The Hero with A Thousand Faces
The Hero with A Thousand Faces
By Joseph Campbell
Why Do We Need a Hero?
In our darkest hours and deepest despair, we find ourselves searching for a hero who could save us, but what’s a Hero anyway? A “Hero” is someone who’s admired or idealized for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. But aren’t heroes mythical figures who only exist in fairytales, folklore, and mythology? As crazy as it may sound, we’re overwhelmingly surrounded with heroes of all kind; they just don’t go around wearing capes or flying off the top of buildings!
Perhaps one of the most fascinating things about heroes is that they don’t have to be physically present to help us get through our adversities. Real and fictional heroes can help us survive and thrive through this challenging experience we call life! They help us through our worst times, and they prepare us for the best of times. Heroes nurture us, save us, and help us become the best version of ourselves. Our fascination with heroes helps us discover more about ourselves than anything else.
Can you identify the heroes in your life? What makes them important to you? Perhaps your heroes are cartoon characters; one of the many Marvel or DC characters. Perhaps you admire a major mythical character or a historical figure, or someone in your life who virtuously defends your own ideological values. Your hero might be someone who sacrificed everything to save a noble cause that you identify with as part of your values.
Heroes in Business
Does your business have a hero? Does your business have someone to look-up to and praise as the person with divine superpower who saves the day? Do you know exactly why you’ve chosen the line of business you’re in and why are you pursuing towards your goals? In what ways can you become your customer’s Hero?
Your customers are the engine that drives your business forward and the reason why you exist in the first place. Your customers are the reason you create new products and services, so how can you leverage this relationship in ways that allows you to become their savior?
Customers, clients, consumers, shoppers, or buyers; call them any name you want, you need to become their Hero, and if you’re not, they’ll find someone else to become their hero! Customers should be the center of your universe, where the plants of your galaxy should revolve around them to sustain life in the galaxy you call: “My Company.”
The Common Thread between Heros
Ever noticed that many stories about heroes from across the globe seem to have a similar pattern? Stories with heroes in them would go something like this: there’s always a regular person who goes on an adventure, makes new friends, encounters roadblocks, fights the bad guys, and returns home a changed person who saves the day. Does that sound familiar? That’s because it is! This is what’s known as the Hero’s Journey!
So many narratives follow this same pattern in movies, stories, comic books, and Holy scriptures, which is ingrained in our cultural DNA and intertwined in how we remember the sequence of events. Compelling stories is how we recall events and draw wisdom that would help us overcome challenges we’re facing in our daily lives.
The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey is a model for both plot points and character development. The standard path of the mythological adventure of the Hero’s Journey is a magnification of the formula represented in the Rites of Passage: starting with separation, then undergo initiation, and finally returning back to their tribe. Almost all stories around the world follow this same formula. Heroes venture forth from the ordinary world into the extraordinary and unpredictable world of supernatural wonder, where they encounter immense struggles, and then achieve a decisive victory that seemed impossible at first. The hero then comes back from their adventure with the power to bestow wisdom on their people or tribe.
The Hero’s Journey can be boiled down to three essential acts:
- Act 1 — The Departure: The hero leaves the familiar world behind.
- Act 2 — The Initiation: The hero learns to navigate through the unfamiliar world.
- Act 3 — The Return: The hero returns to the familiar world.
As Heros traverse through their own adventures, they’ll undergo an inner and outer transformation at each of the following 12 stages of the Hero’s Journey.
Here are the 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey in brevity:
- The Ordinary World
- The Call of Adventure
- Refusal of the Call
- Meeting the Mentor
- Crossing the Threshold
- Tests, Allies, and Enemies
- Approach the Innermost Cave
- The Ordeal
- Reward
- The Road Back
- Resurrection
- Return with the Elixir
Now, let’s make this book summary a little bit more interesting by explaining the 12 stages of the Hero’s Journey using the Dark Knight as a case study example to illustrate the process of self-discovery and self-awareness that is relevant to all of us. Buckle-up, because this will be a bumpy ride!
1. Ordinary World — “Meeting the Hero”
This is where we meet the hero and identify with them as a normal and uninteresting person. The journey has yet to start, and everything seems to be normal with nothing out of the ordinary! Before our Hero, Bruce Wayne, discovers his strange new world, he must first understand the status quo: the ordinary and mundane reality. This stage allows the audience to identify with the Hero as a “normal” person in a “normal” setting, before the journey even begins, but then and seemingly out of nowhere, something tragic happens!
2. Call to Adventure — “The Adventure Begins!”
Likely, there is an event, conflict, or problem that prompts the hero for the adventure! The call to adventure is all about forcing the Hero out of their comfort zone and down the path of the unknown that they would’ve never chosen otherwise. At this stage, young Bruce faced a problem that is coupled with a challenge, where he simply couldn’t ignore. Both of his parents were murdered right before his own eyes, so what should a young kid do? The stakes of the adventure and the path that young Bruce needs to take starts-out fuzzy by becomes clearer later on down the road. The only question on young Bruce’s mind: will he rise to the challenge and avenge his parents because Gotham’s justice system would not convict the murderer?
3. Refusal of the Call — “Hero Digs in Their Feet”
The Hero receives their calling and now Bruce is all set to be whisked-off to defeat evil, right? Not quite because Bruce ends-up fighting his own demons but can’t seem to get clarity on what to do next and feels lost! Bruce hesitates at first and refuses the call to action because his overwhelmed with doubt and anxiety. It’s a risk that he needs to take and there is a lot at stake.
4. Meeting the Mentor — “Hero Acquires a Personal Trainer”
The Hero decided to go on the adventure, but he’s not ready to spread his wings and fly just yet. Mentors can take many forms, including real personalities who’ve lived in the past, imaginary, or even someone in your life. The mentor helps the hero gain confidence, find insight, and receive advice to overcome their greatest fears. At this stage, Bruce is overwhelmed because he’s not experienced enough to fight his demons and continues to fall flat on his face every time he attempts to rise from the ashes. Bruce’s mentor, Ra’s AlGhul, teaches him how to get in touch with his inner-self and calm the chatter that is happening in his brain, so that he can focus on the task at hand. Ra’s AlGhul patiently teaches Bruce martial arts and self-defense, so that he doesn’t make a total fool out of himself in the face of adversities and avoids getting himself killed when facing his enemies. The mentor, Ra’s AlGhul, provides Bruce with practical training, profound wisdom, and something abstract like grit and self-confidence, so that Bruce learns how to conquer his own demons before conquering his enemies.
5. Crossing the Threshold — “Hero Reenters the Other World”
This signifies that the hero has committed to the journey and is ready to transition into the next stage. Now Bruce, the hero, is ready and committed to his journey. This marks the end of the Departure stage and it’s when the adventure really kicks into full gear. From this point onwards, there’s no turning back! Like our Hero, we should always think of this stage as a checkpoint for our story to make sure that we’re both physically and mentally ready for what’s to come. We need to pause and reassess our bearings to make sure that we’re not being hasty before embarking on our journey. We need to check our own sanity before we continue into the unfamiliar territory that is to come.
6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies — “Hero Faces New Challenges & Forms a Team”
The Hero needs to learn who they can trust! When the Hero steps into the world of the unknown, they notice a definite shift in their prospective that directly shapes their new reality. The Hero might be annoyed by this unfamiliar reality and its new rules because now they see things differently, where they now have the insight into knowing how to fix things. This is generally one of the longest stages in the story, as the Hero gets into grips with this new realization. This stage often expands the cast of characters, where you’d see sidekicks emerge. In Batman’s case, sidekicks include Robin, Batgirl, and his amazing butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Once the Hero gets comfortable in the world of the unknown, they’ll start encountering allies and enemies who will test their might.
7. Approach to the Innermost Cave — “Hero Gets Closer to his Goal”
Preparations are needed that might include maps and reconnaissance to enter and navigate through the cave. This isn’t a physical cave; rather, the “Innermost Cave” refers to the most dangerous parts in the other realm, whether it’s the villain’s chambers, the lair of the fearsome dragon, or the enemy’s territory. Almost always, it’s where the ultimate goal of the quest is located, and it’s the defining moment when Bruce Wayne turns into Batman! This transformation isn’t so much in wardrobe, rather, it’s the psychological adoption of the newly created character of The Dark Knight. This stage is all about the approach to the innermost cave, where it covers all the prepwork that’s needed in order for Batman to defeat his villains. In Bruce’s struggle to defeat his villains, The Batman character somehow emerges organically out of him as if the character was always there and just needed to be discovered!
8. Ordeal — “Hero Faces his Biggest Test Yet”
This is the greatest fear and most difficult challenge that our hero would need to overcome. Of all the tests that the Hero has faced, none have made them hit rock bottom like this one. The Batman must now confront their greatest fears. If he survives it, he will emerge transformed. This is a critical moment in the story, where the Ordeal is sometimes not the climax of the story, but a major setback. There’s more to come, but we can think of it as the main event of the second act; the one in which the Batman actually earns the title “Hero.”
9. Reward — “Hero Sees the Light at the End of the Tunnel”
At this stage, the hero overcame the greatest fear and challenge to earn the reward. The Hero’s been through a lot up to this point. However, the fruits of their labor are now at hand if only they can reach-out and grab them! The “Reward” is the object or knowledge that the Hero has fought throughout the entire journey to achieve. Once the Hero reaches their goal, it generally has greater ramifications to the story.
10. The Road Back — “The Light at the End of the Tunnel Might be a Little Further than the Hero Thought”
This stage is comprised of the Hero recommitting themselves to completing the journey and accepting the road back to the ordinary world that they’ve left behind prior to their journey of discovery. This phase marks the beginning of Act Three. Now that the Hero seized the reward, the Hero tries to return to the Ordinary World, but more dangers arise on the road back from the Innermost Cave. More precisely, the Hero must deal with the consequences and aftermath of the previous act. This stage represents all further obstacles that the Hero must face in order for them to return back home.
11. Resurrection — “Hero’s Last Test is Met”
This can be the most dangerous life-or-death ordeal part for the Hero’s Journey and it’s the climax of the story. Everything that happened prior to this point culminates in a crowning test of the Hero’s true strength, as villains get one last chance to triumph over the Hero. Somehow and miraculously, the Hero manages to find a way to overcome their struggles based on their newly acquired knowledge and skills. This is the “final exam” for the Hero to overcome, where they must be “Tested” one last time to see if they really have what it takes to become a Hero. It’s at this final stage that The Batman goes through one more “Resurrection.” As a result, this is where The Batman gets most of his miraculous strength, which helps him overcome his many near-death experiences.
12. Return with the Elixir — “Hero has a Triumphant Homecoming”
Finally, the Hero gets to return home. The final reward after the hero was resurrected, purified, and returned to the ordinary world is what signifies this stage. However, the Hero comes back a different person than when they started-out the journey, where they’re no longer the same person as when they first started their journey; both mentally and physically. They’ve grown and matured as a result of their journey of self-discovery, where they’ve learned about themselves just as much as they’ve learned to see the world around them from a different perspective.
Applying The Hero’s Journey to Business
When selling goods or services, we need to understand that our clients may be reluctant to buy, especially when we’re the new kids on the block! To change customer behavior is a monumental task that is near impossible if approached head-on! Customers love using familiar brands and most people aren’t willing to take the risk of trying a new product or service, and that’s where your sales and marketing skills will need to come into play to convince them to make the leap of faith.
People identify with everyday life pains, so can you position yourself as your customer’s hero who’s going to help alleviate their pain? This is your chance to shine, to become your customer’s mentor and walk them through the journey of adopting your product or service that would allow them to triumph over their obstacles.
How many times have you noticed that your customers don’t understand the value of your product or service while those of your competitors are easily adopted? Customers are facing their own Hero’s Journey while using product or services, so in what ways can you articulate value that is not obvious?
Make a conscious effort to detect where your customers are on their Hero’s Journey and offer the tools (products or services) that would allow them to reap the benefits of using what you’re offering, so they could reach their goals.
If you can detect where your customers are on their Hero’s Journey, you can change the way you communicate with them, and slowly integrate new tactics and strategies to position your product or services in your customers’ hands. In simple terms, you are the mentor to your customer’s “Hero’s Journey”, where you can help lift them and rise to the occasion, which will help them fight their greatest battles! The value of Heroes in our lives is manifested in their ability to help us feel more powerful, assertive, and serve as moral compass in your crazy lives. Heroes help us in transforming our views about our own power and strength by teaching us how to listen to ourselves instead of just talking to ourselves all the time.
Though the Hero’s Journey evokes images of the meaning of life and life-long quests. As it turns-out, the smaller events on the journey are the moments where the nugget of knowledge and wisdom are attained. The individual obstacles that we face in our life journey towards success can be the seed for greater stories to come. Each decision, crossroad, and hurdle on the path of our journey provides us with more knowledge about ourselves, which enables us to discover priceless life lessons that we could share with others. These are the seeds of great stories that makes them worth sharing and spreading.
The Hero’s Journey demonstrates that change is possible for everyone. It also shows us that an ordinary person can overcome great adversities, defeat their enemies, and overcome their greatest fears. Becoming a real hero of your own story has to do more with overcoming your inner most fears and anxieties than external obstacles. With some help from our heroes, we can change our reality in some way, shape, or form by discovering the hero that is hidden deep within ourselves. It’s also important how popular stories and myths help us discover the hero that is buried deep within us.
The Hero’s Journey in Real-Life is personal. It’s about our journey of self-discovery. It’s about discovering our gift, which is unique to us and no one else on the planet! So, be on the look-out for the Batsignal in the form of “your calling” because you want to be ready for the journey of your lifetime when the Batsignal shines up in the sky.
Takeaways
- We’re all the heroes of our own stories!
- Heroes are those who fight to make a positive difference, whether they’re real characters, fictional figures, or everyday individuals.
- Heroes serve many psychological functions, such as, enhancing motivation, hope, and morality.
- Having a hero can increase your own sense of power.
- People invented mythologies based on their dreams and observed patterns of behavior from the past.
- Mythologies, like our dreams, represents our unconscious thoughts and repressed desires, emotions, and fears.
- Stories with heroes expand our awareness by revealing our greatest fears and insecurities through symbols, which allow us to better understand ourselves and grow from there on.
- Since people’s observations vary across different cultures, each culture produces their own mythologies that are uniquely relevant to them.
- Heroes in mythology are created to fightback the dark forces and save the day.
- Heroes essentially undergo the dangerous task of self-discovery and self-development by venturing into an unknown world and return home to share their insight, knowledge, and wisdom with their community.
- The Hero’s Journey demonstrates that change is possible for everyone.
- The Hero’s Journey teaches us that ordinary people can overcome great adversities, defeat their enemies, and overcome their greatest fears.
- In Real-Life, the Hero’s Journey is personal because it’s about our journey of self-discovery.
- Heroes, real or mythical, can help us change our reality by allowing us to discover the hero that is hidden deep within ourselves.
- To win the hearts and minds of your customers, become the mentor to their “Hero’s Journey” by articulating the value of your products and survives, which could help them overcome their obstacles and adversities.
