Modern Creatorship = The Hero’s Journey (here’s how)
Creatorship is a skill and a lifestyle. It’s also a journey.
So I decided to explore how the creator’s journey matches the hero’s journey.
This is simply my take and my experience.
Let’s get to it.
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The Creator Journey (definitions)
We all have our own experiences and goals as creators and our paths will all look different. But there are some shared themes I’ve noticed (hence this post).
So let’s start with some definitions.
What Is Creatorship + the Creator Journey?
Creatorship and the creator journey are shared experiences. So what do they mean?
Modern creatorship is the state, condition and life or experience of being a creator. The creator journey is the path every creator embarks on.
While the details, timelines and experiences vary from creator to creator, the journey remains.
And this journey…it follows the hero’s adventure.
What Is the Hero’s Journey?
The hero’s journey is a storytelling structure whereby a hero has some call to action, embarks on an adventure, overcomes some key obstacle(s) and returns triumphant.
The journey is often unexpected in some way and has elements of reluctancy.
And this process actually mimics the creator’s journey in many ways. But before we get into all that, let’s quickly look at the basic stages of the hero’s journey:
The departure
The call to adventure
The hero’s refusal of the call
A mentor or supernatural aid
The hero starts the journey (and reaches a point of no return)
The initiation
The hero goes through a series of tests
The hero meet allies
The hero is tempted
The hero faces their doubts and fears
The hero gains knowledge of their purpose
The hero achieves the goal of the journey
The return
The hero must escape with their prize
Sometimes there’s a refusal to return to their old world
The hero successfully returns and finds balance to who they were and who they are now
How Modern Creators Follow the Hero’s Journey
Now let’s look at how, as creators, we actually follow a hero’s path in many ways.
While we may not cross every checkpoint, the main milestones are there.
The Creative’s Departure
Every journey starts with a departure. Every departure starts with a call to action.
As modern creators, we have an always-present sense of needing to make something that wasn’t there before and a desire to share ideas.
We have a calling – like an intuition or impulse to create something.
So here’s how the creator’s departure follows the hero’s:
You realize you can do something differently and/or better than what’s out there
You’re inspired by other creators in your target niche (but still, you ignore the calling)
You finally take the plunge and post your first content (like the hero accepting the call)
You adopt an underdog persona
The Creative’s Initiation
After starting your journey, the next stage is initiation.
For this part of the journey, you’ll be creating content – like, a lot. And chances are, nobody will (seem to) care.
(‘tis what it is…)
The journey is the process of going from point 0 to somewhere or something. It’s the adventure. And it’s always worth it.
Here’s how the creator’s initiation follows the hero’s:
You face many challenges and obstacles along the way
You build new skills, become stronger and smarter
You meet enemies (such as limiting beliefs, setbacks, criticism or no support)
You experience micro wins (like foreshadowing details in a story)
You find mentors and key tools that help you in your journey
Eventually, you come up against your challenges (the “villains”) and overcome them
The Creative’s Return
I believe there are no finish lines. But still, every journey has an element of returning home triumphant.
It’s just that journeys are like chapters from a really big book.
This is good news. It means there’s always going to be a sequel (which is way more interesting).
Here’s how the creator’s return follows the hero’s:
You reach some critical checkpoint or meet a creative goal
You gain some valuable fresh insight about yourself, your craft or your niche
You’re more confident, experienced and stronger
You’ve received some prize or reward (money, followers, skills, etc.)
4 Tips for Embracing the Creator’s Journey
Okay, now that we have the parallels between the hero’s journey and your own clearly laid out, let’s talk strategy.
Here are some key tips to create your own hero’s journey as a modern digital creator.
Clarity
Clarity means you know exactly what you want and you have a clear strategy for how to get it.
This starts with self reflection and goal setting.
I like to attach my goals to personal values and focus on just 2-3 at a time.
From here, I like to think backwards and break down my goals into micro steps. These are smaller, more manageable and less stressful.
But as you know, small steps add up to big changes.
Patience + Expectations
People who find the success they’re looking for are the ones who see things through and simply stay at it longer than everyone else.
Well, it’s more nuanced than that…but this is an important factor (IMO).
Reaching the point of a hero’s return requires patience and thinking in the long-term.
We live in an on-demand world and viral videos promising overnight success or millions in the next three months don’t exactly help.
Patience is a modern soft skill and will ensure you outlast anyone else.
So here are some quick tips to hone your patience as a creator:
Set realistic timeframes (think in years, not months)
Fall in love with the process (strive for checkpoints, not goals)
Build a network and hang with other creators
Remember your why
Pulling the Right Levers
The Eisenhower Matrix is a great way to organize and prioritize tasks.
Pulling the right levers means prioritizing the actions and tasks that will have the biggest impact.
This relates to the Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule, which states that roughly 80% of your results will come from 20% of your actions.
Finding your 20% is essential for optimal productivity as a digital creator. This can take some iterations, testing and time, but awareness goes a long way.
Here are some quick tips for organizing your high-priority actions vs. your low-priority ones:
Keep track of your tasks and time
Use an Eisenhower Matrix to organize tasks (i.e. the image above)
Experiment and iterate
Look for outside feedback
Support
This last tip is about finding your tribe and building a network.
This includes things like mentorship, using creator tools and cultivating a motivating and supportive environment.
Jim Rohn talks about being the average of the five closest people in your life, and I think that’s a good starting point.
Stacking the cards in your favor starts with your inner circle. So for this, I try to connect with other creators and people with a creative or entrepreneurial spirit.
Next I like to audit my outer circle. This means the type of content I consume.
Finally, updating your physical environment to be more inspiring and conducive to productivity is a huge help.
For me, this means keeping things clean(ish), having lots of natural light and plants and alternating with different spaces like cafes (for certain tasks).
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