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When Heroes Are Born

Heroes are born in crisis.

I enjoy a good superhero movie, especially the first one. What I mean is that most superhero movies end up producing sequels where the superhero faces new and different villains. But there's nothing like the first one - because that when I get to see how an ordinary person encounters the extraordinary circumstances (usually some type of crisis) that propels him or her into the role of a superhero.

For example...

• Ironman becomes Ironman because he's taken captive by terrorists and must escape.
• Spiderman becomes Spiderman because he's bit by a radioactive spider.
• The Fantastic Four become The Fantastic Four because they encounter a nebulous cloud in space that alters their DNA.
• Batman become Batman (or the better version...The Dark Knight) because he finds that crime is tearing his city apart.
• Even Superman became Superman because his planet was destroyed and his parents shipped him off to Earth.

So I'm always intrigued by the transformation. I'm curious to learn the circumstances that created the need for a hero to step in to save the day.

And here's the important thing to remember...the sequels keep coming because there's always someone out there that needs saving.

You can be a hero. It's actually quite simple. Find a crisis and step in to solve it. That's what leaders do.

You may not have "super-abilities" like the ability to fly, or walk through walls, or be invisible. But you have other abilities at your disposal that can be equally if not more powerful...

• You can listen when someone's hurting.
• You can lend a hand when someone needs help.
• Your presence makes a huge difference when someone feels all alone.
• You can lift someone's spirits by your words.
• You can share your resources with someone whose life appears empty.

Remember this - Crisis is the fertile soil that births leaders.

And when the crisis is over and the leader is identified, people often look back and realize that what the leader accomplished was oftentimes...heroic.

Flickr Credit: djwudi

Leadership is like...

Train Your Students Tonight With This Worksheet!

How much time do you have to train the student leaders in your community?

How much time do you have to prepare for your student leadership training times?

One of the requests I've received more than once is for an easy-to-use student worksheet for student leadership training times. I know that most advisors have difficulty finding curriculum and materials that meet their student leadership development needs.

Try this out.

I've created a one-page, downloadable worksheet that can be used right alongside the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training series. Using the SCLT lesson as a leader's guide, this worksheet is a loaded resource for your students to take with them and refer back to time and again.

Try it out. Download the SCLT Worksheet on Character. (pdf-72kb)

Let me know what you think in the comments below. If you find this helpful, I'll be producing worksheets that go with the remaining 29 lessons in the SCLT series

And if you haven't taken a look at the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training material, here's the first lesson - Character - for FREE.

UPDATE: I've enhanced the worksheet to include a section using my 5x5s teaching model. To learn more about 5x5s go here.

Words That Don't Lead To Action Are Just...Words

I heard a great challenge:

If you want to be a better writer, you should write something everyday.

Here's the thing -

I agreed with it.
I nodded my head.
I began to envision what it would be like to write something everyday.
I looked at my calendar.
I put an appointment in my calendar to write for an hour.
I thought about what I would write.
I talked to other people about the benefit of writing everyday.
They were impressed that I was thinking about writing everyday.
I was impressed that I was thinking about writing everyday.
It came time for my appointment to write.
I read my email and surfed the web.
I discovered there were a hundred different things I could do besides write.

In this instance, the words I was challenged by ended up being nothing but words. They charged me up emotionally. They inspired me creatively. They encouraged me professionally.

And I ended up doing nothing REAL with it.

Each of us is challenged everyday. In fact, some of us (me included) can become addicted to the feeling of being challenged. We look for great ideas, trying to find the nugget of wisdom or encouragement that will change our lives for the better.

But you know what really changes us?

ACTION

This means:
1. We actually do something.
2. We produce.
3. We get things done.
4. We make something happen.
5. We accomplish.
6. We move.
7. We execute.

The next time you are inspired, challenged, or encouraged by something - decide what you're next "action" is going to be. Life is too short to just think about all of the things you should be doing (just google the word - procrastination).