The Importance of Having Personal Heroes
It's important to have personal heroes and role models in our lives. By doing this, we can identify the qualities that we'd like to have ourselves and always be looking ahead at how we can be better in the future. Having someone to look up to can help us stay motivated and inspired to reach our own goals.
In our personal lives, Heroes can be anyone we admire. They could be a family member, friend, celebrity — or hell, even a fictional character from a book or a movie. It's important to choose someone who has qualities that you'd like to possess yourself. For example, if you want to be more compassionate, you could look up to someone who is known for their kindness and charity. If you want to be more outgoing, you could identify someone who is outrageously adventurous. If you want to be a great athlete, you will likely follow and observe the behavior and training habits of anyone at the top of their game in professional sports.
Of course, if you are wanting to become particularly successful in business, there are many great leaders in our time worth following and paying attention to. From CEOs to politicians to high school football coaches, there are people from all walks of life who can teach us a great deal about what it means to be a leader.
I personally have a terrific habit of setting very lofty goals for myself — which has encouraged me to have many identifiable heroes in my life. Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to some of my heroes!
Childhood Hero: Randy Johnson
“The Unit” was on the mound for my very first, Major League Baseball game when I was a kid at the Diamond Backs home turf, Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field). My dad said “See that big guy in the middle of the field? That’s the pitcher.”
I watched #51 throw a 100mph fastball… and I was hooked. It was instantly clear to me that the pitcher controlled the fate of the game. Throw good, and you might win! Throw bad, and the opposing team ends up on base and you risk taking a loss. I determined from that point forward that Randy must be a real stand up guy. He must train at least twice a day, I’ll bet his diet is impeccable, and he is probably really nice. In fact, he’s probably the best at everything he does!
Now of course, I had no idea if any of that was true. But I followed his career for years to come — enjoyed watching him win the 2001 World Series, and throw a perfect game on my birthday in 2004 (thanks for that, Randy!).
Randy Johnson was larger than life, and I wanted to be somebody like that! I grew up to be a collegiate softball player owning the position of, you guessed it, pitcher.
Personal Hero: Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson. The guy just exudes happiness! This gentlemen lives his life tie-less (of course), shoeless (fittingly), and with what seems to be a constant smile on his face on his lovely, private island from which he commands a team of God knows how many people running who knows how many companies under the Virgin umbrella.
Of course, Richard is renowned for his success in business. But it’s his approach to life that has him on my list of heroes. His innate positivity, courage to try new things, and desire to use his time here well.
Richard has taken astounding leaps for the greater good from venturing out and testing boundaries (often being the first to do so), to creating solution based businesses that solve people’s grievances, and even trying to stop wars. He is optimistic, fearless, and kind.
And my personal favorite feat of his — He wrote a letter to Saddam Hussein with a proposal to rescue hostages from Baghdad in 1990, and it was successful! Read more about the mission here.
Professional Hero: Bob Iger
When it comes to great business leaders in the 21st century, Bob Iger is at the top of the list.
I recently took his MasterClass on Business Strategy, Leadership, and “Making Big Moves”. There is an endless list of reasons why Bob is on my heroes list including his methods of negotiation, balanced lifestyle, and many remarkable accomplishments on behalf of Disney. But if I had to boil it all down to one thing that I admire about this man, it’s his impeccable, undeniable, integrity.
He speaks the truth, and encourages everyone around him to do the same!
There are people who will bend the rules, “play the angles”, bully their way through negotiation… I don’t believe that any of those things are necessary to climb the ladder and Bob Iger is living proof of that belief.
He openly speaks about taking responsibility for your mistakes (yes, even as the CEO), being simply honest and not playing games in his MasterClass.
While I recommend his class to anyone in a leadership position, of course, it is also a great course on simply how to be a better human. May we all strive to be more like Bob.
Like me, you may have multiple heroes, while others might only have one. There is no right or wrong answer — it's entirely up to you. The important thing is that you find someone whose qualities inspire you to be the best that you can be.
Cheers!
Thanks for reading.