Heroes can come from anywhere.

You dont have to be the big, muscular guy wearing the cape to do something really
big, no matter what the superhero movies we grew up loving have taught us. Some
times the most unlikely group of people such as a bunch of historians and art ex
perts who came together to save precious works of art from the Nazis at the fron
t lines come together to do something extraordinary. We tend to think of ourselv
es as the kind of people to whom big things happen and everyone else (because it mak
es for the best story), but in real life, nothing could be further from the trut
h.
Some people are late bloomers.
Its so easy to think, early on in your career, that you are just never going to d
o great things. We are surrounded by prodigies and wunderkinds and people who be
come style icons at age 12. But its important to remember that in all fields, fro
m business to entertainment (Lucille Ball didnt start I Love Lucy until she was 4
0!) to politics, there are huge historical examples of people who never made it
big until they were a little older. There is no reason to get on yourself for no
t being a huge success at age 25, just because weve been tricked into thinking th
at everything has to happen when youre just starting out.
The biggest change can have the smallest beginnings.
One minute, youre throwing a bunch of Lipton into the Boston Harbor, the next min
ute youre fighting alongside the French for your independence from the biggest em
pire in the world. It kind of makes you realize how much good can come from your
actions when youre agonizing about whether or not to send that one little OKCupi
d message, doesnt it?
You are the company you keep.
Throughout history, there have been people on the good and bad sides of every fi
ght. It may not be a clear question of good vs evil at the time, but its a questi
on of How will the world look back on us in just a few short generations? We know
how it feels to look back on people yelling at civil rights marchers, or the peo
ple who went along with oppressive regimes complacently, or the people who ended
up losing their heads in the French revolution. And whether or not you realize
it in the moment, surrounding yourself with certain groups will end up meaning a
lot about you. You may not always agree with what your friends are doing, but p
eople will see you as if you do, and it may end up affecting your whole life.
Everyone had to start somewhere.
Some of the most iconic performers were raised in a brothel. Titans of industry
started with nothing. George Clooney used to have this hairdo. Whats your excuse?
We often forget who brought us here.
The next time youre looking at a precious painting that was this close to being l
ost forever to the Nazis, or feel like youre stuck in a conversation with your gr
eat-aunt about what life was like back in her day, remember that history has to
be preserved actively if we want to keep it. Only if we take the time to appreci
ate the things previous generations have left us or remember the heroes who migh
t not be as glamorous as the few names we keep in our mind will things continue
to matter. Because if you dont care (even in your 20s) who will?
You never know where youll be tomorrow.
Whether youre talking about the childhood of our current President, or the actual
rags-to-riches stories of some of our countrys most prominent billionaires (with
a B), its important to remember that these people did not know they were destine
d for greatness. Sure, most of them probably moved through life with determinati
on and hope, but none of them could have been certain. And its the same with all
of us. At the beginning of our professional or personal journeys, there are limi
tless possibilities ahead of us, and the only thing that will guarantee we wont l
ive out our dreams is to give up on them before they even had a chance.