Departure & Separation – The Decision to Act
Call to Adventure – Leaving your Ordinary World
Refusal of the Call – Fear based reluctance
Meeting with the Mentor – Preparing to face what lies ahead
Crossing the First Threshold – Accepting the challenge and setting out to the first goal.
Descent, Initiation & Penetration – Taking Action
Tests, Allies and Enemy – Learning the lesson of the New World
Approaching the Inmost Cave – The doorway to the most dangerous part of the journey – the place where your goal is housed.
Supreme Ordeal – Facing your worst fear and doing battle with it.
Reward – Taking possession of what you came for.
The Return – The Consequences of the Action
Return with the Elixir – Bringing back a lesson or treasure to share with your ordinary world.
This is a combination of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” and Christopher Vogler’s “Writer’s Journey”. You can use it as an intentional exploration of your writing. There is no need to follow it too closely. You can add to the steps or delete some of them as you make it your own. It’s a timeless and exciting way of telling your story and revealing your life’s journey.