Inspired by The Hero’s Journey

Transformation is about first looking inward in order to create positive change in the self and the world around us. Our School of Transformation is about exploring the ways that we as travelers and travel professionals can be agents of change in our lives and the lives of others by developing a soulful travel practice.

Whether you engage in an On-Demand Course, attend a Live Virtual Workshop, or participate in our Flagship 14-Week Live Transformation Design Course, our hope is that you find inspiration, tools, and knowledge to deepen your travel experiences and/or your work.

We’re proud to offer The Transformational Travel Journal, which was influenced by the Hero’s Journey. It is designed as a guide to show us how to explore the world (and our backyard) more mindfully, reflect on experiences with a more meaningful perspective, connect with others more intimately, and thereby, foster a more intentional and purpose-driven life. As expressed by Phil Cousineau, “If we prepare our imagination as carefully as we pack our bags, then we will experience, learn, remember far more.”

The Research

At the heart of the philosophy of transformational travel is a sturdy and well-documented body of research. Michael Bennett, Ed.D., focused his doctoral research on exploring and identifying the critical elements of adventure travel experiences that lead to transformational learning in adults. The results were the first of their kind to empirically suggest that there was a clear pattern for how and why people change as a result of adventure experiences. Michael's seven core themes are as follows, inspired by Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and other philosophers, scientists, and explorers.

Answering the Call to Adventure + Traveling with Intention
Crossing the Threshold + Entering a 'Zone Unknown'
Being Open to Experiences & Transformation
Consciously Seeking Out Extraordinary & Challenging Experiences
Engaging in Meaningful Interactions & Conversations
Taking Time for Reflection & Meaning-Making
Launching Into Purposeful Action

Answering the Call to Adventure + Traveling with Intention

First, individuals heed a CALL TO ADVENTURE, where they have an intrinsic motivation to travel, grow, and transform. They are driven by the desire for a career change, or they are going through a life transition—birth, death, divorce, retirement, etc., or they are experiencing a general feeling of discontentment in life that is inspiring them to go seek out something new in their lives!

Crossing the Threshold + Entering the 'Zone Unknown'

Inspired by this call to adventure, the traveler sets forth on their adventure, first crossing then traveling to and entering a ZONE UNKNOWN—a foreign land where they are unfamiliar with the landscape, the culture, the language, and/or the people. Here, they are able to disconnect from life back home—the obligations, the responsibilities, the roles they are asked to play—and can focus on the idea of reconnecting with themselves.

Being Open to Experiences & Transformation

As they venture into the Zone unknown, travelers keep an OPEN MIND, HEART, & EYES. While they have specific goals or intentions for their journey, they also remain open to whatever other experiences come their way. They go with the flow, follow their hearts, and let the experience unfold for them.

Consciously Seeking Out Extraordinary Challenges & Experiences

In this Zone Unknown, individuals are often faced with many EXTRAORDINARY & CHALLENGING EXPERIENCES. These challenges can be physical, cultural, social, emotional, mental, psychological, and/or spiritual. Comfort zones are pushed. Boundaries are redrawn. Perspectives shift.

Engaging in Meaningful Interactions & Conversations

During these travel experiences, the individual inevitably encounter people with whom they have authentic, MEANINGFUL INTERACTIONS & CONVERSATIONS that form the foundation upon which transformations are made. Sometimes, people, they encounter take the form of a helper and assist them through their challenges. Other times, the person is the challenge, and they are forced to draw on their own resources to overcome this person. And sometimes, the person is both helper and antagonist.

Taking Time for Reflection & Meaning-Making

After these interactions and challenges, the traveler takes time to reflect on and create meaning from the experiences. Oftentimes, this process of reflection and meaning-making leads to the traveler developing a deeper sense of their own passions, values, purpose in life, strengths, and goals ... In other words, the traveler is able to RECONNECT TO THEIR TRUE SELF. Once reconnected to Self, the person then created a vision of the life that they aspire to and developed a plan for making a vision a reality. The re-connection with self was found to be the central element of the transformational learning process that these travelers experienced.

Launching Into Purposeful Action

Stemming from this reconnection to self, the individual then LAUNCHES INTO PURPOSEFUL ACTION towards changing their life. Oftentimes, this action takes the form of (1) a career change, (2) a shift in one’s priorities and perspectives, (3) starting and/or ending a relationship, or (4) a renewed commitment to a healthy lifestyle. In doing so, not only do they transform their own life, but directly or indirectly transform the lives of those around them ... a true Heroic Journey!

The Hero’s or Heroine’s Journey

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)

Transformational travel programs are largely based on the work of Joseph Campbell. Campbell (1904–1987) was an American writer, mythologist, cultural anthropologist, and teacher who was best known for his work in comparative mythology and religion. Throughout his life and career, Campbell explored thousands of stories told over the course of human history, across cultures and religions. In his first book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Campbell identified a thematic process of personal and communal transformation that permeated all of these stories that he called 'The Hero's Journey.' He described it this way:

"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder (where) fabulous forces are encountered and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."

Campbell described the Hero's Journey as occurring in a cycle consisting of three phases: The Departure, where the hero leaves the comfortable and familiar world and ventures into the darkness of the unknown; The Initiation, where the hero is subjected to a series of tests in which s/he must prove their true character; and The Return, in which the hero brings the boon of their quest back for the benefit of not only their own life but to help save the community and often times the world.

More than anything, the Hero's Journey is about growth and passage. The journey requires a separation from the comfortable, known world, and an initiation into a new level of awareness, skill, and responsibility, and then a return home. Each stage of the journey must be passed successfully if the initiate is to become a Hero. To turn back at any stage is to reject the need to grow and mature.

At TTC, we firmly believe in and embrace The Hero's Journey as the path and process that we all go through when we choose to break out of our comfort zones and travel the world ... We feel called to adventure; we set forth into the unknown (sometimes alone, sometimes with friends); we experience challenges and trials and tribulations; we learn and grow and shift our perspectives as a result of our travels; as a result, we transform who we are and how we are living.

We’re proud to have Joseph Campbell’s dear friend and protege, Phil Cousineau, author of “The Art of the Pilgrimage” as a friend, mentor, and member of our Advisory Council.

Check out the 25th Anniversary of the book that inspired Jake and Michael to create The Transformational Travel Council. Jake and Michael are proud to have provided a back-cover endorsement of The Art of the Pilgrimage, “The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred: 'Uncover what you long for and you will discover who you are.’

To learn more about Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey and to see books, works, writing, videos, and more, be sure to check out the Joseph Campbell Foundation.

DOWNLOAD A SUMMARY OF THE HERO'S JOURNEY HERE!