What makes a role model?

Font size:

Some say all public figures are role models.
Others say that it is parents that are the only true role models.
I say that we are all role models.  The definition of a role model: A person who serves as an example, whose behavior is emulated by others.  Tell me then if you were the CEO of a company and wanted your employees to act a certain way, wouldn't it mean by definition you should emulate a behavior that serves as an example to them?  Or do you think it means you are the boss and you can do whatever it is you want? That’s the “do as I say not as I do” approach. Role models come in all shapes, sizes, job titles, and expertise.  The true example of being a role model is not just holding others to a higher standard, but, more importantly, holding ourselves to a higher standard.  The mark we leave on this world long after we're gone is not measured by money or worldly possessions; it is measured by the examples we leave behind for others to follow.

Whether you are a 15-year-old high school baseball player or a 64-year-old worker at the post office, you have an obligation to be a role model to the people you come into contact with every day.  Whether you believe it or not, you make someone's day better or worse far more often than any of these athletes and musicians we hold in such high regard.  Making the decision to be a role model is only as hard as we make it.  I am not here to say you need to be on the evening news doing something huge. That’s not it at all.  Being a role model is so much more than that. It’s doing something that no one knows about but you. It means taking the time to help someone, taking extra time to explain something to someone and taking the time to show someone you care.  Those examples will be measured far more than anything else in life.

David F Muraco is a certified life coach, motivator and radio talk show host who lives in Oneida. In 2004 he founded "In the Zone", a business dedicated to helping people reach their goals.  To contact David, email him at davemuraco@in-the-zone.biz or visit his website at http://In-the-zone.biz