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The Hero in her current existence, perhaps stuck, perhaps bored, perhaps unhappy, or maybe totally fine.
An inciting incident disrupts the status quo, whatever it is and forces her into a quest.
At first the Hero does not want to go.
A wisened guide gives the Hero a shove. Grandma?
The Hero leaves the ordinary world into the extraordinary world in search of an object she thinks will restore her balance.
Along the way the Hero meets friends, allies, and enemies.
The tactics from her old life don’t work in this new pursuit. She drifts even further from her goal.
All is lost and she’s not going to make it. The Hero is even worse off than when she started.
The Hero survives death and gets the thing she’ll need for the final battle: the truth.
The final charge, storming the castle.
The Hero sacrifices the thing she wants for the thing she needs. Tosses the lie, embraces the truth.
The Hero returns home with a hard-won gift for the people of the ordinary world.
The Hero’s Journey (1949) by Joseph Campbell.
An illustrated manifesto.