Secret purposes as secret identeties

My friend Dennis posted this the other day, and it’s pretty awesome. This kid in Alicante, Spain, dug himself a literal man cave. (Article here.)

When I was writing THE HERO NEXT DOOR, I had a thought from Nick’s perspective that may not have made it into the text, but definitely shaped his character: he was incredibly empowered by having a secret purpose, a secret mission that he didn’t tell anyone about (except his Grandma, and only because he had to.)

Whenever I read about NEETs or young men who are adrift in life and have no drive or ambition, I want to show them things like this in the hope that it gives them a spark of defiance, a purpose, a mission to go against even their own innermost basic instinct to do nothing, to be nothing, to accomplish nothing.

Rise above it. Conquer. Do something nobody can talk you into or out of. Even if it’s as complex as becoming a small town superhero, or as simple as digging a huge hole in the ground.