Are You Your Own Superhero?
When I started out as a producer, I was constantly looking for what I didn’t have.
I entered the business with a thick Massachusetts accent. My dad worked in a factory, and all my friends were blue-collar guys. Suddenly, I found myself in a world full of Ivy Leaguers who were worldly and sophisticated. They laughed at references I didn’t understand — jokes about characters from novels I’d never read.
At the time, I was working as a production assistant. The executive producer of the show was the most charismatic person I had ever met. He was British, and he could make anything sound amazing. One time, I was pitching an idea I had spent weeks developing, and in the middle of it he interrupted to say, “I think I’ll have a turkey sandwich for lunch.”
Suddenly, everyone in the room perked up. They’d barely listened to my pitch, but his turkey sandwich announcement? Applause-worthy. That’s how magnetic he was.
Later, he walked in one day and said, “I sold a show called When Twins Go Bad.” I asked what it was about. He said, “That’s what I have you for. Now, where’s my turkey sandwich?”
He could literally sell a show based on the title alone.
I remember thinking: I’ll never be that guy. Maybe I’m not cut out for this.
The co-executive producer was the ultimate smooth operator. He flirted with the host. Gave her massages before the show. It worked for him. But for me? I’m pretty sure I would’ve been arrested and escorted off the premises.
I thought, Well, I can’t do that either. So… now what?
I kept working and creating. Taking meetings. Getting better. Getting sharper. All while working alongside James Bond and Casanova.
Then one day, as I was rising up the ranks, the executive producer pulled me aside. He said,
“Your gift is that this staff respects you. They will do anything for you.”
It hit me.
My superpower wasn’t a British accent or flirtation skills.
My superpower was me.
It was my sense of humor.
It was how deeply I cared about the team.
It was how I made people feel seen, safe, and human — even in high-pressure situations.
I wasn’t the loudest voice in the room, but I made sure the voices around me mattered.
And guess what? That’s how I became an executive producer. Not by copying someone else’s powers — but by owning mine.
So often in life, we look at the people who have what we want and assume the only way to get it is to be them.
But that was their road to success.
You can pave your own.
By all means, have role models. Learn from those who’ve come before you. But remember:
You have gifts they don’t have.
And they have gifts that aren't meant to be yours.
When you try to play to someone else’s strengths, you stop developing your own. That’s a losing game.
Shaquille O’Neal is a Hall of Famer. So is Kobe Bryant.
Did they train hard? Yes.
Did they have grit? Of course.
But their blueprints were entirely different.
There are many roads to success.
The shortest one? The road you’re meant to be on — powered by the resources you already have.
Want to Discover Your Superpower? Start Here:
Audit Your Edge – What do people thank you for the most? What comes naturally to you that others struggle with? That’s often your hidden strength.
Stop Performing, Start Showing Up – The more real you are, the more valuable you become.
Trust the “Uncool” Stuff – Humor. Kindness. Clarity. Heart. The things you think are small? That’s where your impact lives.
If You’re Reading This:
Stop comparing your journey to someone else’s highlight reel.
You don’t need to become them.
You need to become more of you.
That’s your edge.
That’s your fuel.
That’s your superhero origin story.
