Robert Britt   

                          Author, Columnist

Heroes

I got season one of Heroes on DVD yesterday and got to watch the 'never aired' pilot episode. Very cool stuff.
It got me thinking that the show really touches people because we all like to think that something is manifesting for us and that people will see that we are special.

The thing is, there is no magic that happens external. The real magic happens inside of us. There is 'special' in there and we need to let it out. So many people hold it inside - or worse yet - somehow are blind to what is special inside them. What are your gifts and talents? Does the world know about them? How can you expect to be recognised for having gifts without giving them to others?

I can hear people saying that they don't have gifts or talents, or they don't want to be recognised for them. I say you are cheating the world. You don't have to be able to fly to be special. Your outreach at the grocery store getting a pint of cream from the top shelf for the  person who can't reach it, that's a gift to them. Or do you ignore them and walk by as they struggle?

Perhaps Michealangelo could have stayed in his own village, sculpting presents for his friends and family after putting in his time in the fields, but would that have served humanity? You don't have to be Michaelangelo, but if you keep your gifts to yourself you are robbing the rest of us, as surely as a bandit at a bank. Can you imagine Michaelangelo saying to his mother, "Mom, I really hate going out to the field and weeding. I wish someone would stop by and notice how great that bowl I made for you." Not a chance. He took his talent and developed it by sitting at the feet of masters until he became one himself.

That's one thing that all the great people in the world have had in common. They didn't spring forth from the womb fully developed and with legions of fans. The process began as individuals who felt drawn to something, and then they found teachers to take them to the next level.
We all find the teachers, if we are looking for them. The process may start in elementary school or sometime in your adult life, but if you are looking, the teacher will appear. I returned to college in my thirties and found encouragement. I found mentors like Bob Doyle, who I met long before he was famous and in The Secret. My education continued with Harv Ecker and Jack Canfield along with a host of others. Whether one on one, on-line, in a seminar or in a book; your education (formal and informal) molds who you are.

What you are is a gift to the world. Whether you decide to give that gift is up to you. We are all hero's. There are people in your life, past or present, who found you to be a gift and who looked upon you as a hero. It may have been someone who you helped change a tire, or someone you just posted a comment to. Those small acts can change people's lives. Everything you do impacts the people around you.

I thank all of you for being a part of my life and helping to make me the best me I can be.
I love you for that.
Rob                                   

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