The Heroic Journey

Having engaged all of your allies and emerged triumphant from the Supreme Ordeal, you the leader have come to the place you had only imagined at the start. You find a new culture developing, a new bold innovative business approach in progress.

The Supreme Ordeal is a critical moment in any legendary story — we hold our collective breath as the hero, whom we have become invested in, appears to die but then is born again.

In the early stages of the heroic journey, you as leader will form a group of committed followers and then embark with them on an adventurous course fraught with peril and setbacks, but also ripe with great leaps forward.

In this third phase of your heroic journey, your game-changing vision has such a powerful pull on your mind, heart and spirit that you will muster the courage to begin your epic journey. As a leader, crossing the threshold means leaving behind the status quo and starting the process of creating the changes you know are needed.

In myths and legends, heroes fight resistance of some kind. Joseph Campbell reminds us that heroes often resist the Call because they are facing the greatest of all fears — fear of the unknown. Usually, at this point heroes encounter a mentor or sage who offers advice and encouragement to help them counter the resistance. As the leader, the work required to instigate transformational change can seem daunting.

Here’s how to recognize it: Everything may seem okay on the surface but there is a strong desire in you to move beyond the status quo. You just know there are better ways to solve the problems and counter the challenges facing your business.