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Heroes are made, not born, says author Christoper McDougall

When Chris McDougall went looking for heroes, he headed to the home of mythology's greatest and heard the story of the people of Crete during the Second World War, embracing their inner Zeus with Herculean results. Today we look into the habits and attitudes of 'Natural Born Heroes'
CBC Radio ·
It was home to heroes in the time of Hercules and Zeus, as well as in the era of Hitler, and World War II. Our project 'By Design' visits the island of Crete for its secrets into the minting of heroes. (chrismcdougall.com)
Crete is the only place where the resistance began while the Germans were still coming down. Everybody -- I'm talking about monks, kids, women... Everybody is pouring into the streets, this spontaneous revolt.- Chris McDougall

In May of 1941, Crete seemed all but lost. But that wasn't quite the end of the story.

Soon after that assault, a small group of resistance fighters on the island started making life difficult for the Nazi invaders. The resistance fighters were, in a word, "heroic." Which, given the history of the Island of Crete, with its heroes stretching back to the days of Zeus and Hercules, might not come as much of a surprise.

Chris McDougall believes he knows how to make a hero out of you. (John Loomis)

According to Christopher McDougall, that history is no accident. And it contains plenty of lessons about how to design a hero and how to make sure you always have them on hand when you need them.

Christopher McDougall's new book is "Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance." He joined us in our Toronto studio as part of our on-going project, By Design.
 


 

This segment was produced by The Current's Howard Goldenthal.

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