Seamless

STEP 1 HERO'S JOURNEY WHEEL FOR MAMMA SÖRMAN-NILSSON

Status quo

This is the place where the hero or heroine hangs out before his or her journey begins. She is happily oblivious of the adventure that is just around the corner, and where she lives is pretty cushy. We learn intricate details of this everyday life, along with the heroine's characteristics and outlook on life. This cements the heroine as a fellow (wo)man, helping us identify with them, and helping us empathise with their challenges through the upcoming journey.

Here's how the ordinary world looked at the start of Star Wars: Episode IV:

• Inner journey: The evil Empire oppresses the galaxy.
• Outer journey: Limited awareness of the problem; Luke dreams of joining the academy and he feels he is going nowhere on his uncle's desolate farm, but doesn't see any way out.

And here's how the ordinary world looked like for a more personal hero of mine (you might recognise some of the characteristics):

• Inner journey: Digital disruption sweeps the world of retail.
• Outer journey: Limited awareness of the problem; our heroine dreams of making her retail brand (Georg Sörman) strong and profitable again, but feels her hard work is taking her nowhere.