Heroes and Inspiration

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It was almost like an out-of-body experience. There, on the front of a greeting card was a quote from
me.

“We need heroes because they draw us on to become better
versions of ourselves.”

I wrote that as part of my old Monday Memo series. The title was “Risk,
Romance, and Heroes,” and I wrote it right after shuttle Columbia broke up on
re-entry, just sixteen minutes before the end of its flight, killing seven fine
people.

Now, there was a line from that piece on the front of a greeting card. I
wondered what was inside and it turned out that the card company had picked the
perfect message to go with my quote.

“You’re an inspiration.”

You are, you know. But the fact is that the people you inspire probably will
never tell you.

There’s a person I know whose success and high standards give me an example
of what the word “gentleman” is supposed to mean. When I want to act like a
gentleman, I think of him and how he would act. I told him that he inspired me.
He chuckled.

“Inspired.” He chuckled some more and shook his head.

“Inspired. Now, how the heck will I be able to live up to that?”

Our heroes do draw us forward to become better versions of ourselves. And we,
in turn, become role models and examples for others.

How the heck are we going to live up to that?

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Jeff   |   04 Aug 2014   |   Reply

Thanks Wally. Nice to be a part of the Carnival together. Your post makes me think about how freely we swing around the term “hero” and how many would still deserve that term should you definition be applied.

Wally Bock   |   18 Aug 2014   |   Reply

Thanks for the kind words, Jeff