Disney's #1 go-to story formula is the "orphan story."

Sorry to ruin your childhood, but every Disney character you know and love is an orphan.

That's why you love them. You wanna make someone forge a strong bond with a character? Kill a parent (or two).

It works because it's a deeply human thing. Every person can relate to being an orphan.

Because we're all orphans. If not literally, then metaphorically. (Or maybe having actual parents is the real metaphor in all this...)

As humans we are desperate to abdicate responsibility for our lives. We're practically begging for someone else to take charge, handle things, make us feel safe.

As Seth Godin says in Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us.

The need for leadership is really our way of trying to abdicate responsibility. We do not feel confident in our own ability to make decisions, automatically assuming that others know better.

And when no leadership is there, we stuff our skulls full of endless stimulation. TV, gossip, Facebook, reddit, interwebs and smartphone addictions and all the rest.

But a funny thing happens when you realize all this.

When you look yourself in the mirror and you face the fact that... at the end of the day... you are all alone in this world...

And all the hard truths your brain is desperate to run away from.

Being all alone in the world is one of the most deeply-rooted fears of all...

... and we spend our lives running away from it.

Instead of INTO it.

But you are. Alone.

And when you accept that... it opens of up for true self-sovereignty.

We crave leadership, but no one considers the possibility of self-leadership.

There is no external authority.

You start developing an infallible self-trust and real intuition. You start relying more on your gut feeling, and it never fails.

You develop real character and strength as a human being... and ironically enough, others start to look to you for leadership.

This is not a superpower, you don't need to be special to be a real leader.

You just need to look yourself in the mirror and realize a simple fact:

We are all orphans.