Unanimous Heroes and Unceasing Talkers

“I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.” - Stephen Jay Gould, The Panda’s Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History

You ever think about athletes? I’m not talking about your bench guys that get a snap or at-bat at the end of the season when the team has already clenched a playoff spot and a first round bye, I’m talking your big guns, your Tom Brady’s, Mike Trout’s, Tiger Woods’, Kobe Bryant’s, the people that everyone hails as amazing, legendary, maybe, dare I say, heroic even?

There aren’t very many people unanimously believed by the public to be heroes. I mean politicians hailed unanimously as heroes? Never. Even some of our “heroes,” Abe Lincoln, MLK, I mean maybe you say they’re unanimous heroes, but then again, they were assassinated. The fact is we have a lot of people, and it’s rare that an opinion is unanimous in any way.

So I come to athletes. Maybe it’s just because I’m a sports fan, but I think it’s pretty unanimous the talent that these guys have. I mean no one ever watches Tom Brady and doubts that he’s really, really good. I’m a Colts fan, I despise him, but I’m not going to argue with his talent. Same with any of the guys I listed and any of the other guys that sports fans like me come to love over the years as they come, play their time, retire, and reign in our minds forever as really awesome, really legendary, maybe in some instances even heroic people. No one denies it.

And by the way, they hear about it. Can you imagine having the press follow you around like these athletes do. What if that applied to every day life? Like, pour yourself a coffee, turn around and there’s Ken Rosenthal and he goes, “Dennis, what were you thinking as you applied the creamer into that game winning mug?” On any given night, these guys have thousands of people paying big money to watch them play, and more spending precious time watching on the television. All of them are saying, “These guys are amazing.” I think at some point you would want to turn around and punch somebody.

For me it’s been the same thing all my life with people telling me how smart I am. My peers and friends like to remind me of this every time I answer a math question they got wrong, or pull off a decent strand of figurative language, and honestly it makes me mad. I mean I appreciate the compliments, but most of the time, there’s an air of insult and jealousy involved. “You’re so smart,” but what’s insinuated clearly in the tone of voice is, “I could never do that. You’re so lucky.” Ladies and gentlemen, I went through this wordy introduction to make this point: that is a terrible way of thinking.

Albert Einstein is the subject of this quote, and no one ever doubts that he was a genius. In the little bit that I’ve read about him he’s proven to be an incredibly dedicated scientist. Never changed clothes, had to be reminded by his wife about every little thing from teeth brushing to attending weddings, all because he was dedicated unquestionably to what he was doing and as a result he came up with (what I understand to be) one of the most important theories in science that changed the way we view the world.

Other guys out there that we hail to be heroes are the same thing. A whole lot of grit, work ethic, and dedication, and they do amazing things that the “common man” likes to talk about. But here’s the idea, heroes are an excellent source of inspiration and motivation. We love to talk and praise, sometimes bordering on worship some of our heroes, and while I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to remember and celebrate these guys, but the unceasing talking, praising, and worshiping of "my heroes?" Honestly? Stop that! Let’s, rather than worship, genuinely be motivated by our heroes.

I get mad when people call me smart, because I know that I’m the farthest thing from being the smartest guy out there. I’m proud of my grit and desire to do well, but there are so many people who are so much more talented and could do so many better things with a little bit of effort. If you stop calling me talented, start calling them fast, smart, I don’t know, fill in the desirable adjective and start getting busy yourself, you have the potential to be amazing too.

None of us are the same. I mean yeah I can marvel at baseball players, because I know that I’ve not been blessed with those skills. But I believe firmly that God has given us all at least one truly remarkable talent that we can use to bless the world. (In writing these essays I sound kind of like your worldly philosophy of “if you just work hard everything will be great for you and you can fulfill your dream and be rich and happy and have everything you ever wanted.” I’m so not about that. It’s about using our gifts to be a blessing to the world and glorify God in all of it.) And if we’re too busy talking about what he’s given to others who are actually doing something, than we’re really missing the point.

As we start a new school year, we’re fresh, we’ve had at least a little bit of rest, and now we have a choice to make. No matter what our situation there’s a choice on the table, and simply put this is it: “Are we going to die, with incredible gifts, in the cotton fields, or are we going to harness those gifts for others in the world in order to make the biggest difference possible and leave a lasting legacy?” We have a glorious opportunity and a fresh start in front of us. No more excuses, head down, let’s give every ounce of strength in our body, and maybe we too will be the heroes that people talk about.