. Diehl is a personal development mentor whose ideals include self-inquiry, challenge, and analysis for the purpose of helping people to discover who they are. He writes to assist others in undoing faulty narratives about who they are and how life works so that they may begin to make more meaningful choices and resolve their deepest burdens. Diehl spent many years studying cultures around the world. He now lives a quiet life in a rural village in Armenia with his cats, books, and music.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Leonard William Smuts for Readers' Favorite

Gregory Diehl breaks new ground with The Heroic and Exceptional Minority. He explores the concept of heroism with all its positive attributes and links it to the search for something beyond mediocrity. There are intelligent and talented people in the world, but they are a minority and do not always reach their true potential. Constraining belief systems prevalent in society, together with our inbuilt fear of failure, conspire with many other factors to imprison them in a paradigm of discontent and estrangement from life in general. Diehl challenges them to be different, to embrace their talents, seek self-knowledge, allow original thought, and shed the conformity that flows from childhood conditioning. Heroism is about overcoming the odds, being true to our core values, living our truth, and seeking justice. It is also about idealism and creating a better reality. This is not an attempt to create an elite corps that will solve the world’s problems by imposing their will on others from a position of arrogance. Instead, the aim is to make readers aware of their uniqueness and potential to become exceptional through making meaningful choices and eliminating the false. The author encourages readers to overcome obstacles, both real and imagined. This book is a call to arms for all those who have felt trapped since childhood by feeling that they were different. Readers will be guided through a thought process that can bring about the freedom they desire while achieving new levels of understanding and excellence.

The Heroic and Exceptional Minority is a breath of fresh air and adopts a unique approach to self-awareness and development. Gregory Diehl has identified key aspects of personal growth through self-discovery. The book is divided into short chapters, each of which relates to a specific topic. These are dealt with in a concise and readable manner and Diehl gets his points across with precision and without over-elaboration or hype. I particularly liked the chapter regarding the intellect, which reflects on the sometimes lonely path of the gifted minority who find it difficult to share concepts with people of lesser understanding. This can lead to isolation or even alienation and begs the question as to whether the intellect is a blessing at all, as there is a perception in some circles that intellectuals are aloof and should be marginalized. The author also makes the important point that intelligent people are neither inherently heroic nor exceptional. These characteristics flow from a state of mind and conscious effort. This book will not appeal to those with closed minds but will be a revelation to readers searching for new depths within themselves. It is a book that is full of insights and practical advice. It should be read once and then studied in detail later. Perhaps then, the minority will flourish.

Foluso Falaye

Society has a way of making individuals submit to its norms, no matter how detrimental they are. Those who recognize this early find it hard to thrive in an environment that celebrates superficial achievements. In The Heroic and Exceptional Minority, Gregory V. Diehl shares with readers the importance of and steps to staying steadfast and being an exemplary, heroic figure to oneself and to the environments they find themselves in. The book includes several insightful concepts: changing the interpretation of your past to serve you better in the present, finding the root of every emotion and thought to master them, ensuring your pursuits lead to your desired reality, avoiding distractions in today's digital world, and much more. The Heroic and Exceptional Minority is filled with several lessons that could help you improve your potential and what you have to offer to yourself and the world.

As someone who has always wanted a different, more life-centric reality than what I see around me, Gregory V. Diehl's highly motivational words seemed to be directed at me. I found most of the ideas discussed are sensible and intuitive. For example, that many people continue living most of their lives with what they were taught as children who haven't developed an ability to reason well is quite concerning. Readers will find it easy to read the book as Gregory employs language that's easy to understand and references relatable experiences like popular heroic movies. As it is a book that contains several logical, intricate, and transformative thoughts that are useful for an extraordinary and highly rewarding life, I recommend The Heroic and Exceptional Minority to individuals who feel like misfits in their society and wish for a better world.

Natalie Soine

Reading The Heroic and Exceptional Minority by Gregory V. Diehl is an educational experience. The author explores the notion of heroic and exceptional minority applied to our modern world. He addresses the concept of self-actualization and exceptionalism to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. We all deserve to find a fulfilling role in life and seek some form of validation in order to flourish as individuals and community members. The information included in this book helps us to live up to and beyond our current potential as humanity evolves. We learn the philosophy that we must hold ourselves accountable to the standards we apply to the rest of humanity. We all have the ability to accomplish good and align ourselves with that which is important and worthwhile.

The Heroic and Exceptional Minority: A Guide to Mythological Self-Awareness and Growth is certainly an eye-opener and reminds us that we all have choices in life; we have the ability to follow the right path, to increase our skills and knowledge, and live a good life. Gregory Diehl has created a fantastic tool for everyone to make use of and improve their lives. I enjoyed the flow of the book and the way Gregory divided the theory into chapters so that the reader can select a specific section and focus on the subject of their choice. There is also a graphic illustration in each chapter to show how far the reader has come and still has to go. Overall, a fantastic book highly recommended to adults and teens.

Tammy Ruggles

The Heroic and Exceptional Minority: A Guide to Mythological Self-Awareness and Growth, by Gregory V. Diehl, is a call to find your highest, best self, while acknowledging your limitations. If you like discussions of philosophy and religions, while keeping it personal and in a way that betters yourself and perhaps even the wider world, you will love this book. Diehl lends his insightful, studied wisdom to the pursuit of meaning and value. If you often feel alienated or feel that you are just living up to your potential, or have a need to know what your true potential really is or could be, this guide will help you get in touch with your strengths, passions, and inner truth. To explore your possibilities, you need to explore your human shortcomings and seek to embrace mentorship that can help you advance toward success. You need to feel a sense of belonging, a sense that you matter and have something to contribute. What does heroism mean to you? It takes some self-examination, and this book can help you do that.

Diehl delivers powerful wisdom in everyday language and encourages readers to accept themselves for their true nature. By doing this, you can decide how your life will go and how you will impact others. I enjoyed his discussions on extraordinary people, and how they stand out and are different from the average, and I like how he explains that humans always try to make sense out of the nonsensical and operate within those parameters. The chapter on idealism and naivete was especially interesting to me, as was the one on emotion and conviction. The author talks about mythology and how people get on with it and without it, and about character and how to nurture it, especially self-awareness, but emotions too. Summaries of the chapters help clarify the points. You may not agree with all of the author's philosophy on what the hero is or isn't. Do you have what it takes to be a hero? Do you have what it takes to be a decent person? But you will definitely be in for an intriguing, challenging read if you pick up Gregory V. Diehl's The Heroic and Exceptional Minority: A Guide to Mythological Self-Awareness and Growth.

Anelynde Smit

The Heroic and Exceptional Minority by Gregory V. Diehl is an exceptional look into the human mind and how you could reach your potential. You do not need a degree in psychology to understand topics like nature vs nurture and motivation. This book is an amazing tool for anyone who wants to awaken their inner hero. It teaches you about yourself more than you know. There are topics he touches upon that you might find more interesting than others but you will relate to them. You will, in the end, feel inspired to become one of the heroes in this world. The minority goes out and lives life to the fullest. This book doesn’t hide truths; it puts them out in the open for all to see, teaching you how to reach people and accomplish goals. It helps you “recognize your strengths” and shortcomings and it is a really good look at the human mind with a fresh new perspective.

The Heroic and Exceptional Minority by Gregory V. Diehl is a great read. He keeps the chapters short and digestible. I felt like I could be one of those heroes, that I was capable of great things. This book made me feel like I was able to do anything--as long as I could pull in my brain and reconstruct it, I could live the life I had always dreamed of. The book gives you the feeling that you are getting a look inside the mind of a hero, like a secret. That is the magic of this book. It makes you believe in heroes, and that you could be one. A brilliant read for graduates and adults alike. Highly recommended.