A Genuine Class Act

He's not a hero on the silver screen. Nor is he a sports hero with a 6-figure contract.

He's just a regular Joe, doing a job that he is passionate about, and doing that job really well. In Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's case, that job is flying passenger jets for US Airways.

Yes, Sully is just a regular Joe doing his job, and he's also a hero as evidenced by his dramatic saving of US Airways Flight 1549, on January 15th, when he landed his craft in the Hudson River after striking a flock of birds, and saving the lives of all 155 on board.

It wasn't just luck that enabled Sully to save the lives of all those people, it was also his extensive training and his passionate commitment to the people he served by doing a job well done.

Some say that Sully was a "pilot's pilot." That may very well be the case.

Not only was he a damn great pilot, Sully was also an air accident investigator. In addition, he was pursuing additional training in the psychology behind keeping a crew functioning in an air crisis.

And above all that, he was a caring and compassionate human being who met with his passengers to assure that they were alright. He even gave one passenger a $20 bill out of his own wallet after she lost hers when the plane went down.

All these qualities led to Sully being a hero.

And the point of this blog is that all of us can be heroes just like Sully. All we have to do is follow his example:

• be passionate about your job,
• learn all that you can about the different facets of your work and integrate them into your performance,
• strive for excellence, not perfection,
• and have a deep honor, respect, and compassion for the people you serve.

Sully was a genuine class act. You can be one, too.

While not most of us can attain the quasi-mythic heroic status of a TV/film celebrity, a major league ball player, or even a great politician like John F. Kennedy, we can all be heroes in our own lives by following the formula used by Sully.

Our own brand of heroism may not make the front page in the dramatic way that Sully's did, but it will make a positive impact in the lives of the people we meet and interact with.

We all have the capability of being a hero.

And with the more heroes we have amongst us, the world becomes a much better place.