The Oscars just introduced Big Hero 6, a collection of some pretty awesome little superheros (and one very big one). I’m sure we all wanted to be a superhero in our childhood. In fact, who am I kidding? Many of us still wish for superpower as adults. But as Uncle Ben told Spider-man:

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

Whether you’re the CEO of a company, leader of your department or just starting  your career you hold great power in the palm of your hands. We all do and that’s the beauty of the world we live in. We have incredible resources within our reach to make phenomenal changes in the world. Whether it’s changing the course of businesses, making a difference in a cause you believe in or impacting the lives of people you work with, you have the power to impact your own personal growth and others as well.

So, learn from the superheroes who have been created by the most awesome creative minds of our times. Each one has powers which are unique to their personalities. And I’m not talking about superpowers – I’m talking about human power which each of us can harness to make a difference today.

Superman

Superman is perhaps the most popular superhero in all of history. What makes him so great – all his superpowers? Well obviously. Who wouldn’t want super strength, xray powers and the ability to fly. But what makes him such an awesome person? Integrity? Yes. But then again, all superheros have that. The true power which makes him stand out from the rest of the superheros is empathy.

Lesson 1: Being sensitive to the needs to others will guide you to making the right decision for everyone involved.

Spider-man

You know what comes to mind when I think of Spider-man? How he seems like he’s having fun when he’s swinging between buildings. No matter what the size of the bad guy he’s fighting he seems to be having so much fun doing it. Of course that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get the job done, he always does. But at the end of the day he manages to hang on to who he is at the core and doesn’t lose himself to his alter ego. For work this translates to something really simple:

Lesson 2: Don’t take yourself too seriously, it makes it easier to complete the job and keeps you happy at the then of the day.

Batman

He’s the opposite of Spider-man in my books. Talk about tunnel vision! Ever wonder why he doesn’t seem to have any fun? It’s because he hasn’t learned anything from Spider-man. That said….you simply cannot criticize his investigative capabilities. If someone’s going to examine a problem from all 360 angles and then investigate each solution absolutely and entirely, that’s batman. So even though you wish the lesson to take away here was to drive to work in the Batmobile, it’s not.

Lesson 3: Examine every situation in front of you as thoroughly as possible to come up with the best solutions.

The Hulk

You’re didn’t think you were going to read this and not come across The Hulk and the importance of anger management now did you? After all, who doesn’t want to just walk into a meeting and Thunderclap everyone into submission every now and then? But there’s reason the Hulk (supposedly) doesn’t exist in real life: and that’s because it takes a calm head, reasonable thinking and debating to solve problems.

Lesson 4: Don’t react to situations when you’re angry – make decisions only when you have a clear head.

Wolverine

Ok, so at first glance one may think that Wolverine is just selfish. All his decisions seem to be rash and made in anger (he hasn’t learned anything from the Hulk). But there’s one thing you can’t fault him for and that’s his resilience. It seems like no challenge is big enough for him and he’ll make it to the end of absolutely any situation. Sure that’s mostly thanks to his Adamantium skeleton but he’s got an attitude to go with it.

Lesson 5: No matter what the challenge is, take it head on and believe you are invincible.

5 superheros, each with a lesson to teach. Think you’re powerful enough to wield each of them? Or will you pick one at a time to weave into your daily lives? Not sure how best to tackle personal growth? Subscribe to the blog and I’ll keep sending you lessons from places you probably didn’t think possible.

photo credit: super-hero-party-jeffrey-55 via photopin (license)