Modern Day Heroes and Legends of the Past

What has always distinguished heroes from others was their ability and/or will to do what others around them did not. The legendary heroes of the past gained fame through their record and/or sacrifices in bloody battlefields, dark dungeon rooms and crowded streets. Some of them were ambitious political and/or military leaders who through their brave and defiant actions inspired nations to follow them. They led by example showing remarkable mental strength and resilience. Their names were entered in history books, artists painted portraits and erected statues of them; their faces were even depicted in coins and paper money.

Nowadays modern day warfare produces no heroes, only war criminals and numerous innocent victims. People in dark dungeons and maximum security prisons are all considered common criminals. Demonstrations in crowded streets generally just cause frustration, the people leading them gain some notoriety but nobody considers them heroes. So who are the modern day heroes?

Some say doctors who save lives, others artists that touch our inner feelings while others glorify the achievements of famous athletes. The latter with their physical presence and struggle remind us of the days when men had to rely on their own strength and ingenuity to survive in environments much harsher than those we live in today.

In any case most people nowadays like to think that for every famous modern-day heroes there are thousands others we haven't discovered who with their sacrifices preserve and improve our society. These people will never gain fame and fortune, they know it well, and that makes them even greater.

Success

The idea of success has haunted my thoughts since I was a child. I often admired and sometimes envied successful people around me. Many of my decisions and acts where based on dreams and aspiration of success or at least thoughts on how to avoid failure. The complexity of the idea of success and its consequences is constantly troubling my humble mind.

I have always wondered about the qualities that make a person successful. Intelligence, resilience, commitment and hard work are some of the keys to success. These qualities most times should be the necessary tools to achieve professional, social and family goals. The extent to which someone possesses and grows these qualities is closely related to his chances of succeeding in life.

Achieving all or some of his goals should make a person happy and content. His self-confidence will most probably grow exponentially. Some times it may even lead to arrogance, in any case successful people are inclined to test their abilities to the maximum and they expect others to follow. This overstretching may lead to great things and/or catastrophic failures.

People often wonder how successful they truly are and whether they should put more effort in it. The crucial question is at which point should someone feel successful. How do we recognize and measure success, can we measure are own success or do others do it for us? The recognition of someone’s success by his piers can often be more important to him than the success itself. This recognition can bring fame, even glory and pave the path for new accomplishments. A person who is considered by others successful in his field is well respected, people follow him and are persuaded by him more easily. The environment around him is more favorable and full of opportunities.

At some point most people look back at their lives and assess their acts and achievements. For some this is a pleasant experience, for others melancholic or even depressing. Sometimes it is hard to remember the challenges of the past and to explain what went wrong and why some of the aims and objectives where never met. Sometimes even if the majority of the goals have been achieved we feel that we should have aimed for greater, more important things, that we underestimated our abilities and/or prioritized things wrongly.

Success remains my holy grail…