Hero

When I was a freshman in college, I was on the basketball team. The fellow who played ahead of me fouled out. The coach signaled and called my name to take his place. I was terrified. The game was tied and the clock was about to run out.

The ball came off our offensive basket, and I tipped it in. We won the game. My teammates mobbed me. A photographer took a picture of it, and it made the front page of the local paper the next morning. I was a hero.

But I didn’t do anything. The real hero was the fellow who fouled out. He was the one who had kept us in the game all night.

When the world treats you like a hero, don’t forget you could not have achieved it without the efforts of others.