“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Bilbo used to live a tranquil (single) (boring) (dull) life, which he thought he was happy with (more like “content,” probably). One day, a grumpy old man with a stick came by and took it all away. Bilbo was then taken on a Quest (not quite against his will, but… almost). A Quest that turned his life around both financially and spiritually (if you want to add “romantically,” you’ll have to look at Sam Gamgee marrying Rose Cotton in the sequel).
Leaving the Shire turned Bilbo into a new ma… halfling. He discovered he was capable of much more than he thought. He made great (and not so great) acquaintances. Sort of. Ish. I think. 1“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” Bilbo, The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien And he got more gold than he could ever use after the dragon was slain.
Why leave the couch?
If you have no interest in the Dragon’s Hoard, that’s ok. This site is probably not for you. But if you do want the Loot (whatever you consider Loot), you have to level up your life.
You can say it any way you want: Mark Manson‘s First Fundamental is Honest Living, or “Creating an Attractive Lifestyle.” Robert Glover calls it “Making a Great Cake of a Life” (everything else is the icing on top). Harris O’Malley says that “an interesting lifestyle is a key component to attraction.”
And if you want to get philosophical, “the great miseries of life come when too many days stack up where we are conforming and posing while doing things we have no passion for.” (Brendon Burchard)
The point is, if you’re unhappy with anything in your life, you should go on a Quest. Period. Want to stop being single? Quest. You don’t like the people around you? Quest. You’re out of shape? Quest. Your Constitution is low and you can’t even reach your phone? Quest. Out of chips? Quest. You don’t believe me and want to prove me wrong? Quest!
+1 Life
Regardless of whether you’re playing solo or with a party (a.k.a. partner/s, family, friends, etc), you need to go on Quests. If not for you, then for everyone else around you. It’s part of what some people call “getting a Life.” Not in the sense that you can respawn if you lose all your HP, but in that it will turn you into a high-level character. And we all know it’s much more fun being a high-level character than a n00b.
High-level characters have all the cool stuff because they go on Quests. Because “there are always side quests that help you earn experience points, discover new locations, find new items, craft new armor, level up certain attributes, and so on.” (Steve Kamb) This often means they’re surrounded by all the other cool characters who also go on quests, grind, and get loot.
Remember that the point of the game is to go out and explore. Characters are called Adventurers because they go on adventures. Their comfort zone is being outside their comfort zone. Those who stick to one area of the map and repeat the same lines over and over again are called NPCs. Don’t be an NPC.
you can’t be the main character if you use uber eats, you’re an npc. you’re giving another player an item fetching quest while promising coin in return
— THE lusty argonian maid (@lindawgtwitch) July 28, 2021
Leave the Shire
Going on Quests means getting out of your comfort zone. It doesn’t mean only doing things you don’t enjoy, though. In fact, quite the opposite.
As you level up your QuestFinder Skill, you’ll be able to find the right Quests for you: You don’t have to go to bars if you don’t want to; You don’t have to join a sports team; You don’t have to sing karaoke every night in front of a bunch of drunk strangers. But you do have to change what you’re doing. One step at a time. Even if it’s just a slow, tiny, little step with a big hairy foot.
So don’t wait for a Gandalf to show up and send you on a journey. Be your own ‘annoying old man with a stick.’ It’ll be worth it.
Check out the next post to start leveling up your QuestFinder Skill!
Useful Grimoires:
