.

Many Heroes

When you say to others that you have many heroes, they get a shock. It seems unbelievable to them that you can have varied heroes and you don’t have any problem.

Often this attitude comes from the disbelief. Because they have certain norms, and they expect others to follow the same. You can see this behavior in many instances. A vegetarian person rolling her eyes when she sees a non-vegetarian person. Or someone who believes in building a dream home becomes sad to see someone renting all the time.

As Ramit Sethi says, the world wants you to be vanilla. So when you are excelling or trying new things, they will pull you down.

But you need to take feedback from only the people whom you admire and are giving constructive criticism. Else, if you think about all the naysayers, then it will make you sad, and no real work will be done.

Another example to highlight this – if you are a dancer, then there are specific rules of dance. But if you try something new, many people will try to shun you. Because chances are, you might discover or invent something new, and they don’t want that. They want you to be ordinary.

Sure, do the best work possible. But don’t try to please everybody. And in some cases, do the work because you want to.

Maturity

Coming back to choosing heroes, you can and should have many heroes. Mine, for example, are Seth Godin, Sol Orwell, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Gary Vee, and many others. I look for certain qualities, and if I want to emulate them in future, I follow the lead.

For example, Sol does cookie treat in an excellent way in which he connects with many friends and does with a dash of helping a cause. Jackie Chan is a legend in what he has achieved, and his humble nature draws me in. Bruce Lee is a league apart, and he shows what your mind and body can do if you put in rigorous training with discipline and science.

Seth Godin is a generous marketer who teaches about culture and argues for making the important art so that you will be missed if you are gone. And Gary Vee is a ruthless businessman who motivates you in a rough yet fantastic manner.

All of the qualities are different, and as I grow up, I get attracted to different things. Maybe I want different things or all of them, the necessity demands multiple heroes.

Real Vs. Virtual

And while you are getting the work done by your heroes, accumulating their values – you need to know that they don’t have to be real.

There are many anime characters or cartoon characters whom I adore, and they were my heroes while growing up. The idea is that you get gravitated to their philosophy and way of working.

And as long as you become better in the process, every type of leadership is welcomed. Don’t listen to the naysayers that you can’t have multiple heroes, chances are they have one and want you to be restricted.

Shun the non-believers and focus on becoming the better version of yourself, do the important work, and stay awesome. Rest everything is fine even multiple heroes.