Book Report: A field guide for the Hero’s Journey

Do you ever wonder what is it like to be a hero? Think of your favorite hero – either fictional or non-fictional character – and ponder what kind of life did he or she lived. Have you dreamed of becoming a champion, not just being successful in the world of business or financial abundance, but in your own field of expertise? A champion – a hero?

If so, A field guide for the Hero’s Journey by Jeff Sandefer, co-authored by Robert Sirico will be a great guide for your venture as a hero. What’s great about this book was the combined powerful insights of Sandefer and Sirico – one being a true-blue entrepreneur and the other a spiritual entrepreneur. You will also enjoy short and engaging stories whose principles are relatively connected in each chapter’s main lesson. And my favorite part in this book was the ‘Questions to Ponder’ and the ‘Try This’ activity at the end of each chapter. This allows you to think through and immediately apply the lessons taught in this book. It encourages you not to be a passive reader but an action-taker as well.

I would say that I enjoyed every chapter of this book. All principles are essential in our journey as an aspiring hero. However, my personal favorite was the chapter about fighting the dragon – our own hero’s dragon. Sooner or later we will have to face this fight! We have to be courageous enough to win the battle. The author emphasized that, for every hero, each of us has its own dragon to fight. He identified his as the dragon of Power and Money. I recognized mine as the dragon of Entitlement or the dragon of Pride and knowing that these are the dragons which I will soon face, I can better prepare myself with the weapons and the protective armor I need to have in order to win the battle and become the hero I wanted to be.

Another principle in this book that I found valuable for me is the chapter about rest. Sandefer highlighted that as an entrepreneur, or as a hero, our enthusiasm on finishing the journey will most likely be high and dominant. We may have the tendency to keep on going and may soon neglect this one important principle – to rest.  In connection to this, he also emphasized the importance of unplugging ourselves from technology and mobile devices.

He asks,

“Do electronic devices prevent you from being able to step away for a while, to rest and recuperate?”

This question can help us ponder and take a moment to unwind, relax, and refresh our health and mind as a champion, as a hero. And be ready for the next day’s battle.

These awesome principles are just two out of nine heroic lessons you can learn from Jeff and Robert.

Jeff said,

“A hero’s journey requires you to find your most precious gifts and to use them doing something you enjoy in the service of something larger than yourself.”

This book inspired me and I know it will inspire you too. As I mentioned previously, the book contains ‘Ask this’ and ‘Try this’ sections which makes it more thought-provoking and personalized guide to someone who is a hero like you. So, if you want to embark on your journey and become a champion, I highly recommend A field guide for the Hero’s Journey and be the outstanding hero you always wanted to be.