The Icons in our Life
Building Bridges next movie club event is coming up, and I really wanted to give the members and friends the choice to provide suggestions and think about the icons in their life.
Icons, what does that even mean for us now that we have grown up and are not children anymore who idolized the firemen or cops from New York City, who are, of course, the unsung heroes.
As grownups, we experience in the professional world quite often those so-called leaders. They believe that they are cool and admired even if they aren’t. I remember managing directors who were surrounded by staff members telling them how great and amazing they were while hoping for promotions for themselves.
But then when we see them in their wide suits and plain ties standing out of shape in front of the audience, we sometimes cannot help asking ourselves what makes them that special apart from their salaries. And are they are really making a difference to other people’s lives? I concluded that they aren’t.
When I am thinking about icons, then I am thinking about people who have achieved something, and I am thinking about inspiration and having done something to help others without having expected anything in return. But what do all those somethings mean?
Building Bridges came up with different choices for our movie club event. I believe that everyone with a sense for fashion has at one point in their life heard about Coco Chanel, who grew up in an orphanage and managed to build a fashion house that still carries her name. Coco Chanel inspired many creative fashion designers to follow their dreams instead of the call from Wall Street and the hunger for big bucks.
Rocky Balboa was a working-class and poor Italian American from the slums of Philadelphia and overcame the obstacles that had occurred in his life and in his career as a professional boxer. Rocky Balboa gave an entire generation hope that it is possible to fulfill your dream as long as we believe in ourselves and fight for the right reasons.
John Smith was a teenager from St. Louis who slipped through an icy lake on January 19, 2015, and was underwater for 15 minutes before resuscitative efforts were started. John’ family relied on their faith to get through the ordeal. Against all the odds, John made a full recovery and decided to help others later and give back to the community.
Another inspiring story is the one of the chef Carl Casper, who leaves his job in a high-profile restaurant behind and starts a food truck business, which really enables him to reconnect not just with his creativity but also with his family, friends, and community. He realizes what he was missing in all those years and finally becomes a much happier person.
And then we have Brittany, who reminds us that we need to find the control in our lives sometimes. When Brittany, whose body is out of shape and life is out of control, one day decides that she wants to run the marathon, it really helps her to change and improve so many parts of her life. She finds that new confidence, discipline, and ambition that she had been lacking before.
I think what makes those people heroes is their ability to inspire others. And quite often we need to find that inspiration not after we were handled the silver spoon but rather when we find ourselves in difficult situations with circumstances not being very promising. And again, the people who inspire us in those moments are not the ones who think about themselves but the ones who can help us driving that change.
I remember reading about the US actor Dack Rambo in the early 1990s. Dack had been working on several TV shows in his career and was well known from Dallas, Models Inc., and All My Children. When he was diagnosed with AIDS, he decided to retire from acting and get involved with fundraising and advocacy work, which gave HIV and AIDS a face. He was such an inspiration that I would take part in the AIDS Walk in New York for 15 consecutive years while I was living in the Big Apple.
I think when it comes to icons, we sometimes need to ask ourselves what we can do to inspire others without taking ourselves too seriously. When I decided to become a writer and a lecturer at college, I didn’t do it because of the money. Unless writers have their bestsellers and lecturers become really established in their area of expertise there won’t be big money anyway.
But I also experienced that when readers come up to me and stated that my books or articles changed their perspectives on things and made them think about certain topics, then an author cannot ask for more recognition. And I remember how proud I felt when one of my former students came to my table at the mensa and thanked me for the good lectures since other professors didn’t put the same enthusiasm and energy into their work.
All those things don’t make us icons or heroes, and that’s alright. Gandhi is quite often associated with the quote “You must make a small change because no one else will do it,” which encourages others to take responsibility for their actions and contribute to a better world through their own efforts.
We don’t need to start a fashion empire or win the boxing world championship. We also don’t need to become those managing directors who have no time for either regular gym workouts or their families and children.
Quite often the small things in life make people special and are the reasons why others think about them with a smile on their faces.
Please drop me a line if you are interested in joining our movie club event at 2pm NYC time on Sunday, April 26th, 2026.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Dirk Luis