You may have heard some people
lament that there's a shortage
of heroes these days. I
don't know who's saying this,
but there are plenty of amazing people
both past and present to inspire you
for 10 lifetimes. Below are a few of my
favorites — I've put a playful little
twist on each. I hope I'm not too politically
incorrect, and apologize in
advance ...
ABRAHAM
Four thousand or so years ago
Abraham of the Old Testament
showed his willingness to slay his
own son out of faith. God was pleased
and had him sacrifice a ram instead.
This was the beginning of monotheism:
the belief in one Supreme Being
— starting with Judaism, then later
Christianity and Islam. But what
impressed me the most were
Abraham's sales skills: Imagine going
to his fellow tribesmen and saying,
"HEY — I've got this great new religion
going, and all you've got to do is
give up the tip of your foreskin and
you're IN!" Now THAT'S selling ...
BEN FRANKLIN
American statesman, inventor, scientist,
businessman, printer, publisher
— all true. And one of the first people
to create his own personal development
plan: Franklin picked 13 virtues
he aspired to attain (temperance,
silence, order, resolution, frugality,
industry, sincerity, justice, moderation,
cleanliness, tranquility, chastity,
and humility), then worked on each
for a week four times a year — how's
that for "self-coaching"? And ya gotta
raise a glass to a guy who said, "Beer
is living proof that God loves us and
wants us to be happy."
NAPOLEON HILL
Hill was born into poverty in rural
Virginia and was known as a hellion
growing up. Yet he became a journalist
and got the opportunity to meet
the Bill Gates of his time, steel magnate
Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie took
a liking to Hill and made him an offer
he couldn't refuse: "How would you
like to take the next 20 years of your
life to interview all of my successful
friends [which included Henry Ford,
Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham
Bell, and John D. Rockefeller], then
write a book about what you learn
from them? I'll provide you with
introductions to these guys, but I'm
not going to pay you a penny." Hill
took only a moment to digest what he
just heard: "Let's see here — I'm
going to go to work for the next 20
years for the richest man in the world
for free ..." Then he promptly accepted
Carnegie's proposal, which resulted
in Think and Grow Rich, which
many people (myself included) consider
to be the greatest book ever written
on the philosophy of success. My
question: How would YOU have
responded to Carnegie? ("Uh, Andy,
good buddy ... lemme think about that
one for a few days. I'll get back to you.
Thanks for the Scotch ...)
BROTHER MATTHIAS
This might be an unfamiliar name
to you. Brother Matthias was the head
honcho at St. Mary's Industrial School
near Baltimore, Md., in the early part
of the 20th century. The good
Brother's job was to provide guidance,
support, and encouragement to hundreds
of wayward boys. Among the
most incorrigible was a kid named
"Georgie," whose parents were simply
unable to handle him. Brother
Matthias took a special interest in this
boy and encouraged him to get
involved with sports. Georgie ultimately
excelled and went on to a legendary
career as a professional baseball
player. Georgie claimed later that
Brother Matthias was the father he
never had. Now why do I bring this
humble man up? Imagine you're at the
Pearly Gates, and during your "Big
Interview in the Sky" you had on your
resume, "Mentored George Herman
'Babe' Ruth" — do you like your
chances of getting in "The Ultimate
Hall of Fame?"
ERNIE BANKS
Staying in the baseball vein, how
could anyone not love Mr. Cub? His
sunny "let's play two today" attitude
allowed him to have 19 mostly stellar
seasons with arguably the worst overall
performing franchise in all of professional
sports, the Chicago Cubs.
Ernie won the National League's Most
Valuable Player Award two years in a
row (1958 - 59), both times with Cubs
teams that lost more games than they won (!) — I doubt that feat will ever be
repeated. Bottom line: He brought
hope every day that despite your circumstances
you could remain positive.
This is how Ernie Banks created
an iron-clad bond between me and
millions of other Wrigley Field fans
that will last a lifetime. (Unfortunately
for us members of the mighty "Cub
Nation," it may take several lifetimes
before the Cubbies win the World
Series again ...)
DONALD TRUMP
A master builder and deal maker,
Trump is one of the greatest self-promoters
since P.T. Barnum. Whether
you like his blustery style or not, if
you've studied his career, you'll realize
how big he dreams and how hard
he works. And he's more self-aware
than you might think if you only saw
him on his hit TV show The
Apprentice — in one of his books he
revealed what it was like to be on the
bottom. He shared that during his
"bust" years in the early 1990s, he was
walking in the rain in Manhattan (he
couldn't afford a cab, much less a
limo) to meet with a banker to somehow
refinance his massive debt. He
spotted a homeless man underneath
an awning and mused, "I wonder if
that guy realizes he's worth eight billion
dollars (that's "billion" with a "b"
folks ...) more than me?"
RUDY GIULIANI
"America's Mayor" grew up in a
Brooklyn working-class family. After
graduating from law school, Rudy had
a distinguished career as a public prosecutor
in the 70s and 80s, convicting
literally thousands of drug dealers,
mobsters, corrupt government officials,
and white-collar criminals. In
1993, he became New York City's
mayor and spearheaded an amazing
turnaround in that city's fortunes:
Rudy spruced up the city boulevards
and made Times Square safe again by
jailing street thugs. He cut welfare
rolls, reduced taxes, rooted out organized
crime, created jobs, and stimulated
tourism to record levels. As an
"encore" (better than any on
Broadway), he was the emotional rocklike
anchor for our entire nation during
the horror of 9/11. In fact Rudy G.
is so good, I'd like to nominate him for
office ... not for president, but for
mayor of Iraq — after the way he
whipped NYC into shape, Baghdad
would be a piece of cake!
There are dozens of others who have
inspired me along the way. So who are
YOUR heroes? Let me hear your stories
of people who have helped you
succeed. Don't tell me there aren't any
— you just gotta poke around. After
all, it's hard to be a hero if you don't
have any.
Since developing his first coaching program in 1982, Success Skills Coach Jim Rohrbach, "The Personal Fitness Trainer for Your Business," has coached hundreds of business owners, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals on increasing their clientele.
Learn more about Jim Rohrbach at
www.AdvantEdgeMag.com/CoachsCorner.
To find out how a Nightingale-Conant coach can help you become a high achiever, call us at 877.512.3100 to speak with a coaching representative.
