In a recent blog we posed the question – What makes top performers tick? The quick answer was good skills, talent and hard work. But more important is tapping in to the energy of a positive attitude and the belief that your thoughts and words have the power to create your reality. This is not fluff; for the most successful leaders, this is a hard won practice. Who knew self-development was a debatable subject with some suggesting, “Spend some time in the real world”?
With the gauntlet thrown, we accept the challenge to spend time in the real world – the real world of superheroes that is! Ask someone who their favorite superhero is and you’ll get the answer and an earful on the special talents they admire and, truth be told, they secretly desire.
A friend favors Storm from the X-Men where creating monsoon rains, blizzard squalls, tornadoes, tsunamis and cosmic tempests to disrupt the electromagnetism of the world are just a few of her powers. Call me old school, but I’m still partial to Wonder Woman, though her arsenal of tools like the Lasso of Truth, indestructible bracelets, and tiara that serves as a projectile seems to pale by comparison to Storm’s ability to call on cosmic disruption. What does all this have to do with being a better manager, you ask?
What Storm and Wonder Woman have in common is self-identity with no limiting beliefs, no boundaries. Superpowers are one thing, but their ability to unlock the potential within through sheer strength of will and attitude is what makes them truly powerful. Superheroes own the differences that make them unique, and they wield them in a way that actually creates their self-brand.
I was drawn to the recent book by Gotham and Deepak Chopra, “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes” when thinking about attitude, energy and our limitless possibilities. The authors correctly point out that superheroes have “broken free from their comic book pages and become a dynamic aspect of the culture at large. Superheroes explore the boundaries of energy and awareness and allow us to better understand ourselves and our potential.”
In the pages of great comic-book stories, the superheroes are aware that they have within them real power and energy to choose and create any outcome.
• Superman stands for achieving the impossible
• The Green Lantern is the man with no fear
• Batman makes the right choices to deal with tragedies
Becoming a superhero is achievable in all of us:
- Know that for every challenge, their solution is to go inward
- Scan the whole range of possibilities– big and small
- Are independent of the good and bad opinions of others
- Never give in to self-importance
- Are always aligned with the greater good
- Focus on the process, not the outcome
- Are an exquisite combination of dynamic action and stillness of mind
- Are the best listeners in the world
Superheroes rise to the level of the solution in the face of daily challenges, transforming obstacles in to opportunities; and so can we.
Believe in yourself and your abilities. You have the power to create your own reality.
Attitude, energy, limitless possibilities!
Debra Koenig, President of B2A Consulting | 30 years of experience as a business executive with leadership and consulting skills in Fortune 500 and private equity portfolio companies.
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