Who are your heroes?

What a treat it was to see Agnès Varda featured as Google's doodle recently. Who, you may ask?

Varda is one of my heroes. As such, she inspires me to do my best work. Every. Single. Day.

I wrote about her in The Leader's Journey, Chapter 3: Activate Your Superpowers. I want to share a version of what I wrote with you today.

But first, what are leadership superpowers? I define them as a combination of strengths, skills, values, and things you love to do—all things that empower you to show up and make a difference.

When you use your superpowers, you are super-powerful.

When you do not, you are ineffective, cranky, or downright depressed.

It's fairly straightforward.

But it's hard to remember to do when things get tough.

When that happens, I recommend to look to your heroes as a quick reminder.

I was happy to have the reminder to do so, myself, yesterday.

Varda was a filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave film movement in the mid-1960s. She was a trailblazer in an industry that didn’t (and still doesn’t) have many women filmmakers. Through her narrative and documentary films, she saw the beauty in the everyday world around her, and uncovered things lurking beneath the surface and presented them to the world—encouraging people to look at things differently and think about things differently with an uncanny combination of reverence, lightness, and humor.

Those are superpowers I used as a documentary filmmaker many moons ago and especially use today as a coach to brilliant, high-achieving founders, CEOs, and fledgling executives who, like me, often lose their footing, lose their power, and need an extra boost to get back to making a difference.

It’s my job to see things that people cannot see. And it's my duty to share what I see, whether it be in a coaching session, book, newsletter, or essay.

When I do that, I inspire people to think and work differently. As much as I hate to write (seriously!) and struggle to share what I see (no joke!), I’m at my best and most powerful when I use my superpowers.

And so are you.

Which is a big part of why I do what I do (lots more on finding your purpose in Part III: Mission).

I’ve gotten out of many a pickle—and the occasional existential struggle—by letting my heroes remind me of my superpowers.

And so can you.

Next time you get stuck, ask yourself: who is one of your heroes? What do they teach you about how you a) do, b) can, and c) want to show up and make a difference?

Go forth. Be super.

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A version of this originally appeared in my newsletter. Subscribe now.