Living Heroes – a thoughful journey…

As the year winds down, I’ve started to look back over my accomplishments and those things I still have yet to tackle, and while I’ve been studying and reading, I’ve neglected to do my 10 Living Heroes profile. I have several friends and family (I am in awe of all those participating and who HAVE participated in the UBBT) who I consider my heroes, but I wanted to look beyond my immediate influences to those I might not think of on a daily basis, but who have subtly begun to help shape who I am and who I’m evolving into being.

1. Thict Nach Han – I’ve read so many of his books, listened to many teachings and I am amazed that when I stop, listen, and follow through with his lessons, the world is a much different place than the way I make it out to be. I’ve learned much about mindfulness and being in the moment, and I owe that to his teachings.
2. Scott Sonnon – having overcome childhood disability, bullying, learning disabilities and more, Scott has evolved into a health & wellness icon, truly practicing what he preaches and pushing himself to the limits. His approaches show thoughtfulness and sincerity that I can only hope to emulate in my teaching with others. He pushes himself beyond the limits set for him by others, having overcome the childhood adversity. While my childhood adversity wasn’t the same, I feel he’s a kindred spirit, and he’s always willing to share his knowledge.
3. Seth Godin – I’ve barely begun to make a dent in reading all that Seth has produced, but “Tribes” hit home and he is a marketing genius. His ideas on how to market have been purely genius and changed the way I was taught to do things, making an even bigger difference in how I look at marketing and educating as I move forward in life and my career.
4. Diana Lee Inosanto – beautiful, talented, gracious, deadly….and brilliantly creative. Her movie, The Sensei, was eye opening for me this year.
5. Oprah Winfrey – a woman with a clear mission in life who still continues to reach out and affect change in the lives she touches. She’s created an empire and helped bring about such great changes for women in our country. I have to admire her for building an empire on her terms.
6. Pamela Dorr – Founder, Hale Empowerment & Revitalization Organization, or HERO – This year was the first year I’d been introduce to Pam. She is, with her team, rebuilding Greensboro, AL and Main Street. Her passion, drive and determination have shown me exactly what it takes to really get out into the community and give back, and keep giving back because one person CAN make a difference.
7. Dr. Myron Wentz – Founder, USANA Health Sciences – a man so focused on cellular research that once his family started dying around him, he turned to create healthy supplements to keep us healthy at the cellular level. He doesn’t compromise on ANYTHING. His family follows in his footsteps, and I’m honored to found a company who practice what it preaches, gives back to the world community at large, and doesn’t compromise on support or quality of products. I never thought I’d find a health company truly focused on the same values I have.
8. J.A. Konrath – author, self publishing advocate and guru – now, I don’t read his books, my husband does, but I’ve had some great conversations with Joe about writing, publishing and the state in indie/self publishing (plus we shared a bottle of Jack and a long conversation while he was staying here one night on his book tour). Opinionated, brilliant writer, stands up for what he believes in and BELIEVES in his writing.
9. Russell Simmons – music, fashion, vegan, meditation & yoga practitioner – how can you not admire and consider him a hero? He’s one of the top 25 most influential people of the past 25 years, and I can only hope I get to meet him in person one day!
10. Stasia Kelly – Previously Head Legal Counsel at AIG, motivational speaker, currently is a partner in DLA Piper’s White Collar, Corporate Crime and Investigations practice, based in Washington, DC and Reston, Virginia. I had the honor of meeting Stasia at a Women’s Leadership Conference in DC. We were both wanting to meet the other “Stacia/Stasia” after she saw my name tag on the registration table, and I heard her introduced as a guest speaker. She has overcome her generations fight to making it in the corporate world, raised a family, become successful, all the while doing so with grace, humility and compassion.

Of course, I have several heroes who didn’t make the list, as they’re no longer with us. Steve Jobs, Nikola Tesla, and several more….These are the people who have influenced me the most THIS year. I can’t wait to see how the list changes for next year!

This blog post is a part of The Ultimate Black Belt Test (www.ultimateblackbelttest.com), an undertaking of The 100 (www.the100.us), and a part of Studio13 (www.studio13bymbsworks.com).

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