A Time for Heroes
By LuAn Mitchell, guest columnist for regular columnist Julie Chrystyn

A man risked his life by swimming through the treacherous riptide to save a youngster being swept out to sea.

After the child recovered from the harrowing experience, he said to the man, "Thank you for saving my life."

The man looked into the little boy's eyes and said, "That's okay, kid. Just make sure your life was worth saving."

-Author Unknown

LuAn Mitchell, bestselling author and international personality, has several heroes.

LuAn with one of her heroes, Mark Victor Hansen.

It seems we only award the title of "hero" to a person who acts selflessly to save another from physical danger but heroes save lives in so many other ways. Real heroes – not the kind that wear costumes, leap tall buildings in a single bound or drive hero-mobiles – have the super power of touching lives to change them for the better. And that's a pretty amazing feat.

As you pursue goals in life, heroes serve as an example of who you want to be. They inspire you to dream bigger, reach higher and achieve great things in this life. Through their experiences, failures and successes, you learn so much about achieving your own dreams. They offer advice and encouragement on your journey to help keep you focused on the goal.

Who inspires you?

One of my great heroes is my good friend, Mark Victor Hansen of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and One Minute Millionaire. Not only is he brilliant, he helps others realize their potential to achieve everything they want in life.

You might be wondering why you should take advice from someone who looks like he's never had a bad day in this lifetime. What you may not know is that Mark only rose up because he had hit rock bottom.

After finishing graduate school, Mark became Vice-president of Dome East Corporation, a New York construction company that built widely popular geodesic domes. Mark and his company were putting buildings up all over the city and earning big money.

But in 1973, tension between the United States and the Middle East caused the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to put an oil embargo on the US, making supplies of polyvinyl chloride – the major building supply in geodesic domes – scarce. It wasn't long before Mark, who had personally guaranteed his company's loans, went bankrupt.

He lived in his car, before sleeping in the hallway of a friend's apartment. There, he looked at his future with doubt. Did he even have a future?

It was then he found a tape he had been given in college but had never bothered to listen to. It was called Are you the Cause or the Effect? by Cavett Robert. Mark did listen – over and over again, and he began thinking about what he wanted to do with his life.

He decided he wanted to help others – show them hope – by sharing his experiences. He sought out Cavett Robert and started a career as a motivational speaker with Robert's National Speaker Association.

He later started Mark Victor Hansen and Associates, and made a good name for himself as he traveled North America making presentations to major corporations. Mark met Jack Canfield on the speaker circuit and the two became fast friends. At breakfast one morning, Jack told Mark about a book he was working on that was a compilation of short, inspirational stories. Mark jumped on board and soon Chicken Soup for the Soul was born.

Great, you're thinking. So he gets a lucky break and hits the jackpot.

Not exactly.

Despite its success – the series has sold over 82 million copies – the first edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul nearly didn't see the light of day. Thirty-two publishers told Mark and Jack that the book would flop because short stories don't sell. Even their agent fired them. Another 134 publishers at Book Expo America told them to take a hike. Finally, Health Communications, Inc. agreed to give them a shot if they bought 20,000 copies of their own book at $6 each.

After promoting the hell out of the book, a year and a half later they hit number one on the bestseller list. The rest, as they say, is history.

Mark, through his experiences, has taught me so much about gritty determination and believing in a dream…and yourself. When I was searching out a publisher for my best-selling book Paper Doll, I certainly wasn't accepted immediately either! Fortunately, it's never been in my nature to just give up. I remember thinking, If Mark Victor Hansen can be turned down by 166 publishers and still get published, I can too!

Even today, he continues to inspire me. I've had the honour of sharing a stage with him, and I've seen how he motivates and truly touches others. It's something that I aspired to do and today, I'm living that dream. I see so much of Mark's spirit in me and I hope to always carry that forward in this life.

In a recent article in Scarlett magazine, Kym Yancey said about his wife, "But to me, she's the true embodiment of chicken soup for the soul."

He was referring to Sandra Yancey, co-founder and CEO of the eWomenNetwork, a community that links thousands of businesswomen across North America. The pair founded the company with the simple premise that women and men communicate differently in doing business. Let's use this to promote women networking.

Since its conception in 2000, the eWomenNetwork has grown to 85 chapters in Canada and the United States with a database of more than 400,000 businesswomen and executives. The White House has named the company one of the top 21 "organizations of choice."

That's no surprise when you look at its co-founder. Sandra, who holds a master's degree in Organization Development, is the author of a best-selling program that details the ins and outs of building a strong network. She also hosts the "eWomenNetwork Radio Show" that showcases successful women.

I had the honour of keynoting at an eWomenNetwork's Accelerated Networking Event in Canada, and I was so amazed at what Sandra has built. Hundreds of top executives made themselves available to answer questions and offer advice to women interested in joining.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to see women achieve great things in business, and in life. Sandra is a hero to me for creating an organization that makes it happen for thousands of women out there. The best part is she uses the best resources to do so – other women!

And to the bravest hero of all ­–Julie Chrystyn – thank you. Only you would be courageous enough to lend me the space of your column! You have always been a good friend and an example to others.

I have and had have so many heroes in my life, and I know that as time moves forward I will adopt new ones to shine their light on my journey's path. Heroes come and go in our lives but the lessons they teach stay with us forever. It's our responsibility to use that wisdom to make something of our lives.

If you were stuck in a riptide, would your life be worth saving?

This article appeared in newspapers of the London Newspaper Group, including issues of the Westminster Independent, Kensington and Chelsea Independent, City of London and Docklands Independent, Notting Hill and Bayswater Independent, Hammersmith and Fulham Independent, Ealing and Park Royal Independent, and Hampstead Independent.