Heroes. In the world of comic books and blockbuster movies, heroes are those with x-ray vision, super-strength, morphing capabilities—they’re invincible, invisible, or indestructible…they can fly! We’re told that they’re from another planet, another time, or another dimension altogether, but the truth is—they were conceived and incubated within someone’s imagination and then transferred to a page or a big-screen for everyone to Marvel at (pun intended). And marvel we do! As a kid I used to wear my Spiderman shirt to Kindergarten, because that gave me the unequivocal right to be Spiderman on the playground (every day…if I could get away with it)! Still, to this day, I love to take my kids to see my superheroes, reborn for the third, fourth, or fifth time on the big screen…and they [my kids] marvel and dream, as I used to, of what it might be like to harness that heroic power!
Here’s a secret that I’ve learned over the years [lean in now, because I’m about to whisper it in your ear…after all, it’s a secret]: heroes are born every day. That’s right…every day. Actually, as I type this blog post on the patio of Starbucks, I’m confident that heroes surround me—they’re sipping lattes and frappuccinos, and it’s likely that they don’t even realize the superpowers within. I’m not talking about the ability to fly, laser-beam meteors out of the sky with their eyes, or catch a Boeing-747 moments before it crashes to the earth, but rather, the courage and passion to step up when everyone else is stepping down…to rise to the occasion rather than run from it.
The greatest heroes of all time weren’t defined by super-powers, but by super-convictions that compelled them, disallowing them the privilege of standing idly by as villains of our world poured cups of oppression upon mankind. These heroes stood up and did what everybody else knew should have been done. They weren’t necessarily the strongest or the brightest, but they were the most passionate…the driven.
Here’s another secret: Real Heroes and Villains are alive and well on planet Earth. I wonder, which am I? Which are you? The answer to that question actually lies in the answer to this one: What drives us? Villains are driven by a lust for power…a lust for accomplishment…a lust for reputation & status…a lust for possessions – Heroes are driven by LOVE.
So, which are you? Hero…or Villain?
Testing.