A Hero's Journey Review

A Hero’s Journey Review

Jeff Sandefer addressed students at BYU – Idaho on February 3, 2015 to talk about entrepreneurship, called, “A Hero’s Journey”. In watching the recording of this address, I was inspired to think a little differently about my purpose and came away from this talk a major takeaway that was very personal to me, in my current state.  

Sandefer said, “You have a very special mission on this earth. A mission that will succeed beyond your wildest dreams, if you have faith and the courage to find your entrepreneurial calling.” I have a strong belief that I am here on this earth to learn and serve others with my unique talents. I know I have a special mission and have within me the tools to succeed. But often times my actions don’t match my belief, and I fall short of my “calling” because I focus on what could go wrong and then never take the risk. I love that Sandefer mentions faith and courage together. He explains that when we are not focused on faith and courage, then we miss out on opportunities. I have learned that faith is an action word, and it takes courage to act on faith. Choosing a “hero’s journey” definitely takes faith and courage. 

I love when Sandefer said, “So what does it mean to choose a hero’s journey? It means to live every moment of your life like it matters because it does. It means to live as you have an important mission because you do. It means seeing struggles as adventures, and setbacks as lessons. And like Sir Lancelot and the Holy Grail, or Harry Potter and Voldemort, what matters most isn’t the prize at the end, but how the hero has changed in the process.”

I have made some big changes in my life lately, because I felt like I was stagnant and completely lacked personal growth. It has taken extreme faith and some huge courage to make these changes in my life. But what I was reminded of, by Sandefer, was that what matters in all that I do, is how I have changed, through trials and struggles and necessary courage and risks. I am grateful for this personal reflection and the reminder that my story is not over yet, I still have to continuously act on faith and find more ways to accomplish my “very special mission on this earth”.