One of my favorite movies is BraveHeart, starring Mel Gibson as William Wallace. If you are even remotely familiar with the movie, you remember the scene in which he challenges his people to fight. Clearly, the Scottish are outnumbered and under-equipped for battle. Many are getting ready to leave, when someone says, “If only William Wallace were here… “
“I am William Wallace”
“No..William Wallace is eight feet tall and consumes men with his eyes.”
“Yes.. and shoots firebolts out his a$$. I AM William Wallace.”
William Wallace had become a legend among the Scottish. The stories of his empassioned battles had reached his countrymen and, in their mind, he became more than a man. It was easier for them to believe he was a magical giant than an average man with an entirely UNaverage passion and commitment.
Isn’t the same true for us today? When we see someone accomplish something great, we assume they were born with something we weren’t. It is easier to believe they have something we don’t. But neither is true. Maybe the truth is what we REALLY don’t want to believe…. because the truth is that these “heroes” – whether in sports, or politics, or business – are just men and women like you and I. But they have passion and commitment that keeps them in the ring long after most of us tap out.
Here’s to being the next American “hero”!! =)
