An Introduction to The Hero’s Journey

   Have you watched a movie with a “hero” before? I know the answer, yes you have. Can I read your mind? No. The answer is simple, we all have. Why are these movies so fascinating to us? Because they show a normal person overcoming fear, adversity, and everything else to save the day and get the girl. They’re the stories everyone wants their life to be, so why not make yours that way? Let’s take a journey, do a quest, go on an adventure, whatever you want to call it, let’s do it and let’s do it together. The first thing we must find is a map, right? Or at least an idea of which direction to head. For that, we’ll use Christopher Vogler’s “The Writer’s Journey” from 2007. Which is based on Joseph Campbell’s “Hero with a Thousand Faces” originally published in 1949. Let me guess “we’re going to use a book from 2007?! My truck is two years old, and the GPS is already outdated!” Yeah, you’re probably right, but some plans and maps are priceless, and Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and Vogler’s concise take on it fall into the “priceless” category.

               We start in what we call the “ordinary world” and this is exactly what it sounds like. You, like Luke Skywalker, are taking your life a day at a time. Depending on which version of the journey you’re using, you’d be at a point that you have limited awareness of a problem. Luke knows he wants to fight the Empire, where you, well I don’t know what you want to do. Something only you and maybe a few close friends know about. So, you, Luke, and I are sitting at our desks waiting, wanting, and wishing for something else, something more.

               Whatever you want to do, this is your “Call to Adventure.” The first step on our journey. Look at this next sentence long and hard. THIS IS IT, THIS IS YOUR CALL. I’m telling you right now, and I’ve said it in videos constantly, whatever that thing is, you need to do it and you need to do it now. For Luke, it was when he saw R2D2 play that message from Princess Leia. Some source, whether that be a sign, someone talked to you, or your subconscious telling you to push forward towards your goal. Again, this is YOUR call to adventure. What is stopping you?

               You’re still reading, and probably still not getting after whatever your goal is. Then we’ve progressed to the next step, “Refusal of the Call.” I was right there with you, coming up with every reason something can’t work, why it won’t work, how it has to wait yadda yadda whatever. You know there is something you want to do, something you’re called to do, but you won’t do it. Just like Luke when he says he won’t go to Alderaan because he has to help on his parent’s farm. Or even how in Frozen 2, Elsa starts an entire damn song by saying she doesn’t want to chase after the AHHAAA AHHHAA voice that is popping in her head.

               Good thing you’re still here! Now you’re “Meeting the Mentor.” To stay on our Star Wars: A New Hope path, this is where Luke meets Obi-Wan. I know “he already met him, that’s when he refused to go on the adventure.” Yes, I know. Sometimes an event has to occur to give one last push to our protagonist. The mentor is someone who can help our hero out with skill, knowledge, or some special piece of gear (aka Anakin’s lightsaber). I’d like to say to you I’m your mentor, but I’m not sure I can be. If I have the right skill set, I’m all in. In this specific case, you’ve probably already met one. For example, as I write this, I’ve been talking with an old Company Commander who is now a Brigade Commander. For you Civilian folk out there, when I worked for this man 13 years ago he was in charge of 140 people, now he’s closer to four thousand. I would consider him a mentor. I may not talk to him all the time but I keep in contact and when I’m in a rough spot, he’s there to help me out. Take a minute and think about who this person is for you. Someone will pop into your head that you’ve met whether at work, on the field, or in your life. On the offhand a mentor doesn’t pop into your head, look to Facebook for groups regarding what your goal is, or even a Mastermind program. It’s funny, we’ll spend $1k every year on the new iPhone but won’t spend $300 on a Mastermind program to better ourselves. But if you want the free option, like I said, head over to Facebook. I’m positive there will be a group full of like-minded people who can help you on your journey.

               Let’s “Cross the Threshold” now, together, you and me. In our quest, we have now left the ordinary world and are out of our comfort zone. When does Luke do this? When he gets to Mos Eisley with Obi-Wan and hops in the Millennium Falcon. For us, it happens now because we’re deciding to try something new. Happy about the journey, but a little nervous or scared at what could happen. Think of this part of our story as the day before and the first day of school, or a new job. Where you lay all your clothes out the night before to make sure you’ll look as good as you can. But 2 am comes on the clock and you’re still awake trying to decide if those are the right pants or if you should go with the black ones. If you think back of any point in your life where growth occurred, this is where it all began. Stepping out of your comfort zone, trying something new, the possibility of failure exists but, more so, the possibility of personal growth exists. This, my friend, is where our life begins.

               Now we play a video game and at this point any of them. We will have tests, meet allies, and meet enemies (Tests, Allies, Enemies). Why do I say video games? Because it’s not just Final Fantasy that you level up from fighting, you do this in FIFA, Call of Duty, Madden, and 2K. Every game (if you’re making your character) you do things and learn and get leveled up in certain statistics. That’s what this phase of our story is all about. We’re going to fight enemies of growing difficulty and skill to grow our skills. In Star Wars, this is a good portion of the movie. It’s the crew shooting the TIE fighters, it’s the total craziness inside the Death Star rescuing Princess Leia, and a lot more. A personal example is writing. In school, I loathed writing. I hated it like nothing I’ve ever hated before. Now look, I keep writing stuff for this website. And maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like with each post I get a little better. This would be those minor battles that help me level up. As for allies who have helped me along the way? My better half goes over my writing when I’m done and gives it a little finesse. Or my mentor I spoke of a few paragraphs ago, when he messaged me about this I felt like maybe this isn’t the worst idea I’ve ever had. That’s what you have to look forward to. When we cross the threshold, we’re going to fight the unexpected, learn from those fights, learn from any community that will support you, and gain allies who can help you along the way.

               After some time of passing those tests, fighting the bad guys, and meeting new friends along the way, you’ll be smart and strong enough to “Approach the Inmost Cave.” For Star Wars, this is that time when they’re all at the base in Yavin 4 getting things ready to make their assault on the Death Star. In the video game scenario, this is that enormous room before the boss where there are all sorts of pieces of equipment and other helpful items to stock up on before you get after it. In my example, I am stuck between here and tests, allies, and enemies. I’m figuring out what videos and posts get the most reactions on social media. I’m learning how to write more catching blog posts (at least I think I am). I’ve taken time away from the mailing list because it wasn’t hitting the mark. I put the podcast and long videos on pause as well because with a full-time job, an 18-month-old and a month old kid, I don’t have the time to add that medium to my Good Initiative, Bad Judgment plate and still provide (what I think is) good content. Point being, I’m gathering those new weapons, stocking up on healing potions, and talking with my allies about how best to fight the next step.

               The next stop is interesting because, for the hero, it may seem like this is the moment you’ve been training for, “The Ordeal.” This is where something goes wrong, but the event makes you ready for anything this world can throw at you. In Star Wars, it is when Darth Vader kills Obi-Wan in front of Luke. If you see the look on Luke’s face, his mentor, the person who he has trusted this whole time, was killed right in front of him. This part does usually happen in a lot of RPG-style video games when your crew faces the boss you can’t beat. You all make it out alive and there is some cut scene and now you need to go somewhere or talk to someone. I don’t have a personal story I can throw in related to this blog. All I could offer is some war story, but that would be as long to write as this entire post, and no one wants to read my crap for that long. I’ll try to throw a hypothetical out there so we stay in keeping with the quest we’ve embarked on. Maybe the ordeal regarding this site is it gains traction and popularity and there are 25 thousand people here on the launch day of some product. It will feel like the end of the world but, what will happen? I will learn how to use the transaction software better and I will gain knowledge on how to digitally deliver products in a more streamlined manner. Many great lessons will come from failure, you need to separate your emotions from what’s happening to find, record, and learn from them all. So, let’s recap, the ordeal is when something goes wrong, but you, the hero, comes out on the other side better prepared for what is coming. It’s going to be a combination of smarter, stronger, and more confident because you made it through where most didn’t just not with the desired results, but don’t worry, we’re only getting started.

               After you’ve processed what happened in the ordeal, you deserve something nice. You can now walk through the door to the next step, “Seizing the Sword” or “The Reward.” You’ve been through a lot recently, and through those trials and tribulations, you gain something of great importance. Whether that be the knowledge to beat anyone you come across. A level of confidence that will not sway. Or a literal sword that will defeat all others. We have gained something through your ordeal. The Star Wars example is the power Luke gets from Obi-Wan as he gives himself to The Force to be with Luke at all times. Luke gains an immense amount of power. In this move, it is literal as now Obi-Wan can just talk to him whenever he wants. The Force is just crazy, isn’t it? What else did the crew take? Well, they rescued the princess too! This is a point where anyone would want to go to the beach and have a massive party with all your new-found journey friends but, unfortunately, you can’t because we’re reaching the point in the story that the script has been leading up to. And we’re not going to put a damn “To be continued” banner up and piss off our audience.

               Instead of going to the intergalactic version of Cancun, the Star Wars gang goes to a Rebel base and begins planning to attack the Death Star before it kills off the Rebellion. What are we going to do on our journey? That’s going to depend on what your journey is. If we stay with the example I gave about the website going to shit on a launch, I’d be all over a whiteboard using a red marker and writing all the terrible stuff that happened. Then it would be a green marker with all the changes we’ve made. And a blue marker for what we hope the outcome will be for the next launch. Basically “The Road Back” means, no rest for the wicked, you just went through all this shit, and now you get a few hours off before you’re back at it again. In this stage of the journey, you’ve made it through so much that everyone isn’t telling you’re they’re counting on you, but they’re counting on you to pull off the biggest whatever of the decade. The people around you, your audience, everyone knows that you’re the person to defeat the biggest, baddest one of them all. You, however, aren’t sure if that’s the case. The thing is, you know you can help the cause, so you suit up and go, just as Luke does when he hops into that X-Wing fighter and takes off towards the Death Star. Another way that came to mind comes from Braveheart. Mel Gibson playing William Wallace rides a horse by some recruits to his army and they say “that’s not William Wallace, William Wallace is seven feet tall.” What I’m getting at is that once you’ve hit “The Road Back” phase you’re likely becoming well known. People don’t KNOW you, but they know of you, and they’re watching to see if the stories are all true.

               We’ve made it to the penultimate, perfectly named, chapter of our journey, “Resurrection.” This is where we are reborn and become the hero that we always were. Star Wars time, this is when Luke let’s go of his feelings and stops using the targeting computer, he fully gives himself to The Force and shoots his missiles on a hunch and it works. Whereas those who used the targeting computers, and shot when they said to, all missed. Point is, Luke is reborn to a Force-using person from a farmer on a distant planet. Sticking with my hypothetical website success, we just had an amazing book launch. We expected 25 thousand people to view the site, but 100 thousand logged in and bought the book on release day. To top it off, no crashes or website issues. Happy Gilmore just came to mind when he wins a golf trophy and says “maybe they can put a little hockey guy on there” and the mom from Modern Family says “Happy, you’re a golfer!” Resurrection is just that; when you realize, and succumb to your life’s calling, even if it’s not something you thought you wanted or even knew existed.

               We did it, we won, now we “Return with Elixir.” We go back to the ordinary world, back where we came from. But life will never be the same. We have defeated our enemies. We silence those who doubted us. The people who supported us, well, it’s kind of like Entourage and they’re just reaping the benefits of knowing us. Last Star Wars example of the post! This is when the Death Star is destroyed, Luke and his crew are getting medals and Luke knows he can become a crazy Force-wielding wizard. In our story, well, that depends on what you want it to be. The most grandiose version of this for my story would be to end up like Tony Robbins or Tim Ferris. And just being able to make a living off of convincing people that they can do better than they are. The thing is, our lives aren’t a movie. You cannot make it to this point in two hours. It will take years and years of grinding it out. Years of early mornings, late nights, and an amount of effort you never thought possible. But, if you put all that time in, you’ll be able to reap the rewards for many more years than you put in.

               If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you reading and the support. Now it’s time to do a little more work. If you’ve read a few of these or watched a few videos, you know I love pen and paper. Here’s what your next steps are:

               #1: Write out the steps and a general idea of each phase in The Hero’s Journey.

               #2: Turn off all devices for one hour.

               #3: Brainstorm a list of things you want to do.

Here are some examples and ideas

Climb Pike’s Peak

Take a road trip to the Grand Canyon

Write the great American novel

Be able to change your vehicle’s brakes

Own a website about woodworking

Brew the perfect Lager, and turn that into your brewery

#4: Write out where you are in each step of the Hero’s Journey. If you haven’t started, just design what you think your map might look like.

I am planning on doing another post getting a little more in to how the Hero’s Journey can be a map for your life. That was the initial intent of this post, but then I realized that if you don’t know about the Hero’s Journey, then the post would make less than no sense.

Now, under all circumstances, use your best judgement.