We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The Labyrinth is thoroughly known. We have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god. And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves. And where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.

This widely distributed pattern was first fully described in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). Novelists songwriters video game designers and even amusement park ride designers have studied Campbell's work in order to better understand mythology—in particular the monomyth—and its impact. It was very eerie because in reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces I began to realize that my first draft of Star Wars was following classic motifs.

Joseph John Campbell (March 26 1904 – October 30 1987) was an American mythologist writer and lecturer best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. ". His philosophy is often summarized by his phrase: "Follow your bliss.