17 Stages of the Monomyth
Applied to my iOS Developer Journey
Last weekend was Startup Weekend Atlanta. My buddy and I were planning on going several months back and we were very excited. We both thought it would be a great experience and I’m sure it is. I still want to do it at some point.
While perusing on Startup Weekend websites (in between pre-course training modules for my Mobile Makers class), I stumbled upon on an article from the Start Up Weekend Education blog. I’ve always been interested in Education so this appealed to me. I was reading through and saw this crazy graphic:
It seemed so mythical with the strange images and subtitles; check out the weird jaguar in a green tux and a monocle in the middle. It reminded me of a Chinese calendar.
As I was reading the descriptions in the headings, I started applying it to my journey of aspiring to be an iOS developer. These stages outline a “hero’s journey”, but I’m definitely far from a hero. Either way, I found it strangely applicable.
Call to Adventure: I have been doing specialized enterprise software consulting for the last decade. I decided, (relatively) recently to terminate my contract at a client, which I started to see as my “mundane situation of normality”. It paid the bills and was a decent environment. However, I was far from excited about the work. I new this is my chance to do something different. Something great. Something worth while. Something helpful. Something altruistic. Something I wake up in the morning for.
Refusal of Call: Before deciding to apply for my classes, I thought I would be able to start a mobile gaming business. I took several courses, bought some software, read tons about mobile marketing and SEO, bought some resources, learned alot. However, it kind of fizzled out. I was kind of excited about it, but I think it didn’t provide the problem solving aspect I craved. I don’t know. Skinning mobile game templates is kind of fun. It can make a little bit of money, maybe a lot if I threw more at it. It was harder and harder for me to justify “this is what I do for a living”. I know I love the creative side of developing apps and creating games, but “scraping together another game to add to the volume of games in my portfolio, so more kids can click more ads so I get paid” doesn’t motivate me very much.
Supernatural Aid: First thing I though of was Mobile Makers Academy. This is my aid through this scary iOS Developer journey. They represent my guide or “magical helper”. I think it is very fitting and I hope they are magical at helping me. ☺
I think this is the stage I’m at in my journey. Next week, classes officially start and I’ll be “Crossing First Threshold”.
In a couple weeks, I’ll be deep in the “Belly of the Whale” while I travel the “Road of Trials”. It sounds very mystical and a bit scary and I know it will be difficult.
I can’t wait.
