I’m pretty sure everyone knows by now about my totally hetero-appropriate CEO-crush on Naomi Dunford. Anything good you’ve ever seen on TMP can probably be traced back to her and her influence. Naomi is so good, not only did she have a big part in bringing all of these elements to fruition, but she is way nicer than you would ever expect or believe before meeting her in person.
Don’t tell her I said that or she’ll cuss me out.
While I was sitting around eating peanuts and lining up the guest posters over the last few months, Naomi wrote a blog post called: “Viral Marketing, the Hero’s Journey, and, Naturally, The Lord of the Rings.”
Yes, she does teach people how to write catchy headlines.
In her post, she encourages those of us with content (a.k.a. a message) to share to remember that we are like Frodo, the hobbit in LOTR, meant to share what we have to share even if we aren’t 100% positive that people will like it. Take the risk, go forth, be a hero.
Now, my response. Number 1, I heart LOTR. Like, lots. Not like in the intense I go to conventions and speak elvish and wear leaf jewelry kind of way, but in the lines from the book/movie go through my head all day and I regularly tell myself “this is just like that time when Gollum tried to frame you for stealing the lemba” and other pep-talk-like encouragements. I show clips from the movies in talks and messages all the time, and, drum roll please: I named one of my sons Samuel and yes we do call him Samwise. All the time.
It’s not that I disagree with Naomi. I think her post was great, it just—and this is unusual for Naomi—doesn’t go far enough. What I mean by that is that she tells us that we are like Frodo, but she leaves out the fact that Frodo doesn’t do what he does on his own. Not any of it- not one single solitary bit does he accomplish solo.
In fact, the real hero of the LOTR trilogy in my opinion, is not Frodo but the one and only Samwise Gamgee. This is what I am reminded of so powerfully everytime I call my son by his name or tell anyone what his name is. I call to mind that truth that we are not alone, and that beyond that we actually need others to do what we are supposed to do on this planet. No one succeeds by themselves. Not truly.
I’ve talked about friendship before- here and here and here.
But what Sam and Frodo have is something different; it’s something at once more specific and more customized than friendship. It’s mutuality of purpose. It’s a commitment on a level that is deeper than most of us have with more than a few people at one time or season in our life.
It’s like I say to my clients: You are not paying me for my friendship. You are paying me to push and pull you in the direction that you need to go. This is a fundamentally different kind of covenant.
I’m reminded of that scene in Return of the King when Sam and Frodo are almost there—they’re almost at Mordor, so close to returning the ring after having gone through so much together. It’s one of the last scenes that shows Sam and Frodo really near the end of their journey, but it is unclear if they are near the end because they are about to give up in defeat, or because they are about to suceed with their mission. It begins with Sam talking to Frodo about their memories of the shire, and ends with a new resolve.
Frodo is lying flat-out on the ground, so weak he can barely move or speak. Sam leans over him tries to inspire him with stories of their home at the Shire, memories of when they lived there; the green grass, and the taste of strawberries. Frodo confesses that he barely remembers what strawberries are. Sam begs Frodo to get up, to move himself along just a bit more until they get to where they need to go and they can finish their quest. But Frodo is done. You can almost see the white flag waving above his head, and you think it’s all over.
But of course it’s not, because 1) this is an epic tale of the hero’s journey, and of course it has a happy resolution, and 2) it’s the movies, for the love.
What actually happens next gives me chills no matter how many times I watch it. Sam stands up and declares to Frodo: “I hate this ring, I hate that we’ve had to carry it so far and so long, and I want to get rid of it. I do.
“Then let us be rid of it. Once and for all. Come on. Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you. Come on.”
And then he picks Frodo up and puts him on his back and carries him.
Samwise believes in what Frodo could become and accepts the challenge to identify, nourish, and release the life in Frodo. He poured out what was deepest and truest and noblest within him into the soul of Frodo. He loved Frodo well.
Like Sam and Frodo, we are all on a journey together. Let’s remember that we are all fighting the same battle. Let’s walk the path and fight together.
May the blessing of elves and men and all free folk go with you.
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