My Heroes. That’s a tough one.

On the face of it, you’d think that was quite simple.

However, admiring someone, or an aspect of someone, is quite different to publicly announcing that someone is your hero isn’t it? I mean - heroes are a big deal aren't they? They're like, awesome.

I admire people for lots of different reasons; the challenges they have overcome, or their fantastic achievements. These people tend to be people I know, I work with or I am lucky enough to call a friend or family.

I’m in my late forties and I’d like to think I’ve experienced more than most people my age (it’s that ‘yes’ thing again). As a result, I’ve learned a lot about people, their motivations and what inspires them. By the same token, I’ve learned a lot about myself; what I'm great at, and what my limitations are. The same goes for the heroes I had in younger life. As I’ve become wiser I’ve realised that rarely are our heroes all they promise to be.

That’s the problem with heroes isn’t it; they rarely live up to our expectations. Heroes today are coached and managed by PR gurus, spin doctors and advisors whose job it is to protect their image, their ‘brand’.

Not particularly authentic is it?

And so, instead of looking elsewhere for inspiration, I’ve turned to myself.

I tweeted a few months ago something along the lines of ‘instead of looking to others to inspire you, be the person who you aspire to be like’. Turns out Gandhi had already said a similar thing much more succinctly in ‘You must be the change you want to see in the world.’

Imagine what a world this would be if we all did what Gandhi said.

Our heroes are often thought of as great leaders. Think of a hero you have – would you follow them? Would other people? Do other people?

What then defines a great leader? What do we need to be, to be the people we aspire to be like?

Lau Tsu lived in the 6th Century BC. He was a philosopher in ancient China and wrote Tao Te Ching, often called simply Laozi after its reputed author. It describes the Dao (or Tao) as the mystical source and ideal of all existence: it is unseen, but not transcendent, immensely powerful yet supremely humble, being the root of all things.

Accordingly, we (humans) have no special place within the Dao, being just one of its many manifestations. People have desires and free will (and thus are able to alter their own nature). Many act “unnaturally”, upsetting the natural balance of the Dao. The Daodejing intends to lead students to a “return” to their natural state, in harmony with Dao.

Lau Tsu encouraged a change in approach, or return to “nature”, rather than action. He wrote that technology may bring about a false sense of progress (and this in the 6th Century BC!) The answer provided is not the rejection of technology, but instead seeking the calm state of wu wei, free from desires.

One of Lau Tsu’s most famous quotes is also a great recipe for a leader, and has become my 'mantra' over the years. It contrasts with our western view of what leadership is; great ‘leaders’ often have great egos to match! The alternative, and perhaps more enlightened view of a leader is as follows;

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him. But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves.”

If you’re looking for a hero to follow, that’s a good place to start."

Thanks for reading.