
Not many people know that the
inspiration for Star Wars, George Lucas' fabulous movie series,
came from the life work of Joseph Campbell. His monumental and
awesome book, 'Hero with a Thousand Faces' is perhaps the best known work
on mythology, and inspired much of the magic in the Star Wars
story.
During the last two years of his
life, Joe Campbell spent hundreds of hours at the Lucas ranch
recording his life's findings, and many tidbits about Star Wars.
During one of these interviews on
tape, with Bill Moyers, Mr. Moyers asks Mr. Campbell, nearly
80, this question. Remember that by now, Mr. Campbell, already
world renowned, has spent almost 65 years doing nothing but
learning about stories that define cultures, ancient to present.
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Moyers:
Why should we care about myths? What do they have to
do with my life?
Campbell:
Go on and live your life as it is. It's a good life.
YOU DON'T NEED THIS. I don't believe in being interested
in subjects because it's said to be important and interesting.
I BELIEVE IN BEING CAUGHT
BY IT SOMEHOW OR OTHER.
But you may find that with
the proper introduction this subject will catch you.
And so, what can it do for
you when it DOES catch you?
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When I heard those words, I played
it several more times.
You don't need this. You don't have
to be interested because someone says it's important and interesting.
You have to be 'caught by it.'
And then...maybe the 'subject will
catch you' if it's introduced properly.
How do we introduce the business
(our subject) properly? So that it might 'catch' someone good
for it?
Not with the
5 worst things, that's for sure.
Others may not be, nor should they
be interested just because we think it's important for them,
or for us. True, yes? Who hasn't learned that the hard way?
They 'don't need it' enough. Their life is good enough, for
them, whether you think so or not.
How to introduce it so a right one
might be caught by it. Yes? Check out http://Banana Marketing.com/theheap.html
and links there for suggestions that have worked in the past.
Then the finale: "What can it do
for you when it does catch you?" What a wonderful question.
Think?
So, do you have your stories ready?
Of what the business had done for people that 'got caught by
it'?
It's as though he was speaking to
us all in those few key sentences.
Campbell is just such a hero himself
to so many millions of people, including me. We might never
have seen any Star Wars movies, to say nothing of his precious
books. They are loved throughout the world for what they have
taught us about each other, both the 'us' in the distant past
and the many 'us' today around the world, different as we are.
To hear him say this in the
twilight of his life, about his own work, was just stunning
to me. So I thought of you. And here it is.