In this episode, Marcus Aurelius Anderson discusses the popular advice ‘never meet your heroes’ and why he believes it is overly simplistic and often misleading. Drawing from his own experiences as a leadership coach, author, and speaker, Marcus shares the lessons he learned from meeting his heroes, such as the co-founder of Quest Nutrition, Stephen Pressfield, and other prominent entrepreneurs. He emphasizes the importance of seeing heroes as humans, not placing them on pedestals, and understanding that success requires hard work, not handouts. Marcus provides actionable advice on how to approach meeting your heroes and underscores the need for focused action and dedication to achieve personal success.
Episode Highlights:
00:47 Why ‘Never Meet Your Heroes’ is Bad Advice
01:46 Personal Experiences with Heroes
02:54 Advice on Meeting Your Heroes
05:08 Actionable Steps for Personal Growth
Episode Transcript:
00:32
Now, here’s your host, Marcus Aurelius Anderson. This is Acta Non Verba, 260 Warrior Wisdom. Why never meet your heroes is horrible advice and what to do instead. Now, I made a post on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X recently, and a ton of people are asking questions about it. So here’s a deeper dive on this subject.
01:00
They say never meet your heroes because they’ll always disappoint you. Bullshit. That’s simplistic and reductive advice. And here’s what I recommend to do instead. I’m Marcus Aurelius Anderson, and this is another installment of Octonon Verba’s Warrior Wisdom. In these shorter solo episodes, I’ll highlight lessons from warriors past and present in all kinds of settings, from the battlefields of Italy, Greece, Japan, and the Middle East, to more modern day warfare, including tactics seen today in business, society, and culture.
01:27
I’ll also be sharing leadership lessons based on my own teachings and experiences. The reality is this, the world is a battlefield and to not master these lessons leaves you grossly ill-prepared for the adversity that you will inevitably face in the future. Now onto the lesson for episode 260. They say never meet your heroes because they’ll always disappoint you. Well, over the last 10 years of being an author, speaker, podcaster and leadership coach to CEOs and their companies, I’ve had the honor of meeting some of the people
01:57
that I once saw as heroes. And I’m happy to say that I am now able to call them friends, peers, and colleagues. I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to the co-founder of Quest Nutrition, who made a billion dollar exits home, Tom Bilyeu, and see him conduct an interview on his Mammoth Impact Theory Show. I’ve also been able to meet my favorite writer of all time, Stephen Pressfield, on multiple occasions, as well as the two most successful entrepreneurs on earth today, Andrew Fricela and Ed Milett.
02:24
through their Arete Syndicate Mastermind group, of which I’ve been a member of since day one. And this is the same group and the two men that gave me the award for creating a positive impact that they’d never given it to else before or since. Now I say all this to not humble brag, I’m saying this to explain why I am of the opinion that I am regarding meeting your heroes. And to be fair, I’ve also met others that I once saw as quote unquote heroes that were very disappointing, which I’ll discuss a little bit later in the lesson. When it comes to hero worship and meeting them,
02:54
This is my advice. Number one, understand that they are not heroes, they are people. Which means they don’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of people fangirling around them. They actually want to be surrounded by other people that are like them, that are working hard to improve. And they can tell immediately if you’re doing the work or if you’re just a pretender. So bear that in mind. Number two, stop putting them on pedestals. Don’t believe for a second that they are unique, gifted, or special.
03:22
Their success is the result of years and years of hard work, dedication, and trial and error. Nothing more, nothing less. Number three, no handouts. Don’t seek out your heroes in hopes that they will hand you the answers on a silver platter. Yes, they can give you the blueprints of success, but nothing more. And even if they gave you the exact route to get to your goal, they cannot walk the path for you. Only you can do the work. So if you get the chance,
03:52
Should you meet your heroes? Yes, I absolutely recommend it, but manage your expectations. Remember, they are human, which means they have good days and bad days, just like you and I. Conversely, I have met some of the most successful, popular, and wealthy people in the areas of business and leadership, many of whom you’d know by name and reputation, yet they were not at all who they portrayed themselves to be on film or social media.
04:16
Some were dismissive and rude while others were blatantly disrespectful to the very people that they were selling their product or services to, seeing them only as marks, dollar signs, and prey. So after all of this, my advice is the following. Be selective of the people that you look up to, idolize, and trust in the first place. In other words, ask yourself a few questions. Do you admire their wealth and lifestyle? Maybe you aspire to be successful in the areas of business that they are.
04:45
Is it because they’re in great shape and a celebrity or a quote unquote influencer? Or is it a combination of all these things and more? More importantly, ask yourself, what is it that you admire in these individuals? Then examine what adversity you need to overcome in yourself to develop those attributes for you. Your after action items for the next 30 days from this lesson. Number one, remember they aren’t heroes, they’re people just like you and I. They’ve been working harder and longer at it than you have.
05:15
In fact, you can likely accomplish as much as they have in a fraction of the time with the information and tools available at your fingertips today and this in previous episodes of the Acta Non Verba podcast. I go through and give a lot of case studies and direct action items to do that. Number two, remember that by putting somebody on a pedestal, you’re actually doing so to give yourself an out and to let yourself off the hook.
05:38
For example, when you see a person that you idolize doing something incredible and you put them on a pedestal, you say, well, yeah, of course it’s easy for them, but I’m not like them at all. Again, that’s bullshit. Listen, it’s difficult for everyone, not just you, it is difficult for everyone to stay focused and disciplined enough to create something from nothing, regardless of what their past success has been, which also means that if they can do it, so can you. And if they have a podcast, a book, a product or event,
06:07
Chances are they can give you the blueprint to find your own success just like they did. But number three, lastly, again, remember, action cures all. It’s up to you to do the work. They can give you the path, but only you can walk it. It’s about actions and not words. Acta Non Verba. Thus endeth the lesson.
