Listen To What Heroes Copywriter Joe Vitale and "The Secret" Movie Star Says When He Answers the Heroes Question "Who are the HEROES in your life now?"
Joe Vitale: There have probably been dozens of them.
One name that comes to mind is Bob Bly. He is an author and a copy writer out of New Jersey who mentored me without fee, without obligation, and without asking anything in return when I was first starting out.
That was back in the Houston days when I wanted to be an author and he was coming out with a lot of books. Presently he’s written 50 books. He had a dozen or more books at that point.
This was before the internet, of course. I would write him snail-mail letters and ask questions. He always answered them. He gave of himself totally, freely.
Today we’re friends; today we’re colleagues; today we’re peers. In fact, when he wanted to go on the internet, he came to me and asked for advice. This was so comical just because I was able to give back to one of my heroes.
I finally met him one time when he came to Houston and I came to hear him. I told him it was like meeting one of my super heroes because Bob Bly had so influenced me. He was one of the heroes and still is in my life.
Paul Hartunian is another one. Paul Hartunian is the guy who sold the Brooklyn Bridge. He is a publicity expert and a fan of P.T. Barnum. He sat down with me 12 or more years ago, again, back in Houston. I was starting to come up for air and publishing books and doing fairly well.
He spent a three-and-a-half hour dinner with me in Houston. He was giving a speech and he invited me to come over after he was done. I met with him, we went out to eat and I spent three-and-a-half hours with him and all he did was give.
He gave of himself; he gave information; he gave advice; he told me what I should be doing; he told me what I needed to change. I took pages of notes and I implemented almost everything the next day.
Paul Hartunian gave and we’re friends today. I’m going to see him actually next week. I don’t see him very often, but I do see him from time to time. So he’s another one who has greatly helped me.
There’s a whole long list of them, and many who are heroes to me are long gone, people whom I’ve never met.
Bruce Barton, whom I wrote about, is one. Another one is P.T. Barnum, the great showman, the great circus promoter. I so think he is a hero in my life that he is like a spirit guide for me.
He’s somebody looking over my shoulder all the time. I wrote a book about him entitled There’s a Customer Born Every Minute. I went to his grave site; I went to his home; I went to his old stomping grounds, and I did research on him. I feel very much akin to that man. I haven’t met him, but he is still one of my heroes.
So I greatly believe in having heroes. They help pull the best out of you. They help inspire you to go forward. This is one of the million-dollar tips that people don’t talk about very much, but having heroes is one of the ways to dramatically change your life.