"Part 7: Craig Garber's In Search Of Heroes Interview" by Ralph Zuranski
Ralph Zuranski: How do people become heroes? From your definition.
Craig Garber: Giving hope to others. You introduce hope into other peoples lives, and sometimes, you know where I grew up it was hard to be a hero.
You’ve got to attract those people to you, you can’t go and seek them out because, looking at marketing, you’re talking to an audience that’s not interested. The people who want hope, you’ve got to put that out there and let people come to you, because it’s hard to find people who have hope in those areas.
Ralph Zuranski: You know I’ve been on the internet for the past three years, taking photos of all the seminars, of all the speakers doing their power points, and just to see what kind of people they are and to see who would help out the heroes program. I’m finding out who has followed through with their promises. How does it feel to be recognized on the internet as a hero, because you’re following through in a big way?
Craig Garber: Well, I’m flattered, I really appreciate it. The good thing is, I don’t know what it’s going to do for my life. That’s the beauty of life, and I’m ready for the adventure, I’m ready to find out. Then contribute what I can, and something will come out of it in some way, shape, or form.
Ralph Zuranski: Why do you think you were selected for this unique honor?
Craig Garber: I was thinking about that Ralph:, I met you and we talked real briefly, I would suspect either we had good chemistry, or you saw something in me, or I my voice, or the way I held open the door for somebody, or something in my body language that said “hey I think this is somebody that I might want to get with to help me with this good cause”. I don’t know, why was I selected Ralph?
Ralph Zuranski: You were selected because you volunteered to help, you heard what the program was, to recognize moms and dads, and the people that don’t get the recognition that they deserve, and the impact that they make on the lives of their kids and other people in the community, just by offering, and following through, and that was the reason why I gave you this unique honor, you are a person that follows through, you are a person with integrity, and you do respond to my e-mails, you wanted to give your best on this interview, and you want to do it even when you’re tired, you are a person that should be recognized as a hero, you do love your family, you do love your kids.
You work hard for your family, you take care of your body. That’s the example that I would like to hold up as a role model for young people. You are actually making the world a better place.
Craig Garber: Well I don’t blush too easily but I’m blushing now, and I really appreciate all those things you said. I’m just doing my thing you know, doing what I can to make this little world a better place.
Ralph Zuranski: Well, I know that you’ve been through a lot in your life, and I know that you’re from the projects, and there is always problems facing society. How do you have or do you have any ideas on how to get rid of the problems in the society?
Craig Garber: Okay, well I probably have some thoughts on that, but they’re going to be hard to do.
Number 1, people have got to start taking responsibility for their own actions. It’s so easy to write sales copy, you know, “it’s not your fault”. It’s kind of a funny drop back amongst copywriters. “It’s not your fault”, but it is your fault, it is 100% your fault man.
The sooner you take responsibility, the sooner your life’s going to become better, in everything. “It’s not my fault that I have a low paying job, it’s not my fault that I’m late paying my bills.” So, the first thing, is taking responsibility.
The second thing to deal with some of those problems, child abuse, racism, is just be open-minded a little bit. Understand that not everybody’s going to agree with you. You don’t have to agree with anybody, you don’t even have to like anybody, but you know what? There would be so much less stress in the world and so much less stress in your life if we accepted everybody.
I don’t like all my neighbors, they probably don’t like me, in fact I know they don’t like me. I don’t sit there and obsess about it, hey people are different, you know that’s the way it is, you’re going to disagree with people in your own household sometimes. Just accept that everybody’s got a different opinion and that’s okay. You don’t all have to agree. I you could do those two things, if people can be open-minded, except that things are different, not judge them, and then just take some responsibility, I think you’d eliminate almost all those problems.
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, I agree, that’s one of my dreams of the heroes program, once it starts going to every community that the kids would realize that, that reading the blogs, from other kids in other communities that they have an open mind and are able to allow new information, and accept that and ponder it, and try to believe that they are good, but may not have the same perspective on life as they do.
Craig Garber: Yeah, see why is it, kids are a perfect example. Kids, you tell a kid hey man would you like to interact with this kid over in England, or this kid in Japan, or Vietnam, or Denmark and kids are like yeah, what’s going on, what’s their world like?
Why is it that adults are like, screw that, I just want to stay in my little corner, or my little block, my neighborhood, or my street, or myself in my house?
Kids are definitely more open and into accepting things, so if we can implement your program, to the kids, that’s where we’ve got to get it. You got to get them open, because they are open minded, they are very open minded, and wide-eyed with anticipation of what the world has top give them, and it’s just... Why do people beat kids? They beat them because they had a rough day, and they can’t handle it, and they don’t know how to deal with the energy.
They’re miserable, and, “It’s not my fault that it happened”, but it is, just fix the freaking problem.