See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The John Schneider Story.
Life Lesson #86 – Notice the Big Picture.
It was a new year and a new school for Sam, and it looked like it might be a pretty good year. But after a couple of weeks, the tormenters came out. Rather than seeing how friendly Sam was and how smart he was; rather than recognizing some of the amazing talents he had, they only noticed that he was overweight, and they started teasing him about that.
Then one day, when he had an armful of books, they tripped him in the hallway. Another day, at lunch time, they spit pizza in his face and all over his shirt. Yet another time, they turned out the lights in the boys’ bathroom, and one of them hit him really hard. Sam never saw which one did it. Hurting and bleeding, he made his way to the school nurse.
Then the principal saw him. “Who did this,” she asked? Sam didn’t know—just one of the four boys who had been giving him a hard time for weeks now. Reluctantly, he gave her their names.
Well, Mrs. Morris, the principal called in the one she knew would be the leader. She knew that every group like that has one leader, and the rest are merely mindless followers. She talked with him—a lot. She talked about HEROES HELPING, not hurting, and she explained how being a HERO would also HELP him to have a wonderful future.
Mrs. Morris knew the boy was smart enough to be a leader, but time would tell if he was smart enough to become a leader of HEROES or just continue on the path that he has chosen to this point in his life. It took a few days, but eventually it became clear that he HAD chosen to lead HEROES, and he first started by HELPING others instead of hurting them. He even told Sam he was sorry and began reaching out to be his friend.
– Jim Lord