Narrator: In 1963, an eight-year-old American boy stood on the streets of New York City, craning his neck, searching the skies. He had just moved from France, where his world was filled with the comic book adventures of Superman. To him, New York was Metropolis, and he was certain he would spot his hero soaring between the skyscrapers. His father, an Air Force officer, noticed his son’s constant, hopeful searching. When the boy confessed he was looking for Superman, his father didn’t dismiss the fantasy. Instead, he pointed to a police officer on the corner and said, "Son, that’s the man that protects New York City." In that moment, the boy had an epiphany: the real heroes weren't fictional beings from other planets. They were ordinary people who chose to do extraordinary things.

That boy was William H. McRaven, who would go on to become a four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy. In his book, The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived, McRaven argues that the virtues that define heroism are not rare gifts, but a code that anyone can learn and live by. He dismantles the myth of the born hero and offers a practical guide to cultivating the character that makes a life of courage, purpose, and honor possible.

Narrator: McRaven posits that courage is the bedrock of all other virtues. Without it, integrity, compassion, and sacrifice remain mere intentions. He illustrates this not with tales of his own bravery, but with the story of Lieutenant Ashley White. In 2011, the military needed female soldiers to engage with Afghan women, a role that was crucial for intelligence gathering but placed them directly in combat. White, a member of a Cultural Support Team, volunteered. She was, as a teammate described her, "not afraid to be feminine and a warrior at the same time." On a mission in Kandahar, she and two Army Rangers stepped on a pressure plate mine. The explosion killed the Rangers instantly and fatally wounded White. Her courage wasn't the absence of fear; it was the willingness to step forward into danger for a cause greater than herself. McRaven argues that this kind of courage—the choice to take one step forward when confronted with fear—is the first rule of the Hero Code.

However, courage without humility can curdle into arrogance. The balancing virtue is humility, which McRaven defines as a respect for what one does not know. He learned this lesson not on the battlefield, but at a dinner party. Seated next to a kind, unassuming older gentleman named Charlie, McRaven spent the evening talking about his own career. He only learned later that "Charlie" was Charles Duke, the youngest man to walk on the moon. Duke’s profound humility, his genuine interest in others over his own monumental achievements, left a lasting impression. For McRaven, true humility comes from recognizing our place in a universe far vaster than ourselves. It is this perspective that prevents heroes from becoming self-important and allows them to connect with the humanity they serve.

Narrator: The path of a hero is paved with sacrifice and duty. McRaven makes a clear distinction between the two. Sacrifice is often a conscious, selfless act of giving, while duty is the steadfast fulfillment of responsibility. He tells the story of Private First Class Ralph Johnson, a Marine serving in Vietnam in 1968. During a brutal assault on his reconnaissance team's position, an enemy grenade landed in the foxhole he shared with two other Marines. Without hesitation, Johnson yelled a warning and threw his body on the explosive, absorbing the blast and saving the lives of his comrades. His was the ultimate sacrifice, an act of love for the men he served with.

But heroism isn't always found in such dramatic, life-ending moments. More often, it is found in the quiet, daily execution of duty. McRaven recounts an experience in Afghanistan when he, then a three-star admiral, was rushing to brief President Obama. His convoy was stopped at a gate by a young airman who refused to let them pass without proper authorization. Despite the immense pressure from the admiral’s staff, the airman held her ground, calmly stating, "I was just doing my duty, sir." She understood her responsibility was not to the rank of the person in front of her, but to the security of the base and the president. McRaven later returned to commend her, recognizing that her unwavering commitment to her small, seemingly insignificant task was the very essence of duty. Heroes understand that every task, no matter how small, must be accomplished as if it were great and noble.

Narrator: Integrity is the internal compass that ensures a hero’s actions are aligned with their principles. McRaven argues it is the supreme quality of leadership, because without it, trust is impossible. He learned this lesson as a young officer in the Pentagon from his boss, Captain Grabowsky, whose "Golden Rule" was simple: "You must never lie or misrepresent the truth. If you do... no one will trust you, and without trust, none of our work can get done." This principle is powerfully illustrated by the historical example of John Adams. After the Boston Massacre in 1770, Adams, a patriot, made the deeply unpopular decision to defend the British soldiers who had fired on the colonists. He knew it could destroy his career, but he believed that even his enemies deserved a fair trial. His integrity—his commitment to justice over public opinion—helped establish the moral foundation of the American legal system.

If integrity is the internal guide, compassion is its external expression. It is the force that binds humanity together. McRaven saw this vividly in the mid-2000s at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. During a high-level strategy conference, the generals were interrupted by an unexpected visitor: the actor Gary Sinise. He wasn't there for a photo-op. He had personally purchased ten pallets of school supplies for Afghan children and needed a C-130 transport plane to deliver them. In a room hardened by the realities of war, Sinise’s simple, powerful act of kindness shifted the atmosphere, reminding everyone of the hope that lies beyond conflict. This, McRaven asserts, is the work of a hero: to be kind and compassionate, expecting nothing in return, and in doing so, strengthening the fabric of society.

Narrator: Talent and intellect are valuable, but they are useless without the will to endure. McRaven highlights perseverance as the engine of heroism, a quality embodied by Dr. Jim Allison. After losing his mother to cancer, Allison dedicated his life to finding a cure. His idea—to unleash the body's own immune system to fight cancer—was dismissed by the scientific community for years. He faced constant rejection and funding shortages, but he refused to give up. For fifteen years, he persevered. The result was a revolutionary immunotherapy drug that has saved hundreds of thousands of lives and earned him the Nobel Prize. His story proves that success is often a function of stubborn, relentless effort in the face of failure.

This relentless drive must be fueled by hope. Hope, McRaven writes, is the most powerful force in the universe. He shares the story of the Son Tay raid during the Vietnam War, a daring but ultimately "failed" mission to rescue American POWs. The rescue team arrived to find the camp empty. Yet, when news of the raid spread through the prison network, it had a profound effect. The POWs, who felt abandoned and forgotten, were electrified. The knowledge that their country was willing to risk everything to save them gave them the hope they needed to endure. One POW later said, "The Raiders gave us hope, and from that day on we knew we could endure whatever trials came our way." Hope is the belief that tomorrow can be better, and a hero's duty is to inspire it in others.

Narrator: In the darkest of times, two virtues provide light and liberation: humor and forgiveness. Within the SEAL Teams, humor is a critical tool for building camaraderie, maintaining humility, and deflecting pain. It’s a shield that allows warriors to cope with failure and trauma. McRaven notes that even Abraham Lincoln, who bore the immense weight of the Civil War, was known for his constant use of humor to soften blows and bolster morale. Humor is a sign of resilience, a declaration that even in the face of hardship, one’s spirit is not broken.

The final, and perhaps most difficult, virtue is forgiveness. McRaven recounts the most challenging moment of his career, when his soldiers in Afghanistan accidentally killed the innocent children of an Afghan man during a raid. Consumed by guilt, McRaven went to the village to apologize and ask for forgiveness. The father, through his son, granted it, saying, "We will not keep anything in our heart against you." McRaven realized that forgiveness is not an act of weakness, but an attribute of the strong. It is a gift that liberates both the receiver and, more importantly, the giver from the corrosive weight of hatred and anger.

Narrator: The central message of The Hero Code is that heroism is not a title bestowed upon a select few, but a set of ten virtues that can be consciously cultivated by anyone. It is a learned experience, built through small, consistent acts of courage, humility, sacrifice, integrity, compassion, perseverance, duty, hope, humor, and forgiveness. These are not impossible ideals, but practical choices we can make every day.

Admiral McRaven’s ultimate challenge is a profound one. He reminds us that there is no Man of Steel coming to save the world. The responsibility falls to us. The question he leaves is not if we can be heroes, but if we will choose to be. Will we learn the code, live the code, and become the heroes the world needs us to be?