The Hero archetype exerts mastery to improve the world. It’s a crusader, a warrior, a rescuer. The Hero is courageous and tough in overcoming obstacles and persisting through difficult times. I’m glad that I saved the Hero archetype for Father’s Day month, as I can’t think of a more archetypal American hero to celebrate right now than Muhammad Ali.
Unlike most Heroes who are masterful on one dimension (e.g., politics, religion, medicine, business or sports), Ali was a multi-dimensional Hero. Afterall, what other Hero can say they were any 2 of the following, much less all 10?
- a Boxing hero
- an Olympic hero
- an Anti-War hero
- a Servant Leadership hero
- a Religious hero
- a Disease-Fighting hero
- a Civil Rights hero
- a Humanitarian hero
- a Communication hero
- an All-Round American hero
Ali was famous for all the above plus his beauty, charm and banter. He has left us with a mountain of quotes that, on closer inspection, further characterise some special qualities of the most powerful of Hero archetypes:
- Perspective. “A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
- Determination. “Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.”
- Confidence. “I’m not conceited, I’m just convinced. I’m so modest, I can admit my own faults and my only fault is I don’t realize how great I really am.”
- Persuasiveness. “I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.”
- Generosity. “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
- Game-Changer. “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
- Integrity. “It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”
- Principled. “Stand up for God, fight for God, work for God and do the right thing, and go the right way, things will end up in your corner.”
- Faith. “It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.”
- Conviction. “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it—then I can achieve it.”
Ali, The Hero, represented the powerful defining force of America to the rest of the world. To some, Ali may have been mouthy, but he had the substance to back up his words. As we look to elect our next U.S. President, let’s avoid unfounded flippancy and ensure we choose someone with genuine Hero-like qualities. The continued strength of Brand America on the world stage is counting on it.
