I have a lot of heroes. If I sat down to name them all, I'd come up with at least 20, possibly more. Some of them I know personally, some I dream of meeting someday, and some I only know through their work they've left behind. But among all of them (or a good number of them, at least) there are some common themes. Since every blog needs a good running series, this sounds like a good one to start with, right?
Before I get started, let me explain what I mean by a hero. Hero is a loaded word. I do not mean someone that I hope to completely emulate. In fact, I disagree with many of my heroes' political and/or religious beliefs. However, I can still appreciate their work and support them. To give some examples, I love Paul & Storm, but I wouldn't recommend them to all my friends, since they use an amount of profanity in their music. Some of which I can tolerate, some of which I cannot. There are those that would say that means I shouldn't listen to them at all. While I wish that all of their music was clean and squeaky, I know that's not their way. I can listen to what I can enjoy and leave the rest for everyone else.
A hero doesn't have to be perfect. If you set up that expectation, you will be disappointed. This is something I've learned over the past few years... No one hero in particular has let me down, but if I decide that anyone that I disagree with on a certain issue is no longer worthy of my time... I'm going to have to go and live on a deserted island somewhere. We're not made to be the same. We're made to be complementary.
Everyone still following me? No? Great! Let's get started!
Shared Trait #1: My heroes love sharing their work.
Whether it be their writing, teaching, or musical talent (to give three prominent examples), my heroes find extreme joy in bringing their product to the public (specifically, me). It's not a matter of money or a self-serving egotistical power trip. They have something to share with others, and they WANT to share it.
There's not too much to this. People who want to share their work are more interesting then people who either keep their work to themselves or only share what they do reluctantly. For example, in a hypothetical college speech class, you might be able to tell which students actually care about the speech they're given, and which just want to slide by. The only one who might (MIGHT!) gain more enjoyment from such a speech would be the one giving it. Conversely, the one who enjoys giving the speech will almost certainly provide the audience with a more engaging time, even if the quality of work is not as high.
Notice that I say my heroes love sharing their work. I don't say my heroes constantly share their work, or that my heroes share their best work. Somehow, even when my heroes deliver what they consider to be "not their best", I don't care, because they're doing it anyway.
This is something I've been trying to get myself to do lately, which is one of the reasons I started this blog. I am notorious for creating something and then letting it sit on my hard drive for my own personal enjoyment. Someday I'll work up the nerve to share it with all of you. Until then, you get blog posts.
I'll post more traits in future editions, unless I get several angry letters asking me to stop. Which I very well might.
No comments:
Post a Comment