Hero's

Listen to the news, read the newspapers, click on the internet... in 2009 it all seems like bad news.

So some good news is always welcome. Hero's are pretty welcome sights during this "tough time." Three hero's came to my mind today... just kind of popped in there.

One is Captain Chelsey Sullenberger of US Airways. On the plane that landed in the Hudson, this man of few words simply said to the passengers, "brace for impact." They impacted allright... and everyone lived. Along the way, the Captain was the last one off the plane...checking to make sure that everyone else was off the sinking plane.

HERO LESSON: Be the best at preparation, pay attention to the tedious instruction at work, and you never know when it might all come into play in one "defining moment." Do your job, and do it well. Hey, if you are on that plane, aren't you glad he and the rest of plane's crew were paying attention in pilot school? Heroic actions come at the interesection of preparation and confidence.

Two is Captain Richard Phillips . He's the captain of the ship that was taken captive by Somali Pirates. He traded his own life for that of his crew, spent days in a life boat, often with a gun pointed at him. Navy Seals rescued him and he was eventually brought home to a Hero's welcome. But honestly, he wanted nothing to do with it. He said, "the millitary are the real hero's, next time you see a soldier thank them. " Then he took his wife's and said, "We want to go home and spend time as a family."

HERO LESSON: Courage is cultivated in the quiet times when your soul is shaped by what you believe about yourself, and those you serve. It seems to me that in one "defining moment" Captain Phillips thought the best deal was "you take me, turn them (the crew) loose" and we will figure this out. " That's courage that he did not summon up in one moment... it was a character decision forged in much quieter times.

The third one is Susan Boyle. She is the 47 year old English Spinster that competed in Britain's edition of Idol... Britain's Got Talent. It was a long day for the audience and the judges. They were tired, and had seen some terrible acts. Out comes Susan and she tells them that she wants to be a singer. People in the crowd snicker, judges writing her off before a note is sung..."let's get through this one"... Well, she sung her socks off...and got unanimous support from the jugdes, and an apology from Simon Cowell of all people, for dismissing her before she even sang... And over the weekend, other recordings of her songs have appeared... if everything is on the up and up, she is no one hit wonder. You will be hearing from her.

HERO LESSONS- If you don't believe in yourself, no one will. Follow your dreams. Be ready when the call comes and you find yourself on the stage of your dreams. And then after it is over and the so-called experts act all astonished about what they just heard... let them know you knew you had it in you... you just had to get someone to look past the outside to what was waiting to burst out from the inside. And keep saying that all the attention won't change you!

All three of these people, from different walks of life, remind me of something very important. There is a little bit of hero in all of us. A kind word, a prayer, a annonymous gift, a smile, or an email that just says, "you are worth it.".... all of those make hero's out of us. We don't do those to become known as a hero, but we ought to set out each day, to lift someone up...

There is alot of bad news in the world...but thank God for some hero's who teach us what it means to spread a little news along the way. Be a hero to someone today. You have it in you!