What makes a hero?
Some may try to define this with a simple dictionary definition. Others may write more of an encyclopedia article of sorts on this phenomenon. I could do either, but I would rather tell you the story of one man.
A man who has become a hero to many men.
Many a man have given there take on why this man is a hero. Through out the past decade, men such as George Clooney, Chuck Norris, and Bono have haled him as potentially one of the most heroic and influential men of our generation.
I know that you may be asking yourself who this man I speak of is. You may be surprised to know that he is a close friend of mine and in fact the source of most of the insight published on this blog. It is the one and only Michael Cheshire*.
“We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look"
- Ronald Reagan
In all honesty some may not see the genius that hides within a man as down to earth a Mike. There is nothing flashy about the work that is done in the 30 foot radius where most of his time is spent, but when we delve in for a closer look at the daily working of a man like Michael you may be able to gain a glimpse of his ever present heroics.
Some say that heroes need a power. In the comic book scene we see this as a somewhat consistent theme. I believe that the theme carries over into the characteristics of our cultures heroes aswell. You look at the life of a person such as Mother Teresa and see that her capacity to love was undoubtedly a super power.
In the Case of Michael Cheshire there are a couple qualities that have a dynamic that is definable as "super."
Let me break them down.
First Is: the power to communicate.
There are several levels of communication that range from personal communication to corporate communication. There is the communication of ideas, emotions, vision, and truth. I see Mike as being a hero of communication because of his ablility to take the seemingly undefinable and give it shape and form. He does this weekly on a corporate level through sermons, as well as daily on a personall level amongst the members of his team. It is a true sign of the gift of comunication when a leader can walk someone through their own thoughts and assist them in making sence of them in a comunicatable way
In a society full of lonely people who fill there day with the shortest forms of incomplete conversations, many of whom do not have someone to talk to or the means in which to communicate effectively, men like Michael are necessary and in most cases heroic in there ability to nurture relationships through communication.
Second is the the ability to: empower, motivate, and enable leaders.
Leaders have been made into heroes by our society yes. People such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi have been haled as leaders in social movements of the past. And men Like Bono are known as great leaders in social movements of our generation.
These men are heroes yes. They lead people to join them in their causes, but what happens when that same caliber of leader is able to motivate men and women not only to join a cause but to be leaders in causes themselves.
What Hapeens when the goal is not just to lead some movement per say but rather to lead a movement that says, " start a movement." What then. How much greater may this impact the world.
This, I believe, is the dynamic that describes Michael to a tee. He his a motivator yes. He cast vision certainly, but he is for sure not merely your standard cause spokesmen. He is a man passionate about passionate people.
I have made some jokes in this post, but in all honesty Mike has had an impact on me and several of my friends, and I have no doubt that, that impact will only spread through us to others.
Michael Cheshire has caused heroic ripples.
*NOT THIS MICHAEL CHESHIRE
Some may try to define this with a simple dictionary definition. Others may write more of an encyclopedia article of sorts on this phenomenon. I could do either, but I would rather tell you the story of one man.
A man who has become a hero to many men.
Many a man have given there take on why this man is a hero. Through out the past decade, men such as George Clooney, Chuck Norris, and Bono have haled him as potentially one of the most heroic and influential men of our generation.
I know that you may be asking yourself who this man I speak of is. You may be surprised to know that he is a close friend of mine and in fact the source of most of the insight published on this blog. It is the one and only Michael Cheshire*.
“We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look"
- Ronald Reagan
In all honesty some may not see the genius that hides within a man as down to earth a Mike. There is nothing flashy about the work that is done in the 30 foot radius where most of his time is spent, but when we delve in for a closer look at the daily working of a man like Michael you may be able to gain a glimpse of his ever present heroics.
Some say that heroes need a power. In the comic book scene we see this as a somewhat consistent theme. I believe that the theme carries over into the characteristics of our cultures heroes aswell. You look at the life of a person such as Mother Teresa and see that her capacity to love was undoubtedly a super power.
In the Case of Michael Cheshire there are a couple qualities that have a dynamic that is definable as "super."
Let me break them down.
First Is: the power to communicate.
There are several levels of communication that range from personal communication to corporate communication. There is the communication of ideas, emotions, vision, and truth. I see Mike as being a hero of communication because of his ablility to take the seemingly undefinable and give it shape and form. He does this weekly on a corporate level through sermons, as well as daily on a personall level amongst the members of his team. It is a true sign of the gift of comunication when a leader can walk someone through their own thoughts and assist them in making sence of them in a comunicatable way
In a society full of lonely people who fill there day with the shortest forms of incomplete conversations, many of whom do not have someone to talk to or the means in which to communicate effectively, men like Michael are necessary and in most cases heroic in there ability to nurture relationships through communication.
Second is the the ability to: empower, motivate, and enable leaders.
Leaders have been made into heroes by our society yes. People such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi have been haled as leaders in social movements of the past. And men Like Bono are known as great leaders in social movements of our generation.
These men are heroes yes. They lead people to join them in their causes, but what happens when that same caliber of leader is able to motivate men and women not only to join a cause but to be leaders in causes themselves.
What Hapeens when the goal is not just to lead some movement per say but rather to lead a movement that says, " start a movement." What then. How much greater may this impact the world.
This, I believe, is the dynamic that describes Michael to a tee. He his a motivator yes. He cast vision certainly, but he is for sure not merely your standard cause spokesmen. He is a man passionate about passionate people.
I have made some jokes in this post, but in all honesty Mike has had an impact on me and several of my friends, and I have no doubt that, that impact will only spread through us to others.
Michael Cheshire has caused heroic ripples.
- "It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
*NOT THIS MICHAEL CHESHIRE
Hey Cort, miss your writing.... don't stop
freaking write some more especially about your hero