Hero’s Journey Entrepreneurship / Arts Entrepreneurship

Opportunity Abounds – The Great Books Renaissance &

Hero’s Journey Entrepreneurship

This blog is a call to adventure—a call to join in the Great Books Renaissance this fall and partake in the vast entrepreneurial opportunities that abound on Wall Street and Main Street, in Hollywood and the Heartland. Forward it around and invite everyone to join us as we pursue that higher wealth—but plot, character, and meaning, all of which Aristotle ranked far above spectacle in his Poetics. And as Socrates stated that all money comes from virtue, and not virtue from money, the Great Books--which immortalize the virtous actions of classical heroes--are one's greatest investment. Join us at:



http://herosjourneyentrepreneurship.org

http://artsentrepreneurship.com

http://herosjourneyrenaissance.org

The Hero’s Journey Entrepreneurship Festival hosted both John C. Bogle, founder and former CEO of the Vanguard Group, and William Fay, executive producer at Legendary Pictures; and both told parallel stories of their journeys—whether one is creating the $1.2 trillion Vanguard Fund, or bringing Batman, Superman, and the graphic novel 300 to life with cutting-edge technologies, classical ideals are one’s best friend. Bogle lamented that the “bread and circuses” spectacles have come to replace depth and profundity in business and popular culture, and Fay paid homage to the rugged, timeless story from classical Greece envisioned and rendered by a single author—Frank Miller—that propelled 300 to box office records. Like F.A. Hayek in The Road to Serfdom, King Leonidas in 300 reminds us that sometimes the individual—the lone cowboy—has to take a principled stand against the larger group, against all odds, so as to serve the classical ideals and preserve freedom.

Take ownership in the Great Books and Classics—invest your days in Shakespeare and Dante, in Homer and Plato, in Jefferson and Franklin—in those eternities that shall never turn on you—and then shall Adam Smith and F.A. Hayek truly come to life in the classical context that plumbs our souls and exalts our spirits via Epic Stories—via comedies and tragedies that have endured thousands of years. Hayek wrote,



“The tragedy of collectivist thought is that, while it starts out to make reason supreme, it ends by destroying reason because it misconceives the process on which the growth of reason depends. It may indeed be said that it is the paradox of all collectivist doctrine and its demands for “conscious” control or “conscious” planning that they necessarily lead to the demand that the mind of some individual should rule supreme—while only the individualist approach to social phenomena makes us recognize the superindividual forces which guide the growth of reason. Individualism is thus an attitude of humility before this social process and of tolerance to other opinions and is the exact opposite of that intellectual hubris which is at the root of the demand for comprehensive direction of social purpose.” –Nobel Laureate F.A. Hayek, The End of Truth, The Road to Serfdom



Hayek salutes the natural engine of wealth and freedom—the rugged individual who lives by a higher code of honor, be it King Leonidas or John Bogle—Neo or Jobs—Branson or Frodo. Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman penned the introduction to the latest edition of Hayek's classic The Road to Serfdom, in which he spoke of the troubling growth of the Matrix, of Sauron’s armies, of Darth Vader’s empire—of bureaucracy.



I said at the outset that “in some ways” the message of this book “is even more relevant to the United States today than it was when it created a sensation . . . half a century ago.” Intellectual opinion then was far more hostile to its theme than it appears to be now, but practice conformed to it far more than it does today. Government in the post World War II period was smaller and less intrusive than it is today. Johnson’s Great Society programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and Bush’s Clean Air and Americans with Disabilities Acts, were all still ahead, let alone the numerous other extensions of government that Reagan was only able to slow down, not reverse, in his eight years in office. Total government spending—federal, state, and local—in the United States has gone from 25 percent of national income in 1950 to nearly 45 percent in 1993.



So how do we turn the tide and inspire a renaissance? Charles G. Koch, CEO of Koch Industries, recently published a great book entitled, The Science of Success, in which he penned, “For business to survive and prosper, it must create real long-term value in society through principled behavior.” Time and again we encounter this message in books by seasoned entrepreneurs, as Bogle writes in The Battle for The Soul of Capitalism, “For better or worse, my youthful idealism—the belief that any truly sound business endeavor must be built on a strong moral foundation—still remains today, at least as strong a it was all those years ago.” And too, in the Fitzgerald translation of The Odyssey, Odysseus announces, “fair dealing leads to greater profit in the end.” As all renaissances, films, novels, business, and video games begin with mere words—and as Shelly wrote that poets are the true legislators of mankind, this entrepreneurial renaissance must be rooted in a Great Books renaissance—in character and epic story. For in the beginning there was the word.

Koch cites Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” and Bogle cites Corinthians, “If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” We need classic, rugged leaders, and as artists, filmmakers, and writers we too must cite and communicate those everlasting ideals to the students—if anything, as artists we have an even greater duty to communicate the classical ideals, as that is the primary purpose of the arts, as sure as it is of the academy. The proper study of business and entrepreneurship—of economics and business—must take place in a classical context, just as Adam Smith must be read in the context that he was first and foremost a “philosopher of moral sentiments.” Koch writes, “By self-interest, Smith meant what Tocqueville called enlightened self-interest, in which people benefit themselves by benefiting others.” In a speech delivered at the University of Pennsylvania, Bogle echoed this:



Permit me to close by moving briefly to a higher plane that transcends economics, a message to all of you, especially the young men and women who are gaining so much valuable economic education through the efforts of the Economics Pennsylvania. Even before venturing into economics in The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith unveiled his not inconsiderable credentials as a philosopher. In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, he expressed this thought, which I hope will ring out loud and clear to each of you. For it drives home the message that, invisible hand or not, engaging the whole person goes far beyond the mere promotion of one’s own interests:

“What is it which prompts the generous among us, upon all occasions, and the meanest, upon many, to sacrifice their own interests to the greater interests of others? It is not the soft power of humanity. It is a stronger power, a more forcible motive. It is reason, principle, conscience, the inhabitant of the breast, the man within, the great judge and arbiter of our conduct . . . who shows us the propriety of generosity, of reining in the greatest interests of our own for yet the greater interests of others, the love of what is honorable and noble, of the grandeur, and dignity of our own character.”

Yes, it’s all about character. And as that final piece of wisdom from Adam Smith confirms, character counts. –

http://johncbogle.com/speeches/JCB_adamsmithdinner_6-02.pdf



And so it is that Bogle and Koch agree with Aristotle’s Poetics—Character and Epic Story—integrity and honor—the immortal soul—must be ranked far above spectacle and mere money. Opportunity abounds for culture—for books, movies, and video games—performing the classical ideals in the contemporary context.

There is nothing more valuable that a student can learn than these eternal precepts which pervade the Great Books and Classics. Unfortunately, such precepts are all too often neglected by contemporary curriculums and textbooks, as well as the popular culture. Scores of books have been written about this decline of the spirit, from Who Killed Homer, to The Bonfire of The Humanities, to The Closing of The American Mind, to Excellence Without Soul, How a Great University Forgot Education, penned by a Harvard dean. Thomas Wolfe's novel I Am Charlotte Simmons takes a literary look at the spiritually bankrupt campus through the eyes of a freshman arriving at the fictional Dupont University from a small town, who slides into depression as her soul is deconstructed.

The deconstruction of classical ideals—of truth, duty, and honor—and the accompanying growth of middling bureaucracy—of a postmodern elite—which separates the risk taker and worker from their natural reward, has not been relegated to government. Bogle laments the augmenting bureaucratic managerial class time and again in his speeches and books, with unparalleled eloquence. In The Battle for The Soul of Capitalism, Bogle writes:



Over the past century, a gradual move from owner’s capitalism—providing the lion’s share of the rewards of investment to those who put up their own money and risk their own capital—has culminated in an extreme version of manager’s capitalism—providing vastly disproportionate rewards to those whom we have trusted to manage their enterprises in the interests of their owners. –John C. Bogle, Battle for The Soul of Capitalism



And as Hayek reminds us that the humble worker and lone innovator—not the bureaucracy—are the source of all enduring wealth creation, it is imperative that academia join the charge in communicating and instilling the individualist ideals of freedom immortalized in the pages of the Great Books, for the epic stories of The Odyssey and the Bible—of Shakespeare and Dante—are the bedrock foundations of moral capitalistic systems—of Western Civilization itself.

And thus Homer’s Odyssey is a most valuable asset—do not take my word for it—listen to Thomas Jefferson who in addition to The Declaration of Independence that speaks of the Creator who created all men equal and endowed us with the natural right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, also wrote, "as we advance in life. . . things fall off one by one, and I suspect that we are left at last with Homer and Virgil, perhaps with Homer alone."

In July I enjoyed the great opportunity and honor to speak at the Institute for Humane Studies Cinematic and Literary Traditions of Liberty workshop at UCLA. Organized by Patrick Reasonover and his colleagues, the event was a most unique and inspiring week, packed with quality panels and discussions pertaining to economics and culture—to literature and film.

On the opening night, I delivered a presentation entitled The Entrepreneur as Modern Hero, based upon the class I teach—Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology, and the annual Hero's Journey Entrepreneurship Festival.



http://artsentrepreneurship.com

http://herosjourneyentrepreneurship.org



I proposed a new realm of video games which would bring to life the adage coined by Richard Weaver—Ideas have Consequences. Video games oft let us battle monsters—gruesome, graphic monsters. But yet, the greater monsters in reality—in this living world—are ideas—ideas which lead to societies which by and by deny freedoms while promising utopias—which devalue currencies to pay off debts incurred by massive governmental programs. Well, a game which allowed one to battle ideas—which endowed the graphically gruesome monsters with gruesome ideas and dark souls—could be a lot of fun. And too, the open-ended video game world could evolve in different directions—towards freedom, entrepreneurship, and capitalism in a moral context; or towards serfdom, tyranny, and dictatorships should the moral context be lost. One could witness what would happen both with and without the gold standard, as well as other economic policies. Furthermore, it is often said that video games lack story and soul; that they fall short of classical art—well, by endowing the game engine with a moral premise, perhaps higher art could be achieved. Imagine a Dante’s Inferno game, where the protagonist battled the demons in the nine levels of the inferno to the tune of Beethoven’s nine symphonies—now there’s a game I’d want to play a few times over, witnessing the varying outcomes based on varying degrees of success.

I also joined a panel devoted to property rights in the digital age, whence I argued that the right to intellectual property is a natural right, citing Mark Twain’s 1906 address to congress concerning the same topic. And my favorite panel, devoted to video games, was with the most prolific and accomplished Flint Dille and John Zuur, who have brought us the maverick The Chronicles of Riddick, The Fantastic Four, and the Transfomers video games, amongst many others—their IMDB bios read like novels—check them out. They are currently working on the Sin City game, based on the movie and graphic novel by Frank Miller, which sounded fascinating, for as Flint reminded us, "Sin cannot exist in a world free of the ideas of good and bad."

The moral premise is what defines all great art and enduring ventures, from Dante's Inferno, to 300, to The Science of Success, to the Vanguard mutual fund, which was based on that simple, humble entrepreneurial premise—the risk taker ought get the reward. The Libertarian Reader, edited by David Boaz, states,



Although libertarian ideas are evident in the writings of the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu in the sixth century BC, the main thread of libertarianism goes back to the Jewish and Greek idea of a higher law, a law by which everyone, even the ruler, could be judged. The simple idea that the will of the ruler was not the ultimate source of authority helped lay the groundwork for a pluralist society, the flowering of individualism, and the eventually the scientific and economic miracles of Western civilization. –The Libertarian Reader, xii



Such ideas have ever come to us via story—the stories of the Iliad and The Odyssey—the stories of the Bible. For Moses did not come up with the ten commandments ever conducting case studies and studying for the bar in a coffee shop—no he came down from the mountain in a story, and delivered the stone tablets, which had been etched by the Hand of God. A rising renaissance, based on epic story and rugged principle, is yours for the taking, for mythology alone can capture our spiritual reality, and living mythology alone can exalt a generation.

The very same message resounds throughout Bogle’s “Vanguard: Saga of Heroes” speech delivered to the Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology class—one must take action, that one must own the risk of the renaissance, and that before anything else, one must be an idealist. Both Battle for The Soul of Capitalism and The Odyssey sail this theme on home—the central keystone in all enduring ventures and the surest ticket to a worthwhile hero's journey is the moral premise:



A year ago, in a talk on entrepreneurship that celebrated the 300th birthday of Benjamin Franklin, I reflected on this 18th century connection with a wonderful quotation: "Soon we shall know everything the 18th century didn't know, and nothing it did, and it will be hard to live with us." These words were the opening epigram of Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century, by the late Neil Postman—prolific author, social critic, and professor at New York University. Postman's book presented an impassioned defense of the old-fashioned liberal humanitarianism that was the hallmark of the Age of Reason. His aim was to restore the balance between mind and machine, and his principal concern was our move away from an era in which the values and character of Western Civilization were at the forefront of the minds of our great philosophers and leaders, and in which the prevailing view was that anything that's truly important must have a moral authority. –John C. Bogle, Vanguard: A Saga of Heroes, http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/sp20070227.htm



I concluded my lectures at the UCLA IHS seminar with a talk devoted to Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology, reflecting on how Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey provides a natural vehicle for not only the study of entrepreneurship, but for its manifestation in living ventures. After reading the classics, as did the Founding Fathers, the students must find their own path through the forest, as did the knights in Arthurian legend. The students must take Morpheus’s words to heart—“there is a difference between knowing the path and walking it.”

Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology is a call to adventure—a call to “begin the world anew” and forge ahead in the creation of classes and curriculums, of books, movies, and video games, which exalt the eternal verities. Ideas have consequences, and the subtitle of Bogle's book suggests that our academies haven't been leading with the correct ideas, as it reads, “How the Financial System Undermined Social Ideals, Damaged Trust in the Markets, Robbed Investors of Trillions - and What to Do About It.” Koch quotes Emerson in calling upon the academy to teach not just case studies and ephemeral methodologies, but the eternal principles embedded in the classics—Emerson wrote: “The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”

To encourage a cultural renaissance while discouraging Wall Street scandals and the growth of government, and to inspire students to grab entrepreneurship by the right handle, there is no better route than celebrating the Great Books and Classics at all levels. By reading Shakespeare and Dante in their full glory—by celebrating them instead of deconstructing them—by letting yesterday’s masterpieces inspire tomorrow’s video games—by and by culture—and Hollywood and the Heartland—and Wall Street and government—will be reformed. For business and government bureaucracies never create immortal art, but only the rugged individual—the artistic entrepreneur.

The students, who yet show up to college with immortal souls, are longing for a classical revival and epic storytelling that trumps the reality TV and Hollywood remakes. In Homer's Iliad, Achilles states, "for as I detest the doorways of death, so too do I detest the man who speaks forth one thing, and holds in his heart another," and had Henry Blodget read The Iliad or The Inferno—if we had an academy that celebrated the truth over postmodern politics, perhaps Henry would have thought twice about saying one thing to the public, and another to the investment banks, and perhaps he would have not been banned from Wall Street for life.

My opening night IHS lecture was entitled, "The Entrepreneur as Hero." And by hero I don't mean the celebrity hero, but the humble hero—the often unsung hero who quietly goes about their tasks and innovations, simply because it is the right, or beautiful, thing to do. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is known as the man who suffers much simply to bring his men on home and regain his homestead. Time and again he resists the temptations of the Sirens and short-term gratifications the Lotus Eaters succumb to—he resists boasting and revealing his identity. Heroes like Odysseus are idealists, as they navigate by higher ideals—a code of honor, and treat beggars and kings alike, holding them to the same standards as does Zeus. Long before Locke or Jefferson contemplated the Natural Rights of Men, the Greeks recognized that all-pervasive, natural, higher code of honor, which was embodied in Socrates' heroic quest for Truth and Virtue, and which powers the Biblical stories of the Judeo Christian Heritage. This common pursuit of excellence, or arête—of higher, enduring wealth—has ever marked the classic entrepreneur who grows rich not by making money, but by serving the higher ideals and creating wealth, jobs, and meaning. And the wealth that follows cannot be devalued, for it is based on something even greater than the gold standard—the God or honor standard.

All this—the entrepreneurial premise—may be found in Jefferson's words:



We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. –The Declaration of Independence



The only clause in the main body of the United States Constitution that mentions "Rights" states the following:



The Congress shall have power to . . . promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; --The United States Constitution



Couple these two passages together, and one has the moral premise of Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology. Every student ought be given the tools to create new ventures--to protect their intellectual property, and to pursue and profit from their dreams on their "Hero's Journey" into entrepreneurship. For it is along that journey that the long-term "wealth of nations" is generated.

Entrepreneurship has aspects of art—creation and the pursuit of higher aesthetics; and science—economics, finance, engineering, and physical invention. How these aspects, and many more—from intellectual property to corporate structures—combine to generate wealth, are part of an Epic Story that is told whenever an individual sets out to render their ideals and dreams real. Thus a most efficient way to study entrepreneurship—to unite its diverse aspects—is via Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey.

As a new cornerstone in a classical liberal arts education, Artistic Entrepreneurship is for those seeking to make their passions their professions. This festival is dedicated to all those embarking on the "Hero's Journey" to create enduring wealth, be it a new venture, video game, indie film, record label, book, DRM system serving artists and musicians, or course.

In his AE&T speech, John C. Bogle humbly expressed that he was not a hero, nor an entrepreneur, so much as an idealist—an idealist who nonetheless innovated the world's first index fund—the $1.2 trillion Vanguard Group. In studying the Great Books and Classics—the vast wealth that has been handed down for thousands of years—time and again we see that the stories are driven by idealists—those who seek to serve ideal, such as honor, courage, and commitment. “Humility,” Benjamin Franklin wrote as his thirteenth and most important precept, “Imitate Jesus and Socrates.” And Koch’s “Free Market Management” humbles itself before service’s higher ideals, for it places the needs of those who are served over the needs of the management, encouraging a moral capitalism.

The classic hero, from Odysseus on down, is one who serves. This moral premise pervades all enduring literature and entrepreneurial ventures, as expressed by John C. Bogle--the "student entrepreneur" who founded the $700 billion Vanguard fund based on an idealistic premise in his 1951 Princeton senior thesis. Mr. Bogle recently quoted his original thesis in one of his eloquent speeches—



"After analyzing fund performance, I concluded that "funds can make no claim to superiority over the market averages," perhaps an early harbinger of my decision to create, nearly a quarter-century later, the world's first index mutual fund. And my conclusion powerfully reaffirmed the ideals that I hold to this day: The role of the mutual fund is to serve--"to serve the needs of both individual and institutional investors . . . to serve them in the most efficient, honest, and economical way possible . . . The principal function of investment companies is the management of their investment portfolios. Everything else is incidental."



Watch the academy-award-winning movie Braveheart, and you will see the very same moral premise at the film's center and circumference, as expressed by William Wallace's actions and his words to the Scottish Nobles—



"There's a difference between us. You think the people of this land exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it."



And Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With a Thousand Faces which helped inspire Star Wars, The Matrix, The Lord of The Rings, and Dr. E's AE&T class wrote, “Man should not be in the service of society, society should be in the service of man. When man is in the service of society, you have a monster state. . .”

Entrepreneurship is the force that continually rights the world by rewarding those who serve—those who battle the bureaucracy with a better way. Entrepreneurship is an epic story wherein the world is continually "begun anew," as the humble risk-taker—the reluctant hero—the fount of lasting cultural and monetary wealth—happens upon an innovation, invention, or epiphany, and takes a risk in rendering it real for others.

The classic entrepreneur navigates on out while keeping the higher ideals over the bottom line, endures the road of trials en route to the countless showdowns with competitors and convention, seizes the sword, and returns on home with the elixir—with the rewards gained from risking their time, their talents, their passions, and their money in penning that novel, shooting that film, and creating that venture. And so often it is all based on some simple, pervading moral premise. For Google it is "Do no evil." For Apple it is "Think different." For Buffett it is "Our favourite holding period is forever." For Bogle, Wallace, and Campbell it is "institutions must serve." For this HJE Festival, it is "own the risk of the renaissance."









The most efficient way to teach eternal values is via eternal books—the most economical way to teach law, business, art, technology, and yes—economics—is via story—for story alone contains our mythical reality. Thus Homer's Odyssey and Bogle's Batte for The Soul of Capitalism and Koch’s The Science of Success make natural gatekeepers for a class on entrepreneurship, as they beckon us to look both forwards and backwards—forwards towards the students' independent projects and future ventures, and on back with humility towards the greatest that has been spoken and written. On many levels, Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology is a revival of the classical liberal arts education, replacing case studies and politicized, ephemeral curriculums with the eternal verities.

For the rising generation is longing for Epic Story, and thus opportunity abounds for artistic entrepreneurs to perform the classical ideals in the contemporary context—in Hollywood and the Heartland, on Wall Street and Main Street, in video games and academia.

The primary goal of the AE&T and HJEF endeavors is to serve you with most useful, informative, and inspirational resources regarding how best to make your passion your profession, as we celebrate the words of that classic entrepreneurial document in living ventures, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”