As early as the 1940s, Joseph Campbell codified the structure – the monomyth – of some of the great tales of human imagination, religion and myth. Later on this structure became known as Joseph Campbell's ‘hero's journey'. The Wizard of Oz, Frozen, Cinderella, Finding Nemo, Harry Potter, Moby Dick, and Catcher in the Rye are all tales that follow this structure of the hero's journey – that is, of adaptation and transformation, moving between the ordinary worlds of status quo and special, or extraordinary, worlds of future possibilities.
The twelve steps identified by Campbell that form the hero's journey consist of inner journeys and outer journeys (which lead to character transformation), and switches between ordinary worlds and extraordinary worlds. As laid out by website Movie Outline (in the article ‘The Hero's Journey – Mythic Structure of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth') the twelve steps of the inner and outer journeys are as follows:
1. Inner: ordinary world, status quo; outer: limited awareness of a problem.
2. Inner: call to adventure; outer: increased awareness.
3. Inner: refusal of the call; outer: reluctance to change.
4. Inner: meeting with the mentor; outer: overcoming reluctance.
5. Inner: crossing the threshold; outer: committing to change.
6. Inner: tests, allies and enemies; outer: experimenting with first change.
7. Inner: approach the inmost cave; outer: preparing for a big change.
8. Inner: ordeal; outer: attempting a big change.
9. Inner: reward (seizing the sword); outer: consequences of the attempt (improvements and setbacks).
10. Inner: road back; outer: rededication to change.
11. Inner: resurrection; outer: final attempt at big change.
12 Inner: return with the elixir; outer: final mastery of the problem.
This cycle is also shown in figure I.1.
Figure I.1 : the Hero's journey is a 12-step continuing cycle
Now, while I haven't literally had to fight off Death Stars, partner up with Wookies and slay garbage snakes in my quest for seamlessness, I have witnessed how change, transformation and adaptation follow similar patterns, challenges and rhythms, exhibiting similar cadences to the hero's journeys I was glued to as a child. Again, I realised the quest I was on, and the quest I was hoping to inspire others to embark on, was the seamless journey between the ordinary – in this case, analogue – world and special, extraordinary – digital – worlds. Just please don't assume that I was the hero in the story that you are about to immerse yourself in. (More on this later.)
As a futurist and strategist, I get to invite people into something that isn't yet; to ask the question, ‘What if?', and to imagine distant adventures and metamorphosis. ‘What is' gets contrasted with ‘what could be'. And I encourage the people I meet to embark on their own hero's journeys and odysseys into the unknown, just like I have been doing over the last few years. Perhaps not surprisingly, given Digilogue was partly inspired by the enduring human love for analogue watches and horology, this book maps the structure of the hero's journey onto an analogue clock face, using the twelve steps to explore the journey to the destination of the planet of ‘Seamlessness', moving from 1 o'clock to midnight (at which stage I hope this book doesn't turn into a Cinderellan pumpkin). We will also see, however, that digital adaptation and human transformation cannot be truncated quite as neatly as a two-hour Hollywood epic, and that moments of friction can derail adventures, even for some of my biggest heroes. And we will explore the uncertainties of what might happen in situations where the journey takes you off-path and where ‘good' doesn't necessarily destroy ‘evil'. The inherent tension and friction of making each paradigm shift will also be discussed and highlighted, with the ambition that you will be able to curate your own hero's journey away from this friction and toward seamlessness – that magical place where successful leaders and brands of the future reside.
To concretise this methodology of the hero's journey, let's take an executive summary look at how it played out for Frodo in the Lord of the Rings movies:
1. Ordinary world: Frodo and his best friend, Sam, and his two cousins Merry and Pippin live happily in a small village in the Shire.
2. Call to adventure: Gandalf calls upon Frodo to set out on a quest to destroy ‘the one ring to rule them all'.
3. Refusal of the call: Frodo is initially reluctant to leave his cosy life in the Shire, but changes his mind when he realises that his and his friends' lives will always be at risk as long as the ring exists.
4. Meeting with the mentor: Frodo meets again with Gandalf and then with the rest of the Fellowship, a group of trusted allies of Gandalf's who have sworn to help Frodo in his odyssey to destroy the ring. The Fellowship consists of Frodo's hobbit companions; two men, Aragorn and Boromir; Gandalf; the dwarf Gimli; and the elf Legolas.
5. Crossing the threshold: With the aid of the Fellowship, Frodo begins his quest – his long journey to the volcano Mount Doom, the only place where the ring can be destroyed.
6. Tests, allies and enemies: Frodo encounters many obstacles, allies and enemies on his odyssey. He journeys over the mountain pass, barely escapes the wrath of Balrog, becomes allies with the elves, is almost captured by the forces of Saruman, is attacked by Gollum and nearly eaten by a carnivorous spider (Shelob).
7. Approach the inmost cave: As he moves through stage 6, Frodo also has to separate from the Fellowship, alone with Sam, to continue his long journey to the fires of Mount Doom. The Fellowship meanwhile cannot continue with Frodo, because they must help defeat the forces of Sauron that are growing more powerful with each passing day. Frodo and Sam use Gollum as a guide to travel the secret back paths to reach the entrance of Mount Doom.
8. Ordeal: Frodo must achieve his goal of reaching Mount Doom to destroy the ring, while the Fellowship and its allies must defeat Sauron's forces contemporaneously.
9. Reward (seizing the sword): Frodo destroys the ring in Mount Doom, while the Fellowship and its allies overcome the forces of Sauron.
10. The road back: Frodo falls unconscious from exhaustion and Sam and Frodo are rescued by Gandalf and his eagles.
11. Resurrection: Several weeks after losing consciousness Frodo awakens in time to witness Aragon's marriage to his long-time love Arwen, and Aragon's ascent to the throne. Simultaneously all the members of the Fellowship (with exception of Gandalf) are knighted by Aragon.
12.