Alan Bishop wants to know: What does a hero mean to you?
Give it some thought.
Take 10 seconds right now to look away from this post and just ask yourself the question: What does a Hero mean to me?
What did you come up with (I want to hear…really I do, but lets save that for a bit later)?
The current zeitgeist defines a hero as such—hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self-sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity. (Wikipedia)
Mainstream media has inundated us with stories of heroes, heroism and heroic acts since the beginning of time. Think of David vs Goliath, King Arthur of Camelot, Moses, soldiers who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, Lassie or the brave souls from United Flight 93 on Sept 11th. Heroes are around us every single day.
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It’s cool to be associated within the aura of heroes. Who wouldn’t want to be part of the energy and excitement that surrounds slaying the dragon, saving the child from the burning building or landing the plane into the middle of the Hudson river. Yes, heroes rock. But is everyone who commits these acts a hero?
My good friend Mike suggested this the other day when I asked him the HERO question.
What if a HERO slays the dragon during the day but at night goes home and beats his wife… is he still a hero? Or was what he did during the day simply an act of heroism, followed up at home by his true character, one of cowardice?
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“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Let’s get back to the original question. What does a HERO mean to you? Forget about what everyone else thinks and clear your mind of the images, descriptions and stories. For a moment you have the pen, you have the brush, CREATE. To Be your own HERO you must first understand what that word means to you.
If you could design the special powers, the utility belt, the uniform and the values that the HERO in you lives by, what would they be? What would YOUR hero look like?
What is your Kryptonite?
It doesn’t matter what the world thinks because it’s you who has to put on the “cape”; it’s you and only you, who has to make the tough decisions.
You have to decide if being a hero is worth the work.
Better yet, who are your villains?
Heroes and villains go hand in hand, for a hero is only as good as the villain that drives them.
When we go up against the villain we are forced to don the “cape” or “enter the arena”. We can be seen by all those around us. We are vulnerable, we are taking a risk, we can’t hide.
Create your hero.
Identify your villains.
Put on your cape.
“When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home” — Tecumseh
Hello All,
I hope you enjoyed the above post. If you like the topic please check out http://www.the365effect.com as this post is the first in my 10 part “The Heroes Journey” series.
I’m looking forward to connecting and hearing from you.
Best,
Alan