Who Are Your Heroes?

A question I’ve been asking clients lately:
Who are your heroes? And why?

Is it their income?
Their impact?
The way others see them?

Or is it something deeper—
The quality of their relationships?
Their courage?
Their character when no one’s watching?

We’re shaped by more than we think.
Availability bias says we gravitate toward what we see most.
Mere exposure effect says we prefer what’s familiar.
Memetic theory says we want what others want—because they want it.

Which means:
A lot of our dreams aren’t ours.
They’re borrowed.

Sometimes, courage is becoming your hero.
Living the story the culture celebrates.
Taking the proven path.
Fulfilling the dream.

And sometimes—
Courage is daring to dream a new dream.
Turning off the scoreboard.
Quitting the race everyone else is still running.
Refusing to be a cog.
Or a copy.
Or a sheep. 

The world doesn’t need more winners of the same game.
It needs more people brave enough to play a different one.

So...
Who are your heroes?
And are you sure you want their life?
Or just their applause?