How to Become a Hero

The Hero's Journey is one we all know, where our main character faces challenges and obstacles to succeed in whatever problem he has. The stages of this journey according to Josh Campbell are as follows. We meet our hero as a normal person who is eventually called to help. For example, Odysseus was the King of Ithaca before his marvelous tale of triumph began. Many heroes start out like this, and soon transition into the beginning of their journey. Then, our hero refuses to help because putting everything on the line is not something everyone is willing to do. Odysseus pretended to be delusional at first in order to stay with his wife and, soon to be, new born. The majority of the time, the journey is not an easy one. They must face obstacles just as everyone must. Tests, allies, and enemies all help us get to the great amount of power we have in the end.  Although many see the reward as the most important, over time we have realized that the reward only comes after we have faced many great ordeals and over come them. The “Return With the Elixir” phase is the grand finale where the hero receives his praise, and is seen now as the “Hero”.