UpSkill: The Hero’s Journey, How to Create a Compelling “Hero” for Your Audience

In this week’s blog post we will take more insight from our Fireside Chat with Colleen Stewart.

A few weeks ago she shared her insight on Joseph Campbell and The Hero’s Journey, which goes back to the mid 1900s.

Campbell obtained his B.A from Columbia and later studied in Europe. Upon returning to America, he couldn’t get a job.

Campbell then went to live with friends in Upstate New York. He read everything he could at the local public library for five years, which became a substitute for a PhD in comparative literature.

What Campbell realized was that human beings tell the same stories, regardless of nationality or time period.

This realization led Campbell to create The Hero’s Journey, which is a template you can use for storytelling.

The journey must be a journey from a known world to an unknown. Like the story arc we discussed in the previous blog post, the hero starts their journey with just another day. Everything is going as planned, then something interrupts that.

A mentor inspires the hero to leave the known.

The mentor reassures the hero that they won’t really be alone. If Frodo is the hero, Gandalf is the mentor.

Then there is the road of trials.

The hero starts to feel despair and frustration. They want to go back to ordinary.

However, the hero has to realize the value of what they are learning. If they learn enough they can conquer whatever evil stands in their way. They will face the ordeal.

The hero will be broken down, and rebuilt.

Then the hero will cease “treasure.”

The hero must then bring the treasure back to the known world.

Colleen’s dad is a retired Air Force Pilot, who flew search and rescue missions in northern Canada. The most dangerous part of flying was landing and takeoff, especially with the weather.

Colleen’s dad flew with a more experienced pilot who would always pull a black book out before landing and takeoff. The pilot would then take notes and make adjustments.

When Colleen’s dad asked what the black book was for, the 20-year pilot revealed that he made notes on every runway he flew on. By consulting his book, he would know exactly what adjustments he needed to make on the plane.

When Colleen’s dad asked for a copy of the book the pilot said “No, you have to make your own.”

You must seize your own treasure and call the audience to action.

You must become the mentor. Call the audience to action. Show them why they need your product or your idea.

They are in their ordinary world, and you need to lead them on the journey. Paint a picture of where the audience is heading.