We entered the building and stood in a spectator’s area as the swim team was working out. The coach, later identified as George Haines, was running up and down the pool side yelling over the other noises, “Come on, you can do it. You can go faster. You can make this happen….” And on he went coaxing, challenging, pushing, and demanding the excellence needed to win.
On the next Saturday, after the swim meet they were preparing for ended, those swimmers were crying and hugging their coach as they were being awarded metals for their placement in the meet, but more, for setting new league records, state records and yes, world records.
Heroes do not just happen, they are made. They are made by efforts that exceed the expectations of the norm and who go beyond the efforts of the many. They are all around us, in athletics, in our armed forces, on police departments, fire departments, in pulpits, in corporate offices…, yes, they are everywhere.
These are the people who set the bar, create the standard and go beyond the rest. They do so because of some driving internal force that motivates them to greater degrees of education, greater feats of strength, more courageous actions and motivations beyond what is expected of the rest of us.
They save lives, set records, do exploits and exhibit courage and effort that is unexpected and beyond the norm. They take risks, they put forth greater effort and are seen as above and beyond the rest of humanity.
Sometimes we praise them. Most of the time we admire them. But occasionally other resent them because they are rewarded with greater honor and financial rewards than others. Sometimes people want the rewards of the hero without the sacrifices they made to be the heroes they are. Sometimes, the successful are denigrated for taking more than their fair share of the glory, of the finances – of the pie.
And this is the seed bed of Socialism – to want what others have without paying the sacrifice they paid to get it. There is no such thing as taking more than your fair share of the pie, for the pies of life are not finite or limited. You can bake more pies and enjoy the fruit of your labor if you are willing to become focused, motivated and disciplined in your life’s work.