As a motivational speaker, I believe in getting a hero. To motivate myself to succeed, I think it’s extremely helpful to have a hero. Getting someone to be a role model for you keeps you inspired to stay on track as you work towards your own success. Many celebrities such as athletes, movie stars, and music artists are our heroes.
When you think of celebrities that you like and respect, don’t just look at them for the entertainment value. Take a deeper look at what they did to succeed. They were all like us once, but they did certain things to achieve their goals. Make one of them your hero. This person doesn’t have to be a famous celebrity, just someone you admire and respect. I would emphasize the word ‘respect’ again. The regular tabloid celebrities who have their faces on every cover just because they attract all the paparazzi shouldn’t qualify as one of their heroes. It should be someone you really want to be like.
My hero was the late and great Bruce Lee. For those of you who don’t know who Bruce Lee was, he was the first significant Asian martial arts action hero to come out in the ’70s. He opened the doors for the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. His influence on martial arts today is still enormous.
I suffered a lot of racism as a child. It got so bad that as a kid, I was actually ashamed of being Chinese. But when Bruce Lee came out, everything changed for me. I still remember the moment when I sat in a theater to see my first Bruce Lee movie. It was “Fists of Fury” (released as ‘The Chinese Connection’ when it was dubbed into English for the Western world). I have never seen an Asian person portrayed as such a powerful character. Its effect on the audience was totally mesmerizing.
Of course, as I did more research on him, I learned that he was certainly the real deal. Bruce Lee was so highly regarded in the world of martial arts that he was honored in the Black Belt Hall of Fame not just once, but twice. His first induction was before he became famous as well. He was successful in martial arts long before he became a movie star. When he made it on screen, along with millions of other Asians (and non-Asians) around the world, I finally had a strong Asian role model to look up to. This was important to me in order to change my own perception of being Asian.
I started in martial arts under the influence of Bruce Lee and I am convinced that my training as a martial artist saved me from ending up on the dark path. Martial arts represented early success in a passion I love, giving me the strength and confidence to face other challenges in life, including the adversities I faced. I started my own unique journey in a way that was sometimes akin to a phoenix rising from the ashes. I can attribute the beginning of my journey to the influence of my hero. Heroes have a way of reminding us of our own potential because of their own unique journeys they’ve taken. I became a motivational speaker thanks to my hero.
Many other people in this world also inspire me. And many of them are not celebrities either. They are just people who have done something that I admire. Although I am a motivational speaker, I also need motivation on a regular basis, as we all do. So get your own hero or heroes to inspire you.
