We all have heroes. People we look up to. People who inspire us. People we aspire to be like.

Parents, actors, writers, politicians, scientists, entrepreneurs. Each of us has our own list. We look up to them because we see something in them, something we prize and wish to emulate.

But sometimes our heroes fall short. They mess up. They show themselves to be less than we thought. They fall from the pedestal on which we placed them.

We no longer think of them as our hero.

Wait.

Don’t dismiss them. Don’t demote them right away.

No one is perfect. Everyone is flawed. People are made up of different parts. Different characteristics in different areas of their lives.

Your hero doesn’t need to be perfect to inspire you. They just need to set the bar in one area. They can be your hero in that one thing.

Take that thing and study it. Take the good and leave the bad.

Take the parts you like and build your own hero.