The Hero Behind the Hero
Today we continue our series on heroes. Last time we talked about what makes a hero a hero.
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Captain Chesley Sullenberger (Sully as we’ve come to know him) inspired this series. He is, of course, the pilot who landed his plane in the Hudson River to ultimately save over 150 lives.
But we haven’t heard much about the co-pilot on that fateful flight – Jeffrey Skiles. He, much like Sully, was a veteran of the industry as well. And let’s not forget the flight crew and also the passengers who stepped up to the challenge. The news coverage has largely ignored them too.
Heroes aren’t alone
We love our heroes. They are usually a single person. But a person usually doesn’t become a hero by themselves.
Which got us thinking about the Wind Beneath My Wings. Doesn’t that song seem particularly appropriate when thinking about heroes and airplanes? Pun fully intended!
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On the show, I had to try hard not to cry as we talked about the lyrics of this song.
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I tried not to admit that I’m a huge Bette Midler fan! But so was Johnny Carson … so I guess I’m in good company.
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Unsung heroes
The song starts …
You were content to let me shine, that's your way. You always walked a step behind.”
This is the case with many heroes. There are the heroes we see. And for every hero that we see, there are many unsung heroes, working behind the scenes, that we never see.
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When I was in radio, I did a segment called “Superstar Employee of the Month,” where people could nominate their co-workers. The nominations were always so heartfelt and touching. People often recognized those co-workers who seldom got any credit.
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Plenty of work, very little credit
The song continues …
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This reminds me of something I heard my dad say a number of times about the employees of his business. “They do all the work and I get all the credit.” This is so true for many leaders. At least he recognized it!
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We all have people behind us that help us succeed. And they often don’t get the credit they deserve. Just like the co-pilot and crew of US Airways Flight 1549.
Lifting us up
These unsung heroes, who do so much work for so little credit do much more than just support us.
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My favorite line of this song is in the chorus, “I can fly higher than an eagle, for you are the wind beneath my wings.” It shows how important some people are to us. They lift us up to heights we can’t achieve on our own, to levels we can hardly imagine.
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A hero’s response
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When my dad passed away unexpectedly, I kept a journal for awhile. The chorus to this song was the feature of the very first entry. There wasn’t much left unsaid between the two of us. We had a great relationship, but I’m not sure that I ever told him that he was a hero to me. I think he knew, but I sure wish I had said it explicitly.
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The song closes with the appropriate response of a hero …
Whether we feel like a hero or not, it’s important to understand that any success we achieve isn’t reached alone. There are people lifting us up every step of the way.
Don’t just think about how much you appreciate them. Tell them. To go back to the song one more time, it says it explicitly …
I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.
I would be nothing without you.”
We should do the same!
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Do you have any idea how much we appreciate that you are part of our community? Well, let us just say, it means more to us than words can say. But we’ll try anyway:
You lift us up! Thank you, thank you …
Join us next time as we wrap up this series by discussing the hero within the hero. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!
Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00314-012209.mp3
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(Image in today's post by plebelic)
