They say you should never meet your heroes but what if you know them already? Very often we as a society are guilty of putting people up on a pedestal and calling them a hero because they can sing, or throw a baseball, are these people really our heroes? I discovered this a couple of years ago after reading about the amazing lawyer David Serna, at the time David had a news piece about how he had accepted all of these pro-bono cases to help out the poorest in society whilst still maintaining his cases as a corporate lawyer and it blew me away. I suddenly realized that these are the heroes which we should be looking at in our lives. 

This year has tested us all a great deal, and there have been some who have become true heroes, not rock stars or authors, everyday people. 

The Healthcare Workers

Healthcare workers are truly incredible and we are not just talking about doctors and nurses but also medical staff, cleaning staff, janitors and even the receptionists in hospitals. In the wake of a deadly virus and with little protective equipment, working long hours and having to be cut off from their family and friends, these men and women around the world have suited up every day and done the most incredible job. We have lost some of these men and women as a result of their courage, that is why they are most certainly heroes. 

Jack Ma

During this year we have also seen the very best and worst of some of our wealthiest men and women. Some of those CEOs have sought to take advantage of government funding to pay staff at the worst possible time, may they be remembered for their selfishness. Thankfully however we have also seen amazing gestures and Jack Ma is a perfect example of this. Ma has used his fortune and his influence to provide over 18 million masks which have been sent around the globe, as well as donating thousands to testing, arranging the delivery of 1,000 ventilators to New York state, 3 million test kits around the world and thousands more ventilators to over 100 nations. Ma is not alone and others such as Bill Gates have done similar acts, heroes each and every one. 

Grocery Store Workers

You would never have pegged someone working in a grocery store as much of a hero unless of course they committed a single heroic act, yet this pandemic has shown those people for who they really are. Considered essential workers because of our obvious need to eat during lockdown, these men and women have continued to work hard in a job which many probably dislike, because they understood the need for people to survive during lockdown. We have heard so many stories of store workers delivering goods to elderly on their free time or working extra hours where possible to cope with the influx. 

There are many more who have proven themselves as heroes during the events of 2020 and the reality is that e should begin to look away from the millionaires with a talent, and begin instead to recognize those of us who are brave and heroic in other ways.