Getting After It

109 — The Hero’s Journey You’re Already On

• Brett Rossell • Season 4 • Episode 109

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When was the last time you truly felt like the main character of your own life? Not the sidekick, not the NPC in the background—but the hero, standing at the edge of your journey, ready to slay dragons?

In this episode, we break down Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and how it applies to YOUR life. Whether you're stuck in the ordinary world, facing self-doubt, or on the verge of a massive breakthrough, this episode is your wake-up call to step into the role you were meant to play.

What You'll Learn:

  • The 12 stages of the Hero’s Journey (and how to recognize where you are)
  • Why fear, struggle, and setbacks are essential to becoming your strongest self
  • How to find your mentor, face the ordeal, and claim your reward
  • The mindset shift that turns an average life into an extraordinary one
  • Why embracing challenges—rather than avoiding them—is the key to lasting confidence
  • We all have a call to adventure—the question is, are you answering it? If you've been waiting for a sign, this is it.

Listen now and start acting like the hero of your own journey.

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I hope today’s episode sparked something within you to pursue your dreams and unlock your true potential. If you found value in it, consider sharing it with someone who might need that same push.

This podcast is built for you—the dreamers and the doers. My goal is to provide a space where you can find inspiration, learn from others, and feel empowered to chase what matters most to you.

Your dreams are within your grasp. All you need is the commitment to Get After It.

Brett:

Welcome back to the show. My friends, it's going to be a very interesting one today because we're talking about you and I want you to honestly answer this question when was the last time you felt like the main character of your own story, not the sidekick, not some NPC that's in the background, but the actual main character, with your sword in your hand, ready to slay dragons? Well, that's exactly why we're here. We're going to talk about this today and that's what our episode is on. So let's roll. Oh man, what a beautiful time. This is great. I'm happy to be back.

Brett:

I've been traveling quite a bit. It's been busy. We had Team Tim, I was traveling for work over the past week or so and I miss sitting down and doing podcasts, so I'm making a special push to do some extras. And I am excited about today's topic because, when I embodied this mindset, what we were going to be talking about is the hero's journey and relating it to your own story and pretty much showing you that you are, in fact, the hero of your own story, and the only thing is you have to act like that. You have to be fully invested in the fact that you're your own hero of your story, and it's hard sometimes. I understand that, but that's why I'm here. That's why I want to talk about this, because your life is not as boring as it seems and you can make some serious waves, so getting after it. I always talk about growth, I talk about grit and grabbing life by the horns, and I want to teach you how to become the hero of your own journey, because I found out for myself that it is game changing and you've got one, my friends. You really do have a story, and even if you don't see it yet. So we'll talk about some of this stuff.

Brett:

But we're breaking down Joseph Campbell's 12 step hero's journey, which is a framework that's been around for I don't know as long as people have been telling stories. You've heard of the hero's journey before. Think about, like Luke Skywalker Wow, skywalker. No, think about Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. Or Frodo Baggins, lord of the Rings, harry Potter you can even think of. But they all have a beginning. They all go through some hard things, they bounce back, go through some even harder things and then, ultimately, they become the hero and they win.

Brett:

And that's the thing is. We are all wired for stories. Humans are wired to tell stories and to learn from them. Like, my favorite example of this is Jesus Christ. He taught everyone in parables. He was telling them stories with a lesson embedded in inside of it which ultimately led people to make some changes. Like, think about the prodigal son, which is one of my favorite stories of the Bible, and it pretty much talks about how this guy loses his son, spends all his inheritance and pretty much leaves his family and says, hey, see you guys, I'm out. Eventually he makes his way back and his dad takes him right in, pretty much showing that if you repent, you can be forgiven of your sins and welcome back into the fold. So that's a parable. That's just an example.

Brett:

But, like, have you ever wondered why you can binge so much Netflix or Hulu, whatever your subscription services? And then, like, it's hard to read a book or it's hard to work on a spreadsheet. A book might not be as applicable, because a lot of books are stories, but anyways. So this is how we learn, this is how we connect. And the guy who cracked the code on this his name was joseph campbell and he back in the 1940s he studied myths from every corner of the planet. So this was the guy that would study, like homers the odyssey, and he studied greek gods, native american legends, trying to understand what was the framework of all these stories, myths, legends, and he found that there was all a similar pattern and the hero's journey.

Brett:

A regular person gets a call to adventure. They face hell along the way, but ultimately come back a better and changed person. So think about that for a second. Everything that goes on in your life is something you can write about in your story. Like you might have bombed an interview, you may have ran out of gas on the freeway. Those are all things that you can add to your story and how you respond to those. Those issues, those trials and 12 or Campbell's 12 steps are the map to see it, and today we're going to be walking through each one, because I believe you're already on your own journey and all you need to do is start acting like the hero that you are.

Brett:

And to make this a little bit easier to follow and to click more, I want to use Rocky Balboa. You know the Italian stallion, mr Sly Stallone. This guy we're going to talk about Rocky, not Sylvester, but he's the sweaty underdog from Philly. You know the story. Rocky's an American classic. I think actually we'll talk about Sly for a second. He got like eight Academy Awards from that because he wrote it, he choreographed all the boxing, he pretty much like funded it and then he was the lead actor. Like the guy is insane. It's a pretty cool story actually. But today we're just talking about Rocky.

Brett:

Now what's step number one in this 12-step thing? Because we're going to be breaking down each one, going into them in a little bit of depth here. So first one is the ordinary world. Now, this is your baseline, this is where you're at right now, this is where you're starting. Or this could have been like your before shot. So for me it could have been before I ran marathons or tried those things or started the podcast. That's all prior to my hero's journey.

Brett:

And for you, I assume that you think that there's something that's top of mind where you feel like the hero of your own journey, right. But for Rocky it's 1970s, philadelphia. Shout out to Drew. He lived in Philly, great place. But he's in that grubby apartment. He's punching meat I was going to say beating meat, but that might be a soundbite so he's punching meat in a freezer and he's just gritty, like he's this huge underdog and that's kind of what he's all known throughout his entire life. And maybe your ordinary world is you're in a nine to five that you don't particularly like, or you're running the same laps around the same track every day. It doesn't matter. This same laps around the same track every day, it doesn't matter.

Brett:

This first step is where the hero's journey begins. So ask yourself what's your ordinary world right now? Own it, because this is your launch pad. And step number two is the call to adventure. It's something that absolutely shakes your world, and for Rocky it's Apollo Creed. He's the heavyweight champion. He picks him a nobody for a title shot. I think it's on New Year's Day and it's a chance for him to fight the best.

Brett:

And so your call might be a little bit smaller, like it might be a new job offer, or it might be a friend that's telling you hey, let's go sign up for a race, let's go test ourselves a little bit and push our limits, let's see what we're made of. Or it could just be, you know, whatever small thing is in your life, I don't know. That's the point is you know, you have to figure out that this is life, saying hey, are you in, are you willing to make changes in your current life, in your current situations where you can become better, where you can try and test yourself. Because how many times have we talked about this on the podcast? It's like what else is there to life besides testing yourself? Like money's great Sure, your family's great, yes, like your family's very, very important.

Brett:

But you also have to push yourself like that. If you don't have an opportunity to see what you're made of, you never will and you will live a life of regret and you don't want that. Like, think about any hero, any hero that you love could be captain america, could be michael jordan, could be anyone. What if they gave up? It'd be a pretty shitty story, if I'm being honest. It would be terrible. You wouldn't want to read it, you wouldn't want to watch it, you wouldn't want to follow someone on their own journey to see if they are the hero. You turn it off and you don't want to turn that off in your own life. So what's, what's, uh, what's calling you right now? Like, don't sleep on it, use it as a spark.

Brett:

So step three is the refusal of the call and you hesitate. It's completely normal. That's human nature, is like imposter syndrome, all those things I've talked about that on this podcast how I was very influenced not influenced, but I was. I was felt imposter syndrome quite a bit, and I sometimes still do to this day. But Rocky in the movie, he straight up says I can't do this Like I'm not this guy, I'm just a bum from Philly. And he's scared of getting humiliated by Apollo Creed.

Brett:

And for you, it might be like you're dodging the gym session that you said you were going to go to, or you or you don't show up for the job interview, like whatever. Whatever it is, it's fear. And this is the first step where you actually have to overcome fear on your own, because if something is important to you, if you feel a call, you need to answer it. Time's finite, we don't have it all. That's why I talk about memento mori, like remember you must die, because within that time that you're born to, when you die, you have a lot of opportunity to get better, to improve, to learn and to be the hero of your story. So refusing the call doesn't actually just make you, it doesn't make you weak. I don't want you to think that, because if a friend comes up to you and you're like or they say, hey, let's run a half marathon this year, like I found a race, let's do it. And you're like, no, I've never done that, I'm not gonna do it. No, that's not for me. Like that's normal. It's not weakness. But don't refuse the call, like that's. What makes you human is that you have that fear inside you. But the hero it's not staying in that fear. So what's got you stalled right now, call it out and push forward.

Brett:

Now, step four meeting a mentor. In Rocky, he finds this scrubby old guy named Mickey, who's just this crusty trainer who's been around the block. He knows his stuff. Mickey, who's just this crusty trainer who's been around the block. He knows his stuff. So he uses him and he gives him brutal truth and a plan to get better and to fight Apollo Creed. For you, it could be a coach. It could be a friend, a loved one, or even some random YouTube video. I've gotten inspiration from those sometimes, but you need to stop and ask yourself who's your Mickey? For Rocky, he was his coach. But one thing is for certain is that we can learn so much from other people and they have so much knowledge that they're willing to pass on because they've been through some of the slumps that you're about to go through and they know how to get out of it faster. They know that you won't die and they can help you through the process.

Brett:

Mentors are crucial. I heard this quote once where it goes something like um coaches make years into weeks, and you could say the same thing about mentors. They take years and make them into weeks, like you can learn what they have gone through in a short period of time, and so that's why it's so valuable to find people and to surround yourself by people who one can teach you something and who to who inspire you to be better. So I, like Allie is a great mentor to me. I always want to be better because of her, and I, like you can use whatever example. You want a loved one, like whoever it is. If you find someone who's done the thing that you've done before, ask them how they did it and listen to what they say and apply it to your life.

Brett:

Step five is crossing the threshold. Now, this is where you say yes and you dive into that unknown. Like with Rocky, he commits, he starts and he trains like a beast. You know he's running up the iconic Philly steps, right, he's doing one-arm push-ups, he's doing all these things. He's working out from dawn to dusk, slamming, slamming raw eggs, you know, in a shake, his famous shake, which, by the way, my one of my friends in high school. He was trying to pack on a bunch of weight, he was trying to put on a lot of protein. He would drink 12 eggs every morning with some orange juice and some vanilla and he had the worst gas I've ever smelled in my life, like the dude literally cleared out a bus once, like he was on a team and the entire bus ran out because this guy let one rip. So be careful with that diet. But anyways, rocky's running, he's doing all this training.

Brett:

He sees, he has no excuses, and for you or for me, it could be clicking publish on a podcast. It could be signing up for the race, lacing up your shoes and getting out there and starting your training. It could be walking into an interview Like scary Are all these things scary Because they're unknown? Getting out there and starting your training. It could be walking into an interview like scary, are all these things scary because they're unknown? Hell, yes, they are, but are they necessary? Damn right, don't think for a second that you can't go through a hero's journey without putting in some serious work, because you're going to have to. But it will pay off if you're consistent, if you're committed and you have a clear vision of where you want to go. So ask yourself what's your threshold, whatever it is, see what you can do today to make one step to cross it. If that's training, if it's studying, if it's writing, find out what you are called to do and just make one step towards it. It doesn't have to be anything big. You don't have to go do rocky stuff, but start small and rocky.

Brett:

Along the journey finds a lot of allies, but he also finds some enemies, which is step number six. It's literally called tests, allies and enemies, and the unknown is very messy. Like you take the example of running your first race, there's a lot of unknown. Like team Tim was um about a week ago and there were some people there who ran their first half marathon and they may have broken down prior to the race, but guess what they finished? They broke down because they were afraid of what was to come and once they confronted it, once they got ahead of it and push themselves, they actually realized they were capable of doing a lot.

Brett:

So with Rocky. His training, which could be considered as tests, were filled with ice baths, um one arm pushups, lots of boxing, and those were his tests. To get ready, he had allies like Adrian. I think that's how he says it in the movie. That's my impression of slice the loan. Adrian, we did it, thank you. That was rough anyways. Adrian's, his ally, motivates him the whole way, cheering him on. And apollo creed obviously he's the enemy right because he wants to make a joke out of Rocky. He wants to beat him up.

Brett:

So my advice to you is you'll face tests like you'll face rejection. You'll face doubters. You'll even face your own brain telling you to quit. And when that happens, you keep your Adrians close and you tell your Apollo Creed's to pound sand. Get them the hell out of your life, because if you keep your enemies close, in a sense where you're getting influenced by them and listening to what they have to say, it's going to make you not so excited to pursue your own journey. So what's testing you and who are your allies? Fight through it, because the tests are what builds you into who you are to become.

Brett:

This next part is number seven. It's approach the innermost cave. What does that mean? Well, this is where the big test looms. And Rocky, this is like you know. Think about Rocky's fight night. He's in the locker room and his heart's pounding. He's staring down his own fear of getting, you know, completely flattened by Apollo greed.

Brett:

And maybe your own cave is race day. It could be you might have a lot of anxiety on race day and still to this day, like I ran team Tim Um, I don't know how many half marathons I've done, I don't know how many 13.1 training runs I've done, like 13.1 mile training runs, like I don't know. But something happens on race day where I just feel a knot in my stomach and it's like nothing can undo it. It's just stuck in there until I get to the race, until I'm on the starting line, and then it kind of dissipates. But I know that that's the case and I just have to push through it and like it is tense.

Brett:

Yes, it's very hard, but let me tell you something you are built for this. You're built for life's tests and whatever your cave is, step into it, step toward it. For this You're built for life's tests and whatever your cave is, step into it, step toward it, because that's the only way that you can improve is confronting what is ahead of you. Like you will learn a lot on your your journey about yourself. But you have to be observant, you have to actually look for these things.

Brett:

And step number eight is the ordeal. Which the ordeal? You can think about this as like the dark moment where everyone seems losing. Or, wow, everyone seems like. It seems like you're losing, right, I think about the Avengers. Like the Avengers, I think it was infinity war, where Thanos does the snap. You know that. Right, there is the ordeal Half the universe is gone and life as people know it is completely changed, and so the whole next movie is them trying to battle it back. But that's the moment where you're like, okay, did the heroes lose? Like what's going on here?

Brett:

And Rocky, like he's in the ring for 15 rounds and he's getting battered left and right. His nose gets busted. I think he even says like, hey, cut me out, but no matter what. Like he keeps on swinging. And there's that famous quote it doesn't matter how hard you get hit and it matters how many times you get hit and keep going. I don't think that's in Rocky one, but same thing. Like he just keeps fighting and your ordeal might be tanking a pitch for selling something, or running a marathon, hitting, hitting a wall at mile 20. That could be your ordeal. Might be tanking a pitch for selling something, or running a marathon, hitting, hitting a wall at mile 20. That could be your ordeal. It could be facing some kind of silence after you take a big risk, and it's brutal.

Brett:

But this moment, this right here, is where heroes are forged, and you've been here, and you've, I'm sure you can think of a time in your life where you felt very down. You felt like there's nothing that could get you out of the situation, that your whole entire life was in shambles. And yet you survived, you got through it. And that's the whole damn point of this is to teach you that when adversity comes, you face it and you don't let it stop you. You don't let that be the final, I guess, stamp on your journey. No, you keep going and you fight through it. You keep going and you fight through it, because if those people who ran Team Tim for their first time gave up, that would have been a terrible story. But they didn't. They pushed through.

Brett:

Now, step nine is where it gets kind of fun. This is where you find your reward. Like you make it through, you grab the prize, you snag that medal on your race or you kill a pitch. You do so well in your interview that you're like okay, I can take a step back For Rocky. He goes the distance, he doesn't just win, he stands tall and he proves he's no bum like he said he was. And he's yelling at Adrian because Adrian's, like you know, his number one fan. And for you, or for Rocky, obviously that's his win, like that's his reward as he won the fight. He's going to go see Adrian.

Brett:

And for you, it might be you landed the job, you crossed the finish line, or you just know that you didn't quit, which is something that I wish a lot of more people just wouldn't do is quit, because oftentimes when it gets the hardest, that's when we're on the brink of something great. I've seen that in my own life too many times. To say that that's not true, because it is like I've quit some things that I wish I never did. I wish I didn't quit piano when I was younger. If I stood through it, if I stuck with it and continue to refine my skills, I'd be a really I'd be a decent player now. But I didn't, I quit. And now, if I wanted to start that back up, I'd have to embark on a new journey, which would be full of trials and tests and mentors, like everything that we're talking about. I know we're dealing, maybe I bomb a piano recital, but there's so much on the other side of not quitting. It might not be a financial reward, it might not be anything, you might not get a real like a actual reward, but maybe the reward is that you know that you pushed yourself and that you kept going, which ultimately your reward will be confidence, because confidence comes from doing hard things. Confidence does not come from shouting affirmations into a mirror. It comes from building an undeniable stack of proof that you are who you say you are.

Brett:

Step 10 is a roadblock and you know you're not done. You, you have to head home, you have to tie up loose ends, rocky, he's bruised, he's pretty tired, but he heads back to philly and now he's the guy that took on apollo creed, and so maybe you killed the race that you signed up for, and now you got to keep training like. This is the part that is not sexy. This is real, like you have to keep doing what you're doing to keep getting better. And so what's your road back like? Keep walking, because this right here, is part of the grind.

Brett:

Whenever you get your reward, you set your sights on something else. It could be another race, it could be something else, but getting after it, getting after life, is exactly that. You accomplish one thing and you figure out what your road is back and keep pushing forward. It's the most important thing is you just tested your limits, you just proved that you could do something difficult. Now you have to go prove it again, because what if you're, you know, a one-hit? You don't want to be a one hit wonder. You want to keep doing the things that impress yourself and teach you about yourself. So figure out what your your road back looks like, because that's part of the of the whole grind.

Brett:

Now step 11 is resurrection, and you know this is where you have one last test and you, it's proof that you've changed. And um, this isn't in Rocky one, but you know Rocky has to continue to prove himself. He's in later films like he becomes the champ in Rocky three. Um, rocky four, you know he beats. Oh man, what's his name? He's the Russian dude. I can't remember his name, but he beats. The Russian guy makes America look great, right, and he just shows that he's not a fluke, that he was not a one-hit wonder.

Brett:

And so let's take like a work example. Maybe you bomb a speech but you nail the next one. And maybe you sign up for another race, but you PR that one Like you're not the same as you were before. You're a better version of yourself. It's ultimately what we're trying to accomplish here. So where have you been resurrected, as weird as that might sound? Because this is where you need to celebrate it.

Brett:

Celebrating small wins along the way helps with longevity in your journey, helps you get better, move on from one thing to another and just keep refining your skills. There's a reason I wear the man in the arena quote around my neck because I don't want to go down to my grave as one of the cold, timid souls that didn't even have the nerve to act towards his dreams. Be the man in the arena, be the one who has blood, sweat, dust marred all over their face and are willing to push themselves, and if they fail, they failed at least giving their all. Think about that. And the last one is return with the elixir. It sounds so weird, but that's literally what it's called in Campbell's 12 steps. So you're back, you've changed, you've gotten better and you have something to share. So, with Rocky, he's got grit, he's got self-belief. Now he spreads it to his family, his city and even the world, like everyone knows Rocky. Now he inspires every single underdog that's watching, and your elixir might be confidence.

Brett:

Like I mentioned, it could be a lesson, it could be just a bloody, damn good story, like it could be any of those things. But what have you got to share? Cause, bring it, bring it to the table. It could be your grit, because ultimately, you want to accomplish these things for yourself and then help others do the same for them. And that's the whole journey. That's the whole 12 steps, from ordinary to extraordinary. And you're on it right now. I promise you this. I promise you you are on it right now. You just need to be a little bit more observant.

Brett:

So here's the truth. Your life isn't boring. You're just not paying attention to the things that matter. The time that you missed a flight or you quit a band or you argued with your boss. It's not just stuff like it is your hero's journey, waiting for you to grab it. Grab, grab the starring role.

Brett:

Campbell's map shows us that every step's a chance to act. Not to wait, not to wish, but to act. So don't sit there thinking like, oh, maybe I'll start when life gets exciting. My friend, exciting is not a place, it's not a destination. It is a choice to live an exciting life or to make excitement out of your current situation. What is exciting? Maybe it's your kid taking a first step, maybe it's you getting better at work. Like whatever it is, make your life exciting, make it fun, because you don't necessarily need a dragon to slay Like. I've never slayed a dragon. I did catch lizards, though, back in the day.

Brett:

But all I'm saying is that you just need to say yes to whatever call is out there. Whatever you feel like is calling your name. You need to face that ordeal, because that's the only way you can come back stronger. That's the whole game Is. You answer a call, you push through challenges, you feel low, you see the reward and then you're back at it. That's the whole point. It's a cycle.

Brett:

So what is your story? Maybe it's that you finally got fit, or you told truth to a friend or a family member that you've been holding on to for a while Like it doesn't need to be some Hollywood movie film thing, because it needs to be yours. It needs to be your story, and I'm sure there's people out there who have epic tales to tell, and I'd love to have you on the podcast. And so if you feel like you have a story that you want to be shared, reach out to me, because that's the whole point of what I'm trying to do is hear other people's stories, get their perspectives on it and allow other people to listen and learn and get better through it.

Brett:

And your blueprint to become the hero of your own journey starts now, and it starts by using those steps. You've got a map. Now don't overthink it, just start. Pick one step that you're stuck on. Maybe you're dodging the call and it's been bugging you for a while and maybe that's the step you need to take. Like, maybe you're in the ordeal right now, so fight through it. Pick one step that you're stuck on. That's all I'm asking you to do and then say yes, like, fight through it. Share your win with me. I want to hear about it. Other people want to hear about it, because your story will inspire other people to do what they want to do. Your story will inspire other people to do what they want to do. That's the whole point Now with this podcast.

Brett:

I don't want you just to listen, I want you to live Like. I want you to go and tackle something that you never thought was possible before, because, ultimately, that's what you're made for. Humans aren't made around just to sit. We're made to do great things. I firmly believe that, and I firmly believe that everyone is capable of greatness, and when you act like the hero of your own story, your own journey, your confidence rises Like.

Brett:

Pretend like you're watching a movie. Like I mentioned in the beginning, you don't want to watch one that's boring. You don't want to live a life that's boring either. So take steps to act like the hero and start acting like it. Today, you're not living anyone else's life. You're living your own. So whatever's out there, whatever's calling you, walk to it, and I appreciate everyone for listening today.

Brett:

This was a fun one. I recorded an episode back. I think it was like in the seventies seventies episodes, um, but I talked about why it's important to be the main character of your own story. And you know when you're in the gym session and you're listening to music, you're lifting weights, running, doing the elliptical stair, master, whatever. Think of yourself as in a cut scene, like, have some fun with it. Honestly, it was funny.

Brett:

I was, um, my wife and I were watching a movie last night and we were just cuddling on the couch and stuff and it was funny because we're like. My wife's like I feel like we're in a movie right now. I was like what? And she's like, yeah, I just feel like we're in a movie right now, like we're just in a like a love scene collage, um, and I'm like, well, yeah, there you go, boom, like you can make fun, you can have fun with it. So have fun with it.

Brett:

Own the story because it's yours and I appreciate everyone for listening. If it helped at all, if it inspired you, please share it with someone else and start taking steps to become your own hero. However small those steps might seem, you can do it. I know you can because I've done it myself and I never thought I'd be in this situation. I was always the couch potato guy guy who'd play video games and until I found out that I was able to push myself in one area, it just bled into every other and I'm excited to see where my journey goes, you should be too. Thanks everyone for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.