1. Do something extraordinary.
Congratulations, you're extraordinary.
One important distinguishing factor between heroes and non-heroes is action. Most heroes are simply ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Notice I said most. I am not trying to take away from the extraordinary people out there. Especially if they're doing good things with their extraordinariness.
But seriously, choosing to do something out of the ordinary is what sets everyday heroes apart.
One hundred years before I was born, a girl named Thérèse was born in France. At 15 she became a Carmelite nun. At 24 she died from tuberculosis. But not before she'd written some world-changing ideas in her diary. One of those ideas was her "little way" that described a path to heaven that was contrary to that of the church at the time. She believed those who performed small, good acts every day would head to heaven just as those who performed large deeds did. She's now known as St. Thérèse.
I have co-opted her idea for my promotion of heroism. Most of the heroes in the world are those doing little, good things every day. They're doing extraordinary things every day. They're extraordinary because the ordinary option is to do nothing. They choose action when inaction is easier. And more ordinary. And more expected.
