In the comic books, there are two types of heroes — the big, bold, highly public character that wears a mask to keep his or her true identity hidden, and the regular guy who saves the world without seeking public recognition.
It is only natural to dream of being the first type. It’s exciting and provides instant recognition. What our world and industry needs now are the heroes who just do the right thing without seeking financial or public reward.
In pop culture, heroes have moved from the primary colors of Superman with his high-powered moral and ethical compass to gray characters that deliver their own brand of justice based on an “even-the-score,” vendetta-driven obsession. Now I am not saying that comic books are changing our culture. What I am saying is comic books seem to reflect our beliefs and culture at any given time.
Too often public figures wear their flaws, obsessions and agendas behind a hero’s mask or our rose-colored-glasses view of them. Politicians no longer seek solutions that reflect what those they serve want. Competitors try to absorb, buy out or crush one another to satisfy a number on the Wall Street ticker display, rather than what the customers who pay for their products want and need. Political correctness limits and polarizes conversations and topics so that if someone chooses not to buy in, they are tagged in any one of a number of negative ways.
How does one person rise above this and make a difference? Be the second kind of superhero. It takes more time than jumping up and saving a falling child from the jaws of death. How often do those opportunities happen outside of your plasma television anyway? To change the world it takes a little planning. Here are a few suggestions for the silent superhero types.
Before you tilt at a particular windmill, you need to have an idea what your desired outcome is. If you plan to land on your backside, no planning is necessary. If you are looking for a more positive result, carefully dissect the issue that moves you. What are the pros and cons of the issue or task? Is it really important and do you have the fortitude to see it through? You have to check your ego on a regular basis and make sure that your intentions stay altruistic. Ask yourself, “Who else cares about this issue?” Your success rate goes up when you create a coalition of interested parties and work together. Most importantly, look at what the roadblocks are. You have to have a solution for issues like financial and time resources, a clear timeline and plan for execution, along with all the other things that we have learned about goal setting from those classes we attend.
If it is an issue you want to tackle, a couple of additional factors must be considered. Who will oppose you (in superhero speak who is your nemesis) and why? This is where you have to become your alter-ego regular guy. Winning at any cost is very costly on many levels. Spending the time to understand your opposition may help you to find a middle ground or a creative solution that can satisfy both parties. Almost every issue has no exact, correct solution that is clear from the beginning. Before you don your cape remember that most of the greatest things to have happened in history came from opposing forces finding common ground.