Do you love BNHA and are interested in self-improvement? Then these 9 success tips from My Hero Academia are for you.
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1. Resourcefulness trumps talent and makes up for disadvantages
If you are resourceful, you can succeed under any circumstances.
It doesn’t matter how much talent others have; if you utilize the tools and people around you more efficiently, you will do better than them.
Midoriya is resourceful and can analyze any situation in mere moments and find the things others overlook.
Think about how he saved Bakugo from suffocating simply by throwing his backpack at the sludge monster while all the other heroes stood by waiting.
Also, remember his quick thinking at the USJ when getting off the boat and on the minefield at the sports festival.
People with much more useful quirks did so much worse in these situations simply because they lacked the resourcefulness to apply themselves properly.
Improve your resourcefulness by always searching for alternative methods besides the most obvious ones.
2. Don’t be a one-trick show pony
Eraserhead said it best when he told the students that a good hero couldn’t be a one-trick show pony.
This is a sentiment that can be applied to any career.
Sure, you might get lucky and have the one skill that is very valued at the moment. However, the market and its demands always change.
You won’t survive by being competent in just one topic.
You must continuously improve and learn more, or you’ll be left behind.
3. When you’re scared to most, that’s when you have to smile and push ahead
Tough times build strong people. When everyone else despairs and gives up, the top 1% work harder and are more determined than ever.
That’s also what makes All Might and Deku so great. No matter the obstacle, they charge ahead with a smile and determination in their heart.
So the next time you feel like giving up because things get hard, you should get excited. After all, you are on the brink of a decisive moment in your life that will determine whether you belong to the top 1%.
Choose carefully!
4. Don’t let other people’s small-mindedness stop you from going after your goals
The world of BNHA is full of discrimination and small-mindedness. Quirkless people and people with a “weak” or “villainous” quirk often have to fight extra hard to make their hero dreams come true.
But because other people lack the imagination, resourcefulness, and determination to make it work doesn’t mean it is impossible for you.
Just because All Might would have never become a hero without One For All doesn’t mean Izuku couldn’t have found a way to succeed quirkless.
5. Make sure to actually pursue your goals instead of only dreaming about them
While quirkless people can become heroes, they have to train extra hard to compensate for their lack of quirk.
Unfortunately, that is the very thing Izuku didn’t do.
Sure, he has been analyzing for a decade, a useful skill to have as a hero. Yet, unless he wants a desk job, he will also require physical fighting skills.
All his hero dreams would have been for naught, as we saw during the entrance exam, had he not gained One For All.
His lack of fighting skills left him virtually useless during the exam.
It shows that no matter how much you dream of your goal, you will never reach it unless you put real work into it. And not just any work but work that will give you the fundamental skills you need.
6. You will be able to help others the best by taking care of yourself first
Midoriya is nothing short of self-sacrificial, even more so than All Might.
Both must often realize that their injured state keeps them from helping others to the best of their capabilities.
It’s just like the airplane safety regulations always teach us: Put on your own oxygen mask first and only then help others.
This can mean making sacrifices in the short term but being assured that it will pay back tenfold in the long term.
Another BNHA example is Oboro Shirakumo, whose heroic actions saved a group of children but cost him his life.
Had he instead saved himself, he might have been able to save hundreds of lives throughout his career.
Not an easy decision to make, but definitely one worth considering.
In the real world, this can translate to doing your own homework before helping others, paying for your own needs and wants before donating to others, and writing more articles for your own Blog than others.
7. If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together
Bakugo has a hard time working with others because he does NOT WANT to work with others.
He is impatient and thinks he can do all the important things alone.
This mindset served him reasonably well for a long time.
However, sooner or later, there will come a time when you can’t go further by your capabilities. You will need help from others.
Getting that help will be difficult, though, if you have alienated all potential allies by pushing them away.
It might take longer, but it will serve you well to build helpful connections early on in life so that if you need them (which you will eventually), they will be there for you.
8. People feel connected to a strong WHY, so define yours
Compare Shigaraki and the Hero Killer. Both kill heroes, but only one of them garners a mass of fans. Why? What differentiates them?
As Midoriya so sharply analyzed, it comes down to ideology.
Shigaraki destroys just out of hate and to create chaos.
The Hero Killer acts out of a sense of justice and wants to reform the Hero society by getting rid of those he deems unworthy.
People can sympathize with the Hero Killer’s reasons. They understand what it means to be disappointed by shallow Heros. They understand the desire for more heroes like All Might.
And just because they feel connected to the WHY, these people tolerate the highly questionable methods to reach these goals.
It shows just what a powerful weapon a strong WHY can be, the stronger and more relatable your WHY, the less opposition you will find.
9. Public opinion does matter
Of course, you shouldn’t become a people pleaser to reach success.
However, an ‘I don’t care what others think of me-attitude can potentially hinder you severely.
Look at Endeavor and Kanchan. Competent as they might be when using their quirk for fighting, they simply don’t care about the interests and feelings of those they are saving.
They seem to think that the raw number of saved civilians determines who is the #1 hero.
However, society is made of humans with feelings and biases, not machines.
We will always feel more drawn to people that appeal to us personally, even though they might not be the best if you look at the numbers.
Whether you want to succeed in your 9-to-5 career or in your own business, you should consider other people’s opinions to some degree, or else you’ll never reach your full potential.
These were 9 success tips that I learned from My Hero Academia. Of course, there are many more golden nuggets to find in the show.
What is one lesson you have learned from Deku & Co.? We’d love to hear from you.
Until next time, Felicity Seeker!
