Men Need to Understand the Parts of the Hero’s Journey

“There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.” –Willa Cather

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) studied myths and religious stories across time and civilizations and found there are striking similarities in the narrative structures of heroic tales. He explored this discovery in his famous book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The book had a major impact on the story-telling of major filmmakers like George Miller, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Francis Coppola. Knowing its basic framework can also help any man assess the trajectory of his life and career. 

When we enter a new workplace we step into a new challenge, a new competition, and we will have to surmount new obstacles. Our everyday business life can seem like a slog, but if we think about it correctly, it can be a hero’s journey. That, too, is part of the gentleman’s philosophy.

Here are the twelve stages of the hero’s journey:

1. The Ordinary World: This is our starting point, where our journey begins—and the back-story that brought us here; our normal life: growing up, going to school, perhaps the early steps in a career.

2. The Call to Adventure: There is a disruption to the ordinary world—a challenge, an opportunity, or maybe a threat—and the hero, who initially might be reluctant to act, to leave what he knows, is called into an adventure.

3. Refusal of the Call: The hero’s initial reluctance gains ground—he fears the unknown and would rather avoid the dangers inherent in the adventure. 

4. Meeting the Mentor: The hero comes across a sage who restores the hero’s courage, and gives him training, equipment, or advice that will help him on the journey.

5. Crossing the Threshold: The hero commits to leaving his ordinary world and entering a dangerous new place with unfamiliar rules and values. 

6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies: The hero is tested by challenges, sorts out allegiances, and discovers who might be an enemy and who might be trustworthy.

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave: The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge of their journey.

8. The Ordeal: The hero faces a setback, the possibility of failure, defeat, or even death. He must overcome his fears, recover from the setback, and march on. 

9. The Reward: The hero, having overcome his ordeal, wins a prize or seizes a treasure—and while he might celebrate this accomplishment, he recognizes that he could also lose it. 

10. The Road Back: The hero is driven to complete the adventure, to return to the ordinary world, his mission accomplished. 

11. The Resurrection: The hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home, and is purified by making a final sacrifice and overcoming his most dangerous challenge.

12. Return with the Elixir: The hero returns home. He looks back on his journey with new knowledge of himself and the world; and while this journey is over, another might begin.

This is the plot outline of many legends and enduring stories, because it speaks to the human desire to make sense of our experiences, to see our lives as a story. Cast yourself in the role of the hero on the journey and you might find that it helps illuminate your path.