Why the World Needs Superheroes {more than ever}

This year Marvel will close out a story told across 22 movies with Avengers End Game. Game of Thrones will have a series finale. Star Wars will officially end it's 42 year saga.

The age of mythical superheroes is coming to a close. I mean, sure, they will always live on in our hearts, minds, DVD stacks and Netflix movie-night picks but the heroes we've put on pedestals will face their final battles.

Epically ironic, when the world, it feels, needs a superhero more now than ever before. I can't be the only one feeling this, right?

It must be time for heroism in the real world. Our storytelling training is complete!

Christchurch mosque shootings. Sri Lanka bombings. #MeToo and #TimesUp. Trump. Ford. Volcano eruptions, tsunamis, fires, droughts. Devastation. The world, my dear ones, is in crisis and upheaval. We need a Superhero.

What if I told you... you ARE the Superhero the world needs right now?

How many of you just shrunk back and stepped away? How many of you laughed in derision over the very thought?

How many of you scooched forward in your seat and said "yes, and?" to your screen? I'm with you. I know the world needs superheroes. They represent good triumphing over evil. They represent the ordinary doing the extraordinary with powers given to them.

Who's saying that's not you?

I certainly didn't.

I believe that each one of us ordinary humans has a gift... an extraordinary gift that we get to bring to light and share with the world to change it for the better. It could be a creative idea. It could be an artistic endeavour. A scientific discovery. A solution to debt. It could be as simple as compassion, empathy and kindness. We ALL have a gift. A superhero gift. We just may not have identified it in that particular way... yet.

If there's one thing we can learn from our Superheroes on the big screen and comic books it's this... they were ordinary once too. Until some extraordinary circumstance fundamentally changed them and they got uncomfortable being comfortable any longer.

Batman created his abilities with financial resources. Spiderman was bit by a radioactive spider. Both saved people. Both used their talents and skills both given and earned to make a difference in the lives of others and their community. Where would Gotham be without Batman?

Where would Toronto be... without you? Or New Zealand? Or Thailand? Or Hawaii? Wherever you are, you have the power to be the change.

The world needs more Superheros. Here are my tips for tapping into your own Superhero and changing the world... because it's in you:

1. Discover Your Passion. What drives you? Is it art or science? Is it a cause or injustice you cannot tolerate? What literally fires you up so hard you would speak about it endlessly without stopping. That is the magic ingredient.
2. Create a mission statement the lights you up brighter than the bat signal. What's your mission? What vision of this world do you have that's so strong you cannot stop until you see it through? Remember, both Villians and Superheroes have vision. What separates them and allows one to "win" over the other? The strength of their conviction and the courage to act upon it.
3. Find your tribe. Who is your tribe? If you were the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with - who are you? What are you about? Are you raising the consciousness or living in lack? Surround yourself with people who, like you, know it's time to step up and take action.
4. A goal is just an idea without a plan. Make a plan. There are steps to making your mission and your vision a reality. What's it going to take? Who do you have to enroll in your vision?
5. Engage your tribe. No man (or woman) is an island. Even Superheroes need support. Batman had Robin. You need a Robin (or about 10,000+ of them). How can you open up the ideas, inspire people and have them join your mission of change?

In a world full of 'average citizens' find your Clark Kent and phonebox. Sport your very own version of Wonder Woman - magic lasso or penning change.

Step Up. Now is the time. The world needs YOU more than ever.