“With great power comes great responsibility,” the iconic words said by Peter Parker’s (Spiderman) Uncle Ben.
It’s the summer of comic book heroes with The Avengers (May), Spiderman (July 3rd) the Dark Knight ((Batman) July 20th) Battleship (May 18th) and Brave (June 22nd); okay maybe Brave isn’t about superheroes but Princess Merida the heroine in this Pixar film is headstrong, defies age-old customs and traditions of her kingdom and, she has to undo a terrible curse, what is not to like.
Superheroes to the Rescue
‘The Avengers’ made box office history hitting one billion worldwide in two weeks of viewing. So what does this teach us about ourselves and the world? People want to have hope, to feel someone is in their corner, that they have their back. We want the good guys (that’s you and I) to win.
The Villians
With any superhero there are always villians, those that threaten our safety, our economy, our way of life. The usual suspects come to mind:
- Those pesky politicians who have evolved especially in an election cycle believing that their political posturing can divert the attention of their failures and the real issues, to those, that will get the most media attention.
- Banks, CEO’s, and those who hold the majority hostage with their violence and their demands.
In our social media environment we have new ‘villians,’ those whose behavior and policies are putting us on high alert:
- Facebook with every change has the rest of us scrambling to protect our privacy; and they now want to come after our children, NO YOU ARE NOT!
- LinkedIn who reports that its iOS app potentially violated user privacy.
- Twitter being accused of censoring search results
We Need Real Superheroes
Superheroes don’t have to be rich, powerful or even talented; they do however believe in purpose, in something bigger than themselves like Nelsen Mandela, Queen Elizabeth 11, Mother Theresa, Christopher and Dana Reeve, Terry Fox, Michael J. Fox, Rick Hansen. They are people whose behaviors of integrity and honor pave the way to respect.
When we look for Superheroes, there are so many inspirational role models, reminding us that we can’t give up on the world, on ourselves, or other people, like:
- Jack, a nine year old who started Jack’s Lemonade Stand to raise money by selling lemonade every year to help the children at Toronto Sick Kids; teaching us that no matter how old we can do something.
- CNN Heroes where we learn about everyday people who were inspired to do something and did it. I want them all to win.
- At risk children whose first line of defense are amazing teachers like my sister, Francine, who create healthy learning environments for kids to develop their own unique recipe for success
- People like my brother, Louis, who go out of their way to acknowledge those who are kind, gracious and do great work.
- Kelle Hampton a photographer who gave birth to a Downs Syndrome child tells her story in a blog and video about her transformation in which she learns perfection comes in all different shapes resulting in a book called Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected, teaching us the power of perception and redefining what beauty is.
- Roger’s journey who from obesity to running the Boston Marathon for his niece Julia who was born with Cystic Fibrosis, teaching us that we can achieve anything one step at a time.
- Claire Lomas, paralyzed from the chest down finished the London Marathon in sixteen days teaching us that persistence, determination and purpose prevails
- The Dali Lama once said “The greatest challenge facing our time is not weapons of mass destruction or terrorism or ethnic cleansing. It is that we are raising a generation of passive bystanders.’ Read “The World Needs Your Kid: How to raise children who care and contribute” by Craig Kielburger, Marc Kielburger and Shelley Page demonstrating how our children inspire us through their passion, energy and their ability to ignite on what’s possible every day. I couldn’t be more proud.
- Lindsay Tighe, in her new book Better Leaders ask Better Questions share that people who ask Better Questions are the Superheroes of any corporate culture; they are the super ’Potentialisers,’ ‘releasers of amazingness in others.’
There are no victims here, only amazing people who took what they had and created something to build on. You don’t have to go far to look for a superhero, just start with the man/woman in the mirror.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5vz6iwV38U&w=420&h=315]
Your Turn
Using the Social Media Twitter handle @socialmediaclub, answer this “If you could imagine … We could all be SUPERHEROES what would, could, will the world become, because you were here?