Listen To What Heroes Marketing Consultant Jason Potash Says When He Answers the Heroes Question “Who are the HEROES in your life now?”
Jason Potash: That’s a very good question. I mean, again, depending on people you look up to who are leaders in the community, obviously, even people in the church who you look to; they are heroes for different reasons. They are not the most successful people in a business sense.
Obviously, they are balanced people and want to give back to society. They want to do good to others. They believe in a spirit of sharing, giving, openness, trying to do good, and contribute to society. Those are heroes that I think a lot of us have.
In the business world, a lot of those things can blend. People like Dave Thomas, may he rest in peace, the founder of Wendy’s. I read his autobiography several years ago when I was in the restaurant business. He was a hero of mine earlier in life, especially when I was involved in the restaurant business because obviously, he’d been down the same road I’d been down and I could relate to him.
There is a man, again extremely driven, persistent, had basically been selling Colonel Sander’s chicken recipe off the back of a pick up truck to restaurants, and he had been rock bottom and obviously bounced his way back in the restaurant business.
Here is a man who is always grounded spiritually, always kept his faith, always gave thanks and then moving forwards obviously, achieved great success in business. In the community he was a respected leader. He was an orphan as well and developed a Dave Thomas foundation and was always generously giving back to charities. On the speaking circuit, he delivered free speeches to other organizations or other social groups.
To me he was just really a hero, a role model that we can all follow, a person who had achieved all the elements of success. Take a scorecard in life and what defines a hero, what defines success? I think Dave Thomas has come pretty darn close to checking off all these elements.
You look at the matrix of areas, from business and financial success, giving back to society, donating to charities, having faith, a leader in the community, being a good father as well as a husband, all of those elements, the man has accomplished it, and I think that is something I look for in terms of any hero that I see, is somebody that I want to aspire to be like. I think he’s a great role model in that respect.