The Myth of the Self-Made Hero

Thought I found my way. My goals set. Pumped with confidence. Conviction. I’ll flatten the bumps. Scale the waves. Detailed and mapped. Coast clear. Let’s go.

Storm begins. I’m flying through. Till it threw me into a pit. Attempt to ascend just dug me deeper. I thought I was all set.

Barely managing to get out. I’m caught by surprise. Gushing waters leave me soaked. I’m not deterred.

As I catch my breath. Opportunities fly by. Too tired to catch them. Too exhausted to retrieve them. I might need a Plan B.

They tell me get a guide. Don’t do it alone. You’ll fall and fail. But no I say. That’s cheap. I can’t. It’s not me. Independence I say. There’s got to be a way.

I’ve got the books. Compass and hooks. I’ll figure it out.

I watch as they go. As they grow. They are but in the distance. Far ahead. Maybe just? No. No cheating. I’m on my own. I will persevere.

Scanning the pages. Of those who’ve made it. Want to be like them. Want to get there. They did it. So can I.

Each story different. To the extreme ends. The same goal achieved. But one. Just one thing I spot. Common on each one. Direction. Not a single. One. Has. Done. It. Alone. On his own.

Can it be. There’s simply got to be a way. Confusion. Puts me in a delirium. In a daze. A dilemma. A quandary.

Has no one ever figured it out. Really. Skepticism captures me.

But. The more I observed. As the pages flipped. Clear it became. That simple it’s not.

The question I posed. To a hero that’s far ahead. Does this mean. All my research. Maps and hooks. To the trash. All the work. Preparation. Mental. Physical. Emotional. My confidence. To the dumps? Am I to deflate. Be another’s hero. Never to belong to myself. Climb a ladder without reaching higher. Jump a cave but superficially?

Without a blink. The wise man explains. It’s not them. It’s you. You scale the waves. Jump the caves. Climb and run. They can’t run for you. Only you can. It’s your effort but they show how. What to say. How to do. They won’t carry. But push. You slide as they sled. You glide as they did. It’s the same story. But your own. And with this. You’ll surpass them. Independent. But guided.

And soon you’ll mentor them.