Who Is Your Hero?

Who is your Hero? 

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” -ALAN KAY 

Who is your hero? Where do you start with such a question? When I ask clients this question it typically generates a blank look and a thousand-yard stare. When it comes to goal setting it is pertinent information to know who someone desires to model their life after. Matthew McConaughey had a profound answer to this question in his speech when he won his Oscar for The Dallas Buyer’s Club [video]. He stated that his hero is himself in ten years. He said the same person asked him ten years later if he was the hero he wanted to be and he exclaimed, “No! Not even close!” He goes on to describe that every day that hero keeps shifting ten years in advance. It is someone that will constantly be out of reach, but someone that can constantly be improved.  

McConaughey’s hero analogy is an incredible tool we can use for self-improvement. It is a great thought experiment and forces you to think long term and shape and mold the future version of yourself. Ever since I heard this speech, I started to use this for all aspects of myself.  How do I become a great father, husband, friend, or person? I can apply this concept to this newsletter and website... The more I write about health and wellness the healthier it forces me to be. After a year I will have made leaps and bounds. I cannot imagine the progress my future self will have after ten years of consistency.  

In a [Reel] James Clear-writer of ‘Atomic Habits’- says, “The trajectory of your life bends in the direction of your habits.” He continues saying, “Almost all the results that you want are a lagging indicator of your habits. Your current bank account is an accumulation of your spending, investing, and earning habits. Your health is an accumulation of your lifestyle habits.”  

Although our current results are lagging indicators of our previous habits we now can look forward and get in the driver's seat to our future 10-year older hero self. 10 years gives you enough runway to become unstoppable. A person that daily is working to build character and find purpose in their life will achieve the compounding growth that he/she is proud of. Habits can help you “bend the direction of your future.”  

Become someone that you can be proud of! Invent a person that you want to meet! Be a person that you would want to have a conversation with. Force yourself to expand and step outside of your comfort zone and embrace change. Inspire yourself to live a meaningful and a complete life full of adventure. Allow yourself to be present and maximize your time on this earth. Make it about service to others and the other four pillars that are proven to bring you lasting happiness. I will end with the quote that Petter Attia ended his book ‘Outlive’ with that fits perfectly to this article... 

"I think people get old when they stop thinking about the future. If you want to find someone's true age, listen to them. If they talk about the past and they talk about all the things that happened that they did, they've gotten old. If they think about their dreams, their aspirations, what they're still looking forward to--they're young"