I am a storyteller by trade and have spent a career overseeing the creation of fanciful tales in film, TV, stage and publishing. Across all these formats there is one timeless inspiration for the greatest stories — from “Star Wars” to “Avatar” to “The Lion King” — and that’s the hero’s journey.

Under that concept, developed by the writer Joseph Campbell, the hero leaves home and is tested by personal tragedy and extreme challenges before arriving at a crucial moment when he or she makes a fateful, selfless decision.

Just like Joe Biden.

I have known the president for more than 40 years. As his campaign co-chair, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with him over the past 18 months. I have seen firsthand who he is. I don’t know anyone who has suffered more personal tragedy, with the loss of his wife, daughter and son. Yet somehow he has been able to transform these monumental losses into something of a superpower. Time and again, I have seen how through his grief, he has been able to help others heal from theirs. His empathy and optimism know no bounds.

Partly because of his empathetic understanding of America and Americans, he has conducted one of the most successful presidencies in our history. His victory in the Democratic Party’s primaries earned him the right to run for re-election and extend his record of success.

This is what anyone in his position would have done. In fact, it’s what we all do. As the psychologist Adam Grant observed, it is human nature to resist change and keep doing the same thing. “One of the tragedies of the human condition is that we use our big brains not to make rational decisions but rather to rationalize the decisions we’ve already made,” he wrote.

This is what humans do. But not heroes.

To be sure, these past few weeks, the president held firm and made the case for the job he has done and was continuing to do, as he brought together the leaders of NATO in a show of unity and strength that would have been unimaginable under his predecessor.