King woman celebrates ‘Heroic Humans’ in our midst

January 24, 2018 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons

We all have the power to be “heroes.”
Making a difference, and celebrating everyone’s inner hero is what Heroic Humans is all about.
Created by King’s Dana Clark, Heroic Humans is a social impact movement that provides a gathering space for inspiration, celebration and empowerment.
The online forum encourages everyone to play a part in celebrating the good versus the bad and share authentic stories, people, passions and inspirations. Heroic Humans is a space that seeks to foster acceptance and inclusion in a world wedded to judgmental social norms and constructs. It is a place that refuses to marginalize and exclude people. It is a place where we can thrive as our truest and most powerful selves.
The spark was lit for Clark when she was at a workplace meeting. She was asked about her passions and talents she brings to the world.
“I was here to be a ‘Heroic Human.’ It’s something I just came up with on the spot. I had no other words to describe what place I wanted to hold on this planet. I said well, ‘I guess I’m here to be a good daughter, a good sister, a good partner, a good granddaughter, a good friend, and I want to, in any capacity, show up for someone every single day of my life. I want to make a difference and I want to be a Heroic Human,” she said.
The term kept resonating with her and she felt she had to do something with this.
She then registered the domain, and proceeded to start to build on the idea.
“That was the birth of Heroic Humans, and the most transformational moment in my life.”
Clark explained that the beauty of Heroic Humans is we are all “Heroic Humans.” It’s all about raw-humanity.
“The mission is to really get people to celebrate one another. It’s about noticing the good in others, and bringing out kindness and support to those around you and your community. I truly believe that with connection, community and support – anything is possible. Whether you’re a cancer survivor, a great barista, or an up-and-coming entrepreneur, I believe your community should know about you and those around you should encourage and support you. We don’t acknowledge each other enough. So it’s a space I’ve created to be able to do that and to celebrate that.”
Clark wants to get everyone engaged and involved. She began with her family, friends and co-workers and it began to grow. With the impact of social media, you can broaden your reach and have access to people and places you’d never been able to otherwise.
“This way, no mater who you are, or where you are, Heroic Humans is a space where you will be welcomed, you will be respected, and you will be not only acknowledged, but also celebrated.
“When you acknowledge someone in the simplest ways, even as simple as saying: ‘Hey, you matter here, and you really make a difference,’ it engages people in ways that we’re not used to. We should tell one another about the impact they have on our lives, because really, what do we have to lose?”
And people are listening. The response, Clark said, has been incredible.
“The amount of support you can get without directly going out and asking for it is downright life changing. I always say to myself, if something ever happened to me, or to the world, and Heroic Humans ended tomorrow – I would feel so fulfilled. It means so much to me and that’s truly what makes Heroic Humans possible. If you believe in others, believe in yourself, and believe in humanity, you believe in Heroic Humans.”
Ultimately, she’d like to see Heroic Humans spread and evolve. She’d love to one day host conferences all across the world, with people from every walk of life coming together to inspire others, celebrate others.
In the meantime, she’s starting to lay the foundation for some workshops in different cities around this area.
“I have launched a clothing line and it’s also a goal to make myself known to the corporate world and to hopefully attract some corporate/business partnerships.
She’s also in the process of bringing on a series of different ambassadors, from all different communities, with the hopes to inspire and reach as many people as possible.
“I knew I couldn’t do this alone, and decided to enrol some of the people I am personally inspired by, and who stand as influential and courageous members of their communities. It’s so important to me to energize and include people from all walks of life. I recently brought on two LGBTQ+ ambassadors, and an environmental ambassador.”
Even change-makers can learn a thing or two.
Clark admitted she’s learned that all people really want is to be seen, heard, and loved.
“I really do appreciate humanity more than ever. If you just ask for help, most of the time someone will help you. If you just smile at someone, most of the time they’ll smile back. If you treat someone with kindness, they’ll probably treat you with kindness back.”
And it’s as simple as being curious and aware.
“Ask the difficult questions. I’ve learned I’ve got nothing to lose by simply trying to dig a little deeper.”
In order to bring heroic people to light and to surface their amazing stories, it forces Clark to get in contact with people from all over the place.
“From Louisville, Kentucky, to Iceland, to PEI, it’s a lot of fun coming into contact with people I would’ve never met otherwise. The thing that keeps me motivated is seeing how people want to celebrate one another. There’s a section on my website that allows people to write in to me and to tell me about their Heroic Human, and I’ll later feature them on either the website or various social media handles, and it makes me believe, more then anything, that there is good in the world, and that all we really have to rely on is each other.”
Heroism comes in all forms. Whether it’s someone who lights you up, inspires you or others, or pours your favorite cup of coffee; everyone has their own story to tell and a life to change.
Help Clark uncover even more Heroic Humans. Visit www.heroichumans.com or contact her at dana.clark@heroichumans.com. Check them out on Facebook and Instagram, @theheroichumans