Articles

Get a Hero to Motivate You For Success

By Clint Cora

As a motivational speaker, I believe in getting a hero. In order to get motivated to be successful, I find that it is extremely helpful to get a hero. Getting somebody to be a role model for you keeps you inspired to stay on track while you work towards your own success. Many celebrities such as athletes, movie stars and music artists, serves as our heroes.

When you think about celebrities that you like and respect, don't look at them just for the entertainment value. Look deeper into what they did to become successful. They were all just like us at one time but they did certain things to achieve their goals. Make one of them your hero. This person doesn't have to be a famous celebrity, just someone you admire and respect. I would emphasize the word 'respect' again. The usual tabloid celebrities who get their faces on every cover just because they happen to attract all the paparazzi should not qualify as one of your heroes. It must be somebody you truly want to be like.

My hero was the late, great Bruce Lee. For those of you who don't know who Bruce Lee was, he was the first significant Asian martial arts action hero that came out in the 70s. He opened the doors for people like Jackie Chan and Jet Li. His influence in martial arts today is still huge.

I suffered quite a lot of racism when I was growing up. It got so bad that as a child, I was actually ashamed of being Chinese. But when Bruce Lee came out, everything changed for me. I still remember the time when I sat in one theatre watching my first Bruce Lee movie. It was "Fists of Fury" (released as 'The Chinese Connection' when dubbed in English for the western world). I have never seen an Asian person portrayed as such a powerful character. His effect on the audience was totally mesmerizing.

Of course, as I got to do more research on him, I learned that he was certainly the real deal. Bruce Lee was so respected in the martial arts world, he was honored in the Black Belt Hall of Fame not just once, but twice. His first induction was before he ever became famous too. He was successful in martial arts long before he became a film star. When he did make it out on screen, I along with millions of other Asians (and non-Asians) worldwide, finally had a strong Asian role model to look up to. This was important for me in order to change my own perception of being Asian.

I got into martial arts because of Bruce Lee's influence and I am convinced that my training as a martial artist in my case, saved me from ending up on the dark road. Martial arts represented early success in a passion I love, which gave me the strength and confidence to take on other life challenges including the adversities I faced. I took on my own unique journey in a way that was sometimes similar to a phoenix rising from the ashes. I can attribute the start of my journey to the influence of my hero. Heroes have a way of reminding us of our own potentials because of their own unique journeys they had taken. I became a motivational speaker because of my hero.

Many other people in this world also inspire me. And many of them are not celebrities either. They are just people who have done something that I admire. Even though I am a motivational speaker, I need motivation on a regular basis too as we all do. So get your own hero or heroes to inspire you.

Clint Cora is a motivational speaker, author and martial arts karate world champion. His book, "The Life Champion In You", is about how to overcome challenges and achieve life success. It is one man's journey from personal tragedy to becoming a karate world champion. More information about his speaking programs, books, videos, articles on motivation and success can be found at http://www.clintcora.com.