A man is a hero, not because he is braver than anyone else, but because he is brave for ten minutes longer.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
About This Quote

The phrase, "A man is a hero, not because he is braver than anyone else, but because he is brave for ten minutes longer.” was first published in the March 30, 1936 edition of the Chicago Tribune by sports writer Grantland Rice. The idea is that heroes are those who are brave for ten additional minutes than their counterparts. The idea of ten additional minutes was inspired by the legend of Ferdinand Magellan, who supposedly sailed around the entire world in 1519-1522 after his ship broke down. If this legend is true, then it would mean that Magellan spent an extra six months on his journey because he spent time repairing the ship.

The idea behind this saying is that people are not heroes because they are braver than anyone else. But, they are heroes because they are braver for an additional ten minutes. Additionally, during World War II, this saying also applied to American pilots.

The Americans were able to fly airplanes for an additional ten minutes after their colleagues crashed or were shot down during combat situations.

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  1. Love, and you shall be loved.
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  4. Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
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