Why We Love Super Heroes

I was your typical 90s kid.

Growing up, I was obsessed with cartoons and video games. He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Superman, Batman, The Justice League, Teen Titans, Mario, Mega Man, Link, Master Chief and every other character you can think of.

I don't think I was unique. Generations ahead of us had their own heroes, and generations after me have their own as well.

Why do we love them so much?

Because they spark something within us.

Even after we seemingly give up our childish ways, our heroes take other forms. We look up to people in sports as well. There's a sport for everyone. Every season, our heroes take the court, the field, the ice and we follow their stories as they play out in real time.

Deep down, there's a yearning for us to be the hero in our own lives. It doesn't have to be anything "super" like flying over buildings or blocking bullets either. As long as we do something meaningful to help other people, we're a hero.

But how exactly do we go from human to super-human?

The answer is simple.

You have to embark on the hero's journey.

The Hero Within

As I said, being the hero sparks something already deep down inside.

We want to be the ones saving the day. We want to defeat the dragon and save the world.

But where are all the heroes?

Somewhere between being a playful kid running around in a cape to entering the adult world, it's taken out of us.

"Grow up and be realistic."

What does that even mean? It's an imposed limitation, but from the lens of the person saying it.

Look around again, but this time for inspiration. Are there people doing what you want to do in real life? If you can't find them in person, look online. Is there someone in your same situation doing something that you want to do?

If they can do it, so can you. Even if it's on a small level.

People like the feeling of progress, and the feeling of progress can be sparked by someone we look up to.

Before comic book heroes, there were myths and legends. Those people were as fake as Superman, but they still did the same thing: they inspired action.

Inspiration has been around since the dawn of time.

We want to be the person that people look to for inspiration.

There is a formula.

It also happens to be a formula for good movies.

The Hero's Journey

If you don't know this phrase, the hero's journey is what a hero in a story goes through. It's formulaic because it works.

It goes a little something like this:

• Something bad happens. The hero's parents are taken, the village is burned, the bad guy shows up.

• Hero meets mentor, someone the hero can learn from.

• Hero has learned a bit and starts adventure.

• Bad stuff happens. The hero struggles. The hero has to overcome something and learn something about themselves. Oh no the hero almost wants to give up!

• Hero wins the day.

• Roll credits.

How can we mimic this on a lower budget?

Set a Goal

• It all starts with a goal. Hopefully nothing catastrophic happens to you to make you want to change, (which is almost sad because people will end up living in a middle ground) so you have to spark this start with a goal of your own.

Get a Mentor

• No, you don't have to listen to some old dude in a cave (please don't) but guess what? Mentors are everywhere.

• Subscribe to YouTubers, read books, articles, listen to podcasts. Find someone you mesh with, learn their methods as they relate to your goal and follow their advice.

Start

• Whether it's from one source or multiple, start the plan, the journey towards your goal.

• Please know that you will face bumps in the road. If the path was easy, you wouldn't want to take it anyway. It's like playing video games with the cheat codes on. Doesn't happen in real life and you wouldn't be fulfilled if you could.

Don't Quit

• You're not done until your goal is done. You might have to experiment with methods, but be rigid with the goal.

• At a certain point, the work will feel repetitive and boring. You may even want to give up. It doesn't matter. Be the hero. Stick with it until you reach what you want.

Bonus Tip: Stop Being an NPC

• Huh? For all you non-gamers, an NPC is a non-playable character. It's the guy at the weapon store that you buy your sword from and greets you with a robotic "good day to you!" His responses are pre-programmed and he's not being played by another human being. He's standing around watching the story happen.

• Don't be that person (or should I say program). At some point along your hero's journey, you're going to have to put in the work. Do you need to be playing video games for 3 hours, watching a fake elf person save the kingdom, if you have work to do? Do you need to watch another episode, or finish watching that game with teams you don't even care about?

• I've said this before and I'll say it again: I'm not anti-entertainment. I'm anti-entertainment getting in the way of what you want. If you have a goal, say you "don't have time to do it," but are scrolling endlessly, playing video games and watching TV, be honest with yourself. Cmon man. Put the controller down, hide the remote and go do what you're supposed to do.

Do it for you. Do it for them. Save the day.

One of the best things you can do in this world is help other people.

But guess what?

You can only pull someone up if you're at a higher level yourself.

Once you achieve a goal or have made any progress in life, help others do the same. Every book I've read starts with someone that has done something for themselves. The book itself is to help others.

Whether you like it or not, people are watching your actions. Everything you do is being an example on some level. So what book are you writing?

Each goal you achieve could be the starting point of helping someone who's struggling with the same thing.

Now go save the day.

Thanks for reading!

As always, if you have any questions feel free to respond to this newsletter.