What Makes a Hero?
Each week, we invite a new guest to help us break down the story cycle and its origins in Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey” so that listeners can use these tools when crafting brand stories, marshalling the troops in their companies, and understanding their customers’ journeys.
In furthering that mission, we welcome Matthew Winkler, educator, author, and creator of the TED-Ed Talk, “What makes a hero?” which went viral with over 1.5 million views on YouTube.
Matthew and Park unpack the story cycle and show you how to overcome your most difficult challenges to live the hero’s journey in your own life.
In This Episode
- Why a single story that is represented through the lens of various cultures around the world (monomyth) is important
- How to live the hero’s journey in your day-to-day life
- Identifying customer personas to build empathy
- Authentically connecting the brand story with the customer story
- The most basic story form: change vs. status quo
Quotes From This Episode
“The hero’s journey myth exists in all human cultures and keeps getting updated because we humans reflect on our world through symbolic stories of our own lives.” —Matthew Winkler
“Story is blazing a new trail, not following in anyone’s footsteps. Going into a dangerous place, through an avenue that no one has anticipated or carved a way. It’s very applicable to entrepreneurs who are making a risky venture.” —Matthew Winkler
“I thought the hero’s journey would be about building brand story. Then I realized how powerful it is to overlay it on customer personas to build empathy for customers.” —@ParkHowell
“You take these adventures, these business risks, and when you profit from them you shouldn’t hoard that or exploit your power to your own benefit. You should share it. —Matthew Winkler
“The hero’s journey and the story cycle are truly fractals. You find them everywhere from the very small stories that we live everyday, to great epic adventures.” —@ParkHowell
Resources
- Matthew’s TED-Ed Talk, “What makes a hero?“
- Matthew’s upcoming book, “Teenage Heroes“
- Joseph Campbell’s books, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” and “The Hero’s Journey“
- BusinessofStory.com