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23: The Hero Inside All of Us
Last week, I closed the week talking about what it means to be a hero and it seems that that topic struck a chord with a lot of people.
So, I’d like to expand on that a bit today and dive deeper into the hero inside all of us.
I’ve also just come home from a six-hour drive home and listened the entire time to archived radio interviews with Joseph Campbell. So, the topic of “the Hero’s Journey” is alive and well in me right now.
Since I started off my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve been fortunate to get to meet a lot of incredible people and not a day goes by where I’m not amazed at what someone is creating or their desire to be the change they want to see in the world.
There’s this incredible spark in someone’s eye when they’ve found their sweet spot and are die-hard passionate about their work.
I’ve seen this same look in a lot of my students too when they work on a project that means far more than a silly grade.
It’s a beautiful thing. I mentioned before that it’s like the soul has been activated.
But not everyone has found this yet. And that’s okay.
You see, here’s the thing: there’s a hero inside all of us. It’s up to us to recognize it, shake hands/say hello and then choose to accept the mission.
You Define What “Hero” Means
If you haven’t found your thing yet or don’t feel like a hero, it may be because you’re living up to someone else’s expectations or someone else’s definition of success.
Keep in mind that a hero does not have to be Superman.
Like Carol S. Pearson says in The Hero Within: “the heroic journey does not require you to become something greater than you are. It merely requires absolute fidelity to your own authentic path.”
For instance, it’s easy to compare ourselves to and idolize a few celebrities who have made it big so-to-speak.
That’s extremely toxic and doesn’t do ourselves again good. You can’t compare your week 1 to someone else’s week 100.
And on top of that, sometimes to get to that celebrity status comes at the cost of being a poor parent, friend, or spouse.
For example, there’s a beautifully done video that shows a day-in-the-life of one celebrity entrepreneur. The day starts at 6am and ends around midnight. From what we can tell in the video, roughly 30 minutes are spent with the family which includes two children under the age of five.
I bring up this example because this is a personal struggle of mine and how I define a hero.
Perhaps you can relate to this struggle?
I want to have as much impact as possible with my work, but am not willing to sacrifice being a good husband nor a good father to any future children.
When Seth Godin and I sat down to chat, we talked a lot about how we’re truly living in a beautiful time where a person could be anyone they want to be.
It’s just that the hero inside all of us can easily be squashed by the rules that society has placed on us since children. Now, more than ever before
I, if you have a dream you want to live or a message you want to share, you can do it.
Here’s a bit of what Godin had to say:
So, what’s my definition of a hero? Someone who follows their heart and aims to do incredible good in the world and constantly works to level up their mind, body, and soul to limitless possibilities without sacrificing being a good spouse and family man.
And I think I’m doing a pretty good job at that.
So, as I don my superhero cape today, I’d like to ask for your definition of a superhero. What’s your definition?
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By Mark W. Guay -- Entreprenuer, Educator, Writer
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4747 ratings
Last week, I closed the week talking about what it means to be a hero and it seems that that topic struck a chord with a lot of people.
So, I’d like to expand on that a bit today and dive deeper into the hero inside all of us.
I’ve also just come home from a six-hour drive home and listened the entire time to archived radio interviews with Joseph Campbell. So, the topic of “the Hero’s Journey” is alive and well in me right now.
Since I started off my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve been fortunate to get to meet a lot of incredible people and not a day goes by where I’m not amazed at what someone is creating or their desire to be the change they want to see in the world.
There’s this incredible spark in someone’s eye when they’ve found their sweet spot and are die-hard passionate about their work.
I’ve seen this same look in a lot of my students too when they work on a project that means far more than a silly grade.
It’s a beautiful thing. I mentioned before that it’s like the soul has been activated.
But not everyone has found this yet. And that’s okay.
You see, here’s the thing: there’s a hero inside all of us. It’s up to us to recognize it, shake hands/say hello and then choose to accept the mission.
You Define What “Hero” Means
If you haven’t found your thing yet or don’t feel like a hero, it may be because you’re living up to someone else’s expectations or someone else’s definition of success.
Keep in mind that a hero does not have to be Superman.
Like Carol S. Pearson says in The Hero Within: “the heroic journey does not require you to become something greater than you are. It merely requires absolute fidelity to your own authentic path.”
For instance, it’s easy to compare ourselves to and idolize a few celebrities who have made it big so-to-speak.
That’s extremely toxic and doesn’t do ourselves again good. You can’t compare your week 1 to someone else’s week 100.
And on top of that, sometimes to get to that celebrity status comes at the cost of being a poor parent, friend, or spouse.
For example, there’s a beautifully done video that shows a day-in-the-life of one celebrity entrepreneur. The day starts at 6am and ends around midnight. From what we can tell in the video, roughly 30 minutes are spent with the family which includes two children under the age of five.
I bring up this example because this is a personal struggle of mine and how I define a hero.
Perhaps you can relate to this struggle?
I want to have as much impact as possible with my work, but am not willing to sacrifice being a good husband nor a good father to any future children.
When Seth Godin and I sat down to chat, we talked a lot about how we’re truly living in a beautiful time where a person could be anyone they want to be.
It’s just that the hero inside all of us can easily be squashed by the rules that society has placed on us since children. Now, more than ever before
I, if you have a dream you want to live or a message you want to share, you can do it.
Here’s a bit of what Godin had to say:
So, what’s my definition of a hero? Someone who follows their heart and aims to do incredible good in the world and constantly works to level up their mind, body, and soul to limitless possibilities without sacrificing being a good spouse and family man.
And I think I’m doing a pretty good job at that.
So, as I don my superhero cape today, I’d like to ask for your definition of a superhero. What’s your definition?