Although comic book, TV, and movie superheroes are larger-than-life legends with powers beyond the norm, they’re not just childhood fodder they’re inspirations to harness the superhero within each of us. In our life, career, and as a society, many have become comfortable with the norm and content with complacency. We shrug our shoulders and accept that we cant have it all, and much too easily move on with our mundane, ordinary, and often unfulfilling existence. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you think like a superhero, anything is possible.

Everyone has the potential to become a superhero in their own right. Like the fictional crime-fighters we all know and love, reaching superhero status takes courage, determination, and above all, the will and desire to use the powers and skills you’ve been given. Each of the extraordinary characters in the superhero genre face their own demons when it comes to using, accepting, or harnessing their own strengths. And none of them are without flaws or weaknesses. Their stories are only interesting and inspirational because our beloved superheroes triumph despite their shortcomings.

Superman may be the man of steel, but he is rendered powerless by kryptonite. Batman is uber-wealthy, super-intelligent, and beyond dedicated to his superhero quest, but he is, after all, only human. His mortality and his many idiosyncrasies are weaknesses that his nemesis readily use against him. Would we still admire, revere, and want to emulate superheroes if they were gods without flaws? If they never had to overcome the potential for failure? If power is absolute and guaranteed, what’s so super about that?

As kids, we put on our capes and dreamed of being able to fly. As adults, we still want to wear those capes but now our perspective has changed into a more realistic vision of flying. Now, we want to be the superheroes not of the universe, but of our own lives. We want to soar and excel in our careers and in our goals and dreams. And we can do it, as long as we don’t succumb to the fears of the kryptonite that can stop us.

Here are a few tips on how to harness the superhero within:

• Never give up; even when the odds aren’t in your favor
• Understand your weaknesses, but focus on your strengths
• Refuse to let your enemies get the best of you
• Work towards a greater good, acting with integrity and honor
• Use, and don’t suppress, the talents, powers, and skills you’ve been given
• Wear a mask of humility, never seeking praise for your achievements
• Be the hero you were meant to be (Spiderman doesn’t try to be The Hulk)

If you want to WOW, as a leader or a person, harness the potential within yourself to be the superhero you know you can be.

–Sheri Staak