It Doesn’t Take a Hero
In this book titled “It Doesn’t Take a Hero” (H. Norman Schwarzkopf), General H. Norman Schwarzkopf reveals his remarkable life and career. He begins his autobiography by describing his childhood and how he eventually became a leader in the U.S. Army. This type of autobiography demonstrates how a leader is developed and what is needed in order to succeed in a career as well as how to lead a life by following a motto instated by his past leaders and followers. The autobiography goes through some background and detailed first hand experiences that makes a leader think twice of why he in the situation he is in. With the prestige of having good traits, comes triumph and success. There are sacrifices that come with the leading role and one must improvise, adapt, and overcome these situations. Situations that only come with the experience of becoming a well founded leader. “It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”(Schwarzkopf, 1992)
At a very early age his father was a well known and respected leader of the armed forces and the New Jersey police department. His father taught him values and how to conduct himself while growing up, and made him aware that in his absence he was the man of the house. He knew that if he made the wrong move or did a mistake, he would have to answer to his father. He handed him responsibility and he knew that it was a big obligation to fulfill. He was very honored and overwhelmed, but he knew that his father was counting on him to hold down the fort. There were times when curiosity got the best of him and just like any young boy he tried new things to see what would occur. He would receive old medals from his fathe...
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...a leader and through thick and thin regardless of the outcome a well founded leader will find ways to overcome even the worst of battles and come on top. This is a perfect example of great leadership. General Schwarzkopf stated “I shall always remain confident of the American’s people’s ability to rise to any challenge.” These famous words give us inspiration and makes us believe in ourselves, regardless of what type of path we decide to take, make the best of it, everyone’s role matters to someone down the line, so make the best choices and always come back stronger from downfalls. This is the best approach to take, because we all learn from mistakes.
Refrences:
Schwarzkopf, H. N. (1992). The Autobiography. It Doesn’t Take a Hero.
New York: A Bantam Book
United States Military Academy West Point. Retrieved February 21, 2008 from http://www.usma.edu/about.asp
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