![Why are we drawn to stories about heroic journeys? According to mythologist Joseph Campbell, it's personal: "[The journey] is a fundamental experience that everyone has to undergo."](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/16/trh_the_heros_journey_artwork-2-_wide-3961291f3acc5368e4f0e9d350c786fc522543d7-s1100-c15.webp)
Why are we drawn to stories about heroic journeys? According to mythologist Joseph Campbell, it's personal: "[The journey] is a fundamental experience that everyone has to undergo." Stocksy hide caption
Why are we drawn to stories about heroic journeys? According to mythologist Joseph Campbell, it's personal: "[The journey] is a fundamental experience that everyone has to undergo."
StocksyFrom the Odyssey, to Robinson Crusoe, to Star Wars — why are we drawn to stories about heroes? And what do they tell us about ourselves? This hour, TED speakers explore what makes a hero's journey.
"There is a certain typical sequence of actions which can be detected in stories from all over the world and from many periods of history." — Joseph Campbell jemimus/Flickr hide caption
"I made my mind up there and then that one day, somehow, I was going to sail around the world." — Dame Ellen MacArthur Bret Hartman/TED hide caption
"There's no way I'd be doing what I'm doing today if it weren't for those mentors." — Jarrett J. Krosoczka Ryan Lash/TED hide caption
"We started the school day ... with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag — looking out the window I could see the barbed wire fence and the sentry tower right there — as I recited the words 'with liberty and justice for all.'" — George Takei Courtesy of TEDxKyoto hide caption
"I was honest with myself about ... not ever putting myself at risk to be in anybody's institution or prison." — Ismael Nazario Courtesy of TEDxNewYork hide caption
"I think everyone has the capacity to do things within them that maybe they are not aware of — or maybe only have to do in difficult circumstances." — Dame Ellen MacArthur Bret Hartman/TED hide caption
![Why are we drawn to stories about heroic journeys? According to mythologist Joseph Campbell, it's personal: "[The journey] is a fundamental experience that everyone has to undergo."](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/16/trh_the_heros_journey_artwork-2-_wide-3961291f3acc5368e4f0e9d350c786fc522543d7-s1200.jpg)