The Aaron Renn Show

Why I Don't Use the Hero's Journey

June 20, 2022 Aaron Renn
The Aaron Renn Show
Why I Don't Use the Hero's Journey
Show Notes

Online men's gurus typically use a version of the "hero's journey" or the "rags to riches"  to sell you on their products. They tell you how they hit rock bottom, then transformed themselves, then created the amazing life they have today. You too can have that life - if you follow the same script. This is a powerful narrative structure and completely legitimate to use in marketing, yet it has always left me cold. My personal life does follow something of that storyline, but it was not my efforts and plan but rather random events (or, if you prefer, God's sovereign control) that seem more dominant in determining the outcome. We are not always the hero. We have to remember that "unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." While there's nothing wrong with using a hero's journey storyline, we should be humble in recognizing but that for incredible good fortune,  we would not have achieved whatever success we have.