Get Your Mojo from Joe Campbell

One of my heroes is Joseph Campbell, who studied and taught mythology. His seminal work was "A Hero with a Thousand Faces" first published in 1949. You might be familiar with him from a PBS series he taped with Bill Moyers called, "The Power of Myth." In both he talks about the journey of the hero.

The journey of the hero is applicable to business, especially leadership and achieving success. I see the steps or stages along the journey as providing the perfect road map for achieving any goal or providing visionary leadership.

First of all, there's separation and the call to adventure. Campbell says you receive the call in one of two ways: you'll either actively choose the adventure, or you can get dragged into it kicking and screaming. Was it Shakespeare who said, "Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"? Same idea. Basically, you choose to or are pulled away from what is familiar and head off into the unknown.

Then once you've embarked on the journey the first thing you encounter are fears and doubts. In Campbell's stages this is where you meet the "hounds of hell," the guardians of the gates to the underworld where you need to descent to bring back the needed treasure, often hidden knowledge. I think of this stage as the initiation stage. What it does is test you to see if you're serious about this goal or endeavor. Seeking success or leading organizations is not for the timid! I suspect this is the "weed out" stage for alot of people. The task here is to not stare directly at the "hounds of hell." In other words, know that this is just a stage on the journey, and don't put alot of energy into feeding the doubts and fears. Pat them on the head, throw them a bone and move on.

The good news is that this is also the stage where in mythological terms you encounter "divine intervention." In other words, you find unexpected assistance that will aid you in your journey. My favorite Joseph Campbell quote is "Follow your bliss....If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else."

What I've learned about this stage is this help can be hastened if you ask directly for it or if you simply share your dreams, visions or goal with others. Eventually, if you talk it up enough, you'll meet someone who will be able to help you. To be a visionary leader, it's not enough just to formulate the vision, you have to share it and in doing so, enlist the assistance of others to help fulfill the dream. So, don't be shy about sharing your dreams.

So what kind of "divine intervention" has come into your life just when you were being torn apart by the doubts and fears?

Annette Vaillancourt, Ph.D. - Corporate Trainer and Motivational Speaker
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