Summary of Carol S. Pearson's Hero Within - Rev. & Expanded Ed.

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The need to take the journey is innate in the human species. If we do not risk, we may feel numb and experience a sense of alienation. People who are discouraged from taking journeys may feel as though they have lost their souls.

#2 The classic hero myth describes a kingdom that is a wasteland at the beginning of the story. The hero, who is usually young and dissatisfied with the status quo, goes on a journey and returns with a new and life-affirming perspective.

#3 The world today is one of uncertainty, and it is up to us to face it and learn how to deal with it. We must prepare ourselves for the possibility of not achieving our goals, and the joy that comes from achieving them.

#4 The hero’s journey is a story of individual and group transformation. It allows us to adapt to a changing world without becoming chameleons. We must go inward to find an authentic response to the challenges that face us, and we become more authentic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669394020

IRB Media

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Insights on Carol S. Pearson's Hero Within - Rev. & Expanded Ed

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The need to take the journey is innate in the human species. If we do not risk, we may feel numb and experience a sense of alienation. People who are discouraged from taking journeys may feel as though they have lost their souls.

#2

The classic hero myth describes a kingdom that is a wasteland at the beginning of the story. The hero, who is usually young and dissatisfied with the status quo, goes on a journey and returns with a new and life-affirming perspective.

#3

The world today is one of uncertainty, and it is up to us to face it and learn how to deal with it. We must prepare ourselves for the possibility of not achieving our goals, and the joy that comes from achieving them.

#4

The hero’s journey is a story of individual and group transformation. It allows us to adapt to a changing world without becoming chameleons. We must go inward to find an authentic response to the challenges that face us, and we become more authentic.

#5

The heroic part of us fundamentally does not mind that the world is imperfect. We must let go of our belief that we are victimized if we do not have perfect parents or a perfect job, a perfect government, and unending affluence.

#6

The emerging heroic ideal does not see life as a challenge to be overcome, but a gift to be received. It is not so much that we take our journeys to attain happiness, but that when we follow our real bliss, our journeys are our treasures.

#7

The anti-heroic period is coming to an end. People yearn for heroes, but they also yearn for cynicism, because they believe that nothing matters. They use the word hero pejoratively.

#8

When we define heroism as larger than life, we expect our political and organizational leaders to prove their worth by saving us from difficulty. But when they fail or when we see their vulnerable side, we turn on them.

#9

heroism in an achievement-oriented culture requires us to hold out against workaholism, so that we can have a life and be good parents, neighbors, and citizens. It also requires us to take time to reflect and move outward following our genuine curiosity and interests.

#10

heroism is contagious, just as villainy is. when you see someone else follow their own path, it becomes easier to do so yourself. when you notice this pattern, it becomes easier to have absolute fidelity to your own path without fear that doing so is