What do Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Katniss Everdeen (from the “Hunger Games”) all have in common?
They are considered “Heroes” and they have all been down the “Hero’s Journey” path as they face their demons, conquer their fears, and overcome challenges on their mission. They are obviously all different in many ways (different background, gender, age, etc.), but I recently saw this YouTube video by Matthew Winkler which beautifully illustrate that our popular fables all share one thing: This “Hero’s Journey.”
Watch this short 4 min animated cartoon to see what I mean:
The “Hero’s Journey” story of many fables throughout the centuries follow this story pattern that was made famous by Joseph Campbell’s book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” written in 1949. You see this video illustrates that “Journey” can apply to all of us!
As entrepreneurs we are all going on our own “Hero’s Journey” conquering our monsters and pushing forth into territory that is unknown to us. Building an online business can feel like this sometimes. Especially if you are new to becoming an entrepreneur, and new to building your website.
This little video above is a great reminder that we, too, can be heroes by accepting challenges and conquering our fears in every aspect of our lives.
Do you agree that Star Wars follows the “Hero’s Journey” pattern?
Share your thoughts below…
And you too can go on the hero’s journey with me and build your own website in the Website Creation Workshop!
Hi Christina,
Thanks for sharing — I’ve being hearing about Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey for years without stopping to look into it. This video is a great explanation and summary! I’m not quite sure if Star Wars fits the pattern as clearly as Harry Potter or Narnia where the return from the “special world” of magic adventure to the status quo “ordinary world” (of Muggles) is clearly shown.
For sure, the Hero’s Journey is an inspirational metaphor for the adventure of the creative entrepreneur – where with “assistance” we can overcome “trials” and “crisis” – and get to “treasure”, “result” and “new life”.
What a fun way to describe the hero’s journey with the 12 steps around a clock.
We all have potential to be a hero – it’s waiting to be activated.
Virginia: yes that’s what so exciting! we all have that hero inside of us 🙂
I first read the Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell way back in the ’80’s! I then began to explore more deeply the world as he described it and came to realize that I was in many ways already living a life based on my intuition. I am highly intuitive and make most of my decisions first by studying the “facts” and analyzing whether or not they are relevant in my life and then doing what Jung called “active imagination”, which is highly intuitive. Most of the time, this works well for me, when it doesn’t, well, it just doesn’t…. life is like that; however, what this has done for me, personally, is to prepare me for difficult times and challenging situations. Just because I am inclined to do something based on intuition, it does not guarantee the road will be free of obstacles and challenges.
Linda,
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with Joseph Campbell’s book! Sometimes our intuition will tell us to take a bumpy road, cause that is what we need 🙂
Thank you for sharing this! I see it fitting the entrepreneur’s journey so clearly, and watching it made me feel my dream bubbling inside me even more so. I also see this as a wonderful share with clients, because as they face their needed transformation (I am a Functional Health Coach). They need the courage and drive to become their own hero! It takes a tremendous amount of courage to truly take on ‘leaving’ old familiar habits behind and fight their way through to new habits that become the established new normal for them, and a much better place in life! I think I will be looking this up on YouTube and imbedding it on my new site. I am so very much enjoying your Website Creation Class, and I’m so grateful that you happened across my ‘hero’s path’ just at the right time. Here in the ‘valley of the struggle’ it’s great to have supporters helping me!!! 🙂
Carol,
So glad you can relate to the video, and I’m so glad you are enjoying the Website Creation Workshop! Yes, we need to learn to leave behind old habits and old ways of thinking and get empowered. It feels great once you do! 🙂