Comments on: The Hero’s Journey as Boot Camp

By: Tyrone

Tyrone — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:34:47 +0000

No matter if some one searches for his necessary thing, so he/she desires to be available that in detail, so that thing is maintained over here.

By: Marty Holthaus

Marty Holthaus — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 07:32:24 +0000

How could anyone find Steven Pressfield tiring?

By: Michael M

Michael M — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:54:38 +0000

Please don’t apologize for posting about the Hero’s Journey. I think it was Joseph Campbell who said that “myths never happened, but they always are.” We’re all of us heroes, and those who are aware of the path will know best how to voyage into the darkness and back again. Mr. Pressfield is a worthy guide, and I’m happy to have discovered his work–after I exhausted the work of Campbell, I thought I’d read it all. Mr. Pressfield continues to provide further instruction, and for that…I’m most grateful.

By: andrew lubin

andrew lubin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:08:43 +0000

Great quotes John H; you’ve got the context to which I referred, and I think the others missed.

In Campbell’s context, as a world-class half-miler, he was reported to have said “I should have said follow your blisters.”

It’s not floating thru life looking for a participation award, it’s following your blister to the best of your ability.

Now, does that make one a hero? No, it makes you a good human being; what makes one a HERO is giving up one’s life, or offering to give up one’s life, for another. It’s sad how the word ‘hero’ been dumbed-down.

By: skip

skip — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:35:24 +0000

good stuff, steve. totally agreed usmc bootcamp hell is a hero’s journey! 40+ years ago we began usmc btcamp with 72 recruits. we finished with 46 marines. all heroes in my book to this day, every one of them!

By: skip

skip — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:30:49 +0000

most heroes are posthumously so.

By: S. J. Crown

S. J. Crown — Thu, 31 May 2012 05:15:34 +0000

Isn’t the person who sacrifices self for the sake of others a hero BEFORE they do so? I’d say the person who runs into a burning building has probably already successfully negotiated their hero’s journey. I think Steve’s novel The Legend of Bagger Vance, a great example of the hero’s journey, demonstrates this well. (And in my opinion, the movie botches the journey, so if you’ve only seen the movie, please don’t judge the book from the movie.)Protagonist Rannulph Junah, under the tutelage of the mysterious Bagger Vance, endures his “boot camp” ordeal on the golf course, and Junah emerges from the journey as a self-sacrificing hero.
So even if someone’s journey involves trying to become nothing more than the best dancer, chef, or whatever, the journey still might result in a new outlook that fosters a greater sense of self-sacrifice. The journey might produce a new hero, a person who used to run away but who now sprints into the fire. So at what point along the journey should we call anyone a hero? I don’t know; I’d say it’s probably before others recognize it. Still, perhaps the term “hero” is overused. But whether we decide to call somebody a hero or not, we are all, in some sense, on hero’s journeys.

By: John H

John H — Wed, 30 May 2012 22:21:39 +0000

A few J.C. quotes:

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
Joseph Campbell

“And so Galahad decided that it would be a disgrace to set off on a quest with the other knights. Alone he would enter the dark forest where there was no path. This is the myth of the Hero’s Journey.” —Joseph Campbell

I think the person who takes a job in order to live – that is to say, for the money – has turned himself into a slave.
Joseph Campbell

Is the system going to flatten you out and deny you your humanity, or are you going to be able to make use of the system to the attainment of human purposes?
Joseph Campbell

It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.
Joseph Campbell

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.
Joseph Campbell

God is a metaphor for that which trancends all levels of intellectual thought. It’s as simple as that.
Joseph Campbell

By: Emily Breder

Emily Breder — Wed, 30 May 2012 22:11:35 +0000

Do not apologize! These are the only emails that I really look forward to. That really started with the Hero’s Journey series. I’ve been literally taking notes and putting them in my reference file.

By: David Y.B. Kaufmann

David Y.B. Kaufmann — Wed, 30 May 2012 20:14:42 +0000

I for one am not tiring of these essays-discussions-ruminations. I only wish I had more to add, more insight to find new channels. So, as I embark on daily journeys – thanks.