Ralph Zuranski: He has wowed audience from one side of the planet to the other and has basically been on the stage with some of the most important people. Kevin, how are you doing today?
Kevin Hurley: Ralph, I’m doing fine. How are you?
Ralph Zuranski: I’m doing well. Would you be able to tell us a little bit about your career and what you do?
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely. I’ve been in show business and entertaining, making people happy since I was ten years old. I started out as a magician and a slight of hand artist and an illusionist. Then eventually I moved over to hypnosis.
Kevin Hurley: I’ve been so fortunate to train with some of the best hypnotists around the world. I really believe in doing my own material so I took what I learned and developed a 90-minute stage show that’s taken me all over the world.
Ralph Zuranski: That’s really amazing. One of my friends, Robert Channing, who is the world’s foremost mind reader, I did a Heroes interview on Robert. He was how I was able to get connected with you.
Ralph Zuranski: I was just amazed at just how incredible you are and how you can transform people’s lives in such a short period of time just by working with their mind. How do you do the hypnosis thing?
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know, hypnosis is based on a psychological principle called suggestion. Basically, we’re walking around – you, Ralph, myself, everybody listening to us is walking around with the most powerful computer in the world inside of them right now.
Kevin Hurley: Scientists are always arguing that we use somewhere from 7% to 14% of our brain. So that’s all that we’re tapping into right now. Everybody feels they’re exercising in hypnosis. We could use a little bit more.
Kevin Hurley: It’s called pyramiding. Somebody goes into hypnosis by progression, by listening to my suggestions, by trusting me and they just go deeper and deeper. I do a combination of things.
Kevin Hurley: Obviously, I make people all over the world happy by watching the stage show. It’s a comedy stage show. I come out. I do some stand up comedy. I get some people out of the audience, 15 to 20, sometimes 30, and 40 depending on the size of the stage. I hypnotize them and I make them do extraordinary things.
Kevin Hurley: They’re happy after the show because I just made them the stars of the evening. They’re going to be so popular in their communities, the talk of the town for weeks to come. I made the audience happy because I made them forget about their problems for 90 minutes. All they were worried about was what outrageous thing is going to happen next.
Kevin Hurley: I did that for a while. Then I found something else out. People kept asking me afterwards, “Kevin, can you help me stop smoking? Can you help me lose weight? I am so stressed out. I’m afraid of flying. I grind my teeth. I bite my nails,” and so on and so on.
Kevin Hurley: I kept a notebook of all these requests from all over North America and all over the world. Now we’re actually developing products, audios, CDs and entire programs of self-help to utilize the hypnosis, to use progressive relaxation in the comfort of your own home and accomplish these goals while you’re completely relaxed or sleeping.
Ralph Zuranski: Well, you know, that’s pretty amazing. I know that you’ve met a lot of really important people and a lot of individuals that others would consider as heroes. What is your definition of heroism?
Kevin Hurley: My definition of heroism is on so many levels. But, you know, I don’t think you have to be in the Wall Street Journal or make headlines to be a hero. A hero is somebody that claps their hands when their feet hit the floor out of the bed in the morning; they just want to make a difference.
Kevin Hurley: An old wise hippie told me the definition of an intellectual is somebody that gets up and thirsts for knowledge every day. I just think a hero is somebody that can go out in their community and make a difference. I don’t think it should be measured by money and publicity. It’s about, obviously, how many lives you can touch.
Ralph Zuranski: Did you ever create a secret hero in your mind that helped you deal with life’s difficulties?
Kevin Hurley: A secret hero in my mind? You know, to be honest with you. I have an extreme schedule. I perform over 300 stage shows a year all over the country. So you can imagine.
Ralph Zuranski: Wow.
Kevin Hurley: I’m in busses. I’m in cars. I’m in airplanes. I’m meeting different people, constantly traveling. It’s stressful. It’s tough to manage a family life with a really strong career.
Kevin Hurley: Here’s just a funny little thing. One of my heroes is Rocky from Sylvester Stallone movies. Any time I can’t get out of bed, I always think of Burgess Meredith when he’s down on the mat with Rocky. He says, “Rocky, get up you son of a bitch because Mickey loves ya.” So there’s just a little hero.
Ralph Zuranski: So what are the qualities and attributes of that particular heroic character that you think are beneficial for others to emulate?
Kevin Hurley: Well, I think anybody can be a leader or a hero when the going is easy. When everybody is going with you, when there’s no turmoil, hey, that’s easy to lead. The ultimate captain, the ultimate hero, the ultimate leader is somebody that can lead through diversity or when things are going wrong.
Kevin Hurley: When it gets intense, that’s when I think about it. You’ve got to finish it to the end. Really, what I found is anything worthwhile is worth working at hard. Something amazing is it going to be accomplished in a day or a week or a lot of times even in a year.
Kevin Hurley: I really feel like what I’m doing with the hypnosis and the entertaining and stuff, I’ll never finish it. It’s going to be a lifelong quest.
Ralph Zuranski: What is your perspective on goodness, ethics and moral behavior?
Kevin Hurley: Gosh. Again, with all the traveling and working and coming in contact with so many people, you really have to have a keen sense. That’s what I look for most when I do business with somebody. Or, even have a personal relationship with somebody. It’s of the utmost importance.
Kevin Hurley: There’s so many people out there that I could deal with. I’m going for somebody that I trust implicitly.
Ralph Zuranski: What principles are you willing to sacrifice your life for?
Kevin Hurley: What principles am I willing to sacrifice my life for? Obviously, freedom is an important thing. I think that’s why I’m a United States citizen. I love this country. I wouldn’t live anywhere else at any other time. The ability to enterprise.
Kevin Hurley: I took something that I love; I picked something that everybody made fun of me for. Nobody thought I could do it and become one of the best at it. That’s my favorite thing about America.
Ralph Zuranski: What was the lowest point in your life and how did you change your life path to win a victory over all obstacles?
Kevin Hurley: The lowest point in my life would probably be about six or seven years ago when I really decided to focus on this full time. It’s an incredible challenge to build a business or to build anything up from the ground.
Kevin Hurley: Obviously, financial burdens are a difficulty for many people. That would encompass, just having the faith, just thinking of the Rocky movies and to keep going and to keep going. There’s going to be light at the end of the tunnel. That would be my best advice. If you believe in something, lock onto it and don’t let go.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have a dream or vision that sets the course of your life?
Kevin Hurley: Yeah, greatness, really, just to touch as many people as I can. I’ve been saying through this interview and I just did one for College Power Performance Radio, it’s just touching people individually.
Kevin Hurley: It means so much to me when somebody comes up and says, “Thank you. Thank you for helping my son or daughter, they were obese and you brought them up on stage and you made them a star of the show. They weren’t popular for two years in the school. Now they’re the talk of the town. Thank you for helping me lose 50 pounds. I was a slave to cigarettes for 25 years. I listened to your CD for a month. I was able to throw them down.”
Kevin Hurley: I think the thank you’s is what I’m going for.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you take a positive vision and positive view of setbacks, misfortunes and mistakes?
Kevin Hurley: Yeah. It’s funny, especially doing what I do, hypnosis. It’s really cutting edge. We’re still learning stuff. It’s still not exactly mainstream. I really believe it’s going to become that.
Kevin Hurley: I just heard this guy Don Motten say, he put out a program that I was just learning some techniques from. He said, “Boy. If I put out a program on techniques that didn’t work, there would be 500 DVDs.”
Ralph Zuranski: That’s true.
Kevin Hurley: I think it’s like the Edison thing, creating the light bulb. Actually, I used to get frustrated constantly at the beginning of my career when something wouldn’t work, something wouldn’t work. Now to tell you the truth Ralph, I get excited by it because that just means that you’re one step closer to the right answer.
Ralph Zuranski: Are you an optimist?
Kevin Hurley: I try to be. I’m a realist though, too. I like to look at things always positively, but you know, let’s face it. You’ve got to deal with reality and sometimes things how they are. You can’t always have what you want but you can get as close to it as possible.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have the courage to pursue new ideas?
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely.
Ralph Zuranski: Why are you willing to experience discomfort in the pursuit of your dream?
Kevin Hurley: I guess that comes down to faith. The reason I’m a performer, the reason I travel and make people happy and help them and hypnotize them is because I can’t see myself doing anything else, really. Sometimes I feel like it’s almost a calling, not in a religious aspect but I was meant to do what I do. I believe in that. There’s just no other option. It’s either this or nothing.
Ralph Zuranski: How important was it to believe in your dreams that they’d eventually become reality?
Kevin Hurley: It’s very important. What people have to understand is in today’s society it’s very competitive and a lot of people will either believe that they’re encouraging your success. Then all of a sudden you become successful, you’re going to experience jealousy.
Kevin Hurley: That really roots out who your real fans and your friends and family and the real believers in you and who is not. Again, believing in what you’re doing is, for me, 100%. Then everything else will just fall in place. You’ve got to be willing to put the time into it. You’ve got to understand that it just doesn’t happen overnight.
Ralph Zuranski: Everybody has doubts and fears. How were you able to overcome your doubts and fears?
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know. I actually utilize hypnosis. I have a fear of flying. I have to fly from 100 to 200 times a year. I’m really tall and it’s crampy. I have sensitive ears. I use progressive relaxation to do that which is something on my audio CDs that I teach people how to do.
Kevin Hurley: I just use a lot of meditation and a lot of belief. It’s a natural instinct to be afraid of something. It seems to me that a lot of people are afraid of things that they just don’t understand. A lot of people are afraid of hypnosis. A lot of people even think that hypnosis is in some sense, mind control or demonic.
Kevin Hurley: Then after they see the show and they see how powerful and how positive it is, it completely changes their mind. I think it’s just important for people to be educated on what they’re making an opinion about.
Ralph Zuranski: Who helped to give you the willpower to change things in your life for the better?
Kevin Hurley: Strong faith and a strong community for sure. I grew up in the city of Pittsburg in a small neighborhood. I was raised Irish Catholic in an Italian neighborhood with a really strong sense of community and honor and discipline. I guess it all stems from that.
Ralph Zuranski: How important is it to forgive those who upset, offend and oppose you?
Kevin Hurley: You know that would be a tough position for me Ralph, to sit here and pass judgment. Every scenario is different. There have been some people that have done things that are completely out of line. Again, you asked the question earlier about how important ethics and morals are for somebody I work with – 100%.
Kevin Hurley: But as far as forgiveness goes, I don’t hate anybody or anything. In fact, I’ve found the anger and hatred towards anybody is just a useless emotion. It really ties up your mind, your body, your spirit. Forgiving is one thing. Forgetting, I guess it depends on what happens.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you experience service to others as a source of joy?
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely. Absolutely. I do a lot of charity work for animal friends, some high school organizations and actually I’m a board member of something called DECA, Distributive Education Clubs of America. It’s something I was in as a student. I really think it gave me the confidence in the business world because you know, I’m in show business.
Kevin Hurley: There’s the show which I’m really good at and then there’s the business. I’m a little bit business savvy, but I have a lot of agents and representation that help me. This organization, DECA, is all about training young kids to become the next business leaders for the future, almost like FBLA.
Kevin Hurley: I give a lot of my time and efforts to that because it’s something I believe in the next generation being schooled on the way it should be.
Ralph Zuranski: What place does the power of prayer have in your life?
Kevin Hurley: The power of prayer? It’s important. It’s important to constantly search within myself for the power and the wisdom and others to continue.
Ralph Zuranski: How important is it to maintain a sense of humor in the face of serious problems?
Kevin Hurley: Again, people have coined me as America’s Funniest Hypnotist. Obviously, I have a huge sense of humor. In fact, that’s one of my ways I deal with things. To be honest with you, sometimes that offends people. But that’s the way that I cope with things, with humor. If that’s your personality, it makes it a lot easier.
Ralph Zuranski: Who are the heroes in your life?
Kevin Hurley: My mother would definitely be one. Here’s a lady that’s lived in the same community her whole life and just really believes in the system, really believes in America, really believes in the community and doesn’t want anything other than her health to get up and go to work. She works for a bank downtown. She’s there every day. That would be a hero.
Kevin Hurley: Let’s see. David Copperfield, who is a famous illusionist, is a hero of mine because he’s pushed the envelope harder than anybody. This guy has been in show business for 25 years. He still does 500 shows a year. So what does that say to me? That says it’s not all about the money. It’s about love and passion and making people happy.
Kevin Hurley: I’ve received a lot of help on the way up from people like Zig Ziggler and Tony Robbins.
Ralph Zuranski: How did they make a positive difference in your life?
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know each one in a different way. Obviously entertainers, there’s been some standup comedians, even like Richard Pryor, George Carland. To see what they do, to see their greatness, their awesomeness, has really inspired me to go foreword.
Kevin Hurley: People like Tony Robbins and Zig Ziggler have inspired me to use what I have. That’s the thing. Everybody’s different and you’ve got to play, as they say in the business, you’ve got to play to the room. You’ve got to know who you’re in front of. Really, I think it’s about taking what you believe in, taking your natural abilities and talents and really magnifying them to help others.
Kevin Hurley: Then again, my Mother, just for supporting me through everything. I come from a broken household. She’s just a woman that lives by the system, wants to get up, have her health so that she can go to work and take care of business. To me, that’s a hero.
Ralph Zuranski: Who do you feel are the real heroes in our society today that aren’t getting the recognition that they deserve?
Kevin Hurley: I think you get any community, especially in America, and find heroes. Volunteers, I’d like to see some more people volunteer for literacy. It really is one of my favorite things to do and it’s almost a sarcastic or cynical thing.
Kevin Hurley: When I go to a town, what I like to do is to watch their local news. I just see crappy production value and scare tactics. It seems like that’s what gets rating now in the media. Kevin Hurley: We’ve got to scare them. We’ve got to show some negativity, somebody got shot, something is going wrong, this or that.
Kevin Hurley: Would it really kill them to do five minutes a day on what’s positive that happening?
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. That’s why I created the Heroes program because you have to counter. If it bleeds, it leads philosophy in the media. The only way you can do that is a grass roots level like the Heroes program.
Why are heroes so important in the lives of young people?
Kevin Hurley: That’s your most impressionable time. I find myself wishing I would have learned how to speak more languages. That’s one of the things that fascinates me is speaking languages. If I would have learned that by the time I was twelve, put two or three under my belt, it would have been a lot easier.
Kevin Hurley: I always keep that in mind too when I do my charity work. I still sometimes go in and work with the younger kids in schools. It’s a very impressionable time. What kids pick up, I would say, between kindergarten and the time they get out of high school are really the things that are going to stick with them the rest of their lives.
Kevin Hurley: Obviously, negativity is going to breed negativity. If we could get this out positively is going to breed positively.
Ralph Zuranski: How could anyone become a hero?
Kevin Hurley: I would say take everything that I just said. Take what you believe in. Find out what your strengths are because is it really worth doing if you don’t believe in it? If you’re just after something about the money, that’s not going to happen. There are a lot of people that are even successful financially; I really don’t think they’re happy.
Kevin Hurley: To me, money is just evidence that you’re good at what you do. So find your inner strength. Find out what you’re good at. Find out what you like and then make a difference in your community. Is it that bad to help people?
Kevin Hurley: I really find it interesting physically speaking, that people that have less are across the board always to give more to charity because they understand that there are other people that have even less than they do.
Ralph Zuranski: Boy, you know, that’s true. I just saw a report on the people that gave the greatest amount to charity and they were the people in the middle income range. The people that are up in the millions of dollars gave just a small fraction of what they earned.
Ralph Zuranski: You seem to think that maybe they’re in a position where the love of money is a thing that drives their lives. Where do you think heroes are located? I came to the conclusion that they’re everywhere and most importantly they were in the lives of the people and the families like the grandmas, the grandpas, the teachers, the coaches. What do you feel about that?
Kevin Hurley: I feel that they’re everywhere too, Ralph. I’ve met so many of them. I keep a photo journal when I take pictures of what I make. My life consist of flying into a town and getting picked up by complete strangers. I’m only there for a day. So no matter how good it is or how bad it is, I’m there for about 24 hours.
Kevin Hurley: I get to have a meal before we go to the theater and I do the show. I find that the majority of the time people were good and they’re completely touching. Everybody is a hero on a different level. But you’ve got to give back, especially if you are successful, especially if you have had a good life.
Kevin Hurley: A good friend of mine, Rick Abrams is a really successful financial investor. He’s made millions and now he’s constantly raising money for rehabilitation programs and for really positive things in the community.
Kevin Hurley: I say, “Rick, you could do anything you want. You could be in the Islands. You could be on vacation. Why are you doing this?”
Kevin Hurley: He goes, “You know, I had a good life. If I don’t give back, I could get struck by lightening at any point.”
Ralph Zuranski: Well, Kevin, how does it feel to be recognized as a hero?
Kevin Hurley: I’m honored. I’m honored and really I hope I can continue to just make people happy. I can’t thank people enough that have supported me over the years through all this, the true fans and the people that keep in touch. It’s a beautiful thing.
Kevin Hurley: After all the traveling, there’s something fantastic going on all over North America, all over the world, in small communities. Ralph, I really hope this program helps put a magnifying glass on that.
Ralph Zuranski: Well, I hope so too. I’ve been working on it for almost 12 years to try and counter the bad press and the fear tactics that the media uses. By doing a grassroots level like this, I think that we can all work together to make the world a better place.
Ralph Zuranski: What are the things that you’re doing to make the world a better place?
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know. One of my biggest, biggest, people that I look up to would be Frank Sinatra. For the reason that he could go into a town or a theater community and just make people forget about their problems for the hour or the two hours that he was on stage singing his songs.
Kevin Hurley: I’m just trying to spread good will and cheer and educate people on the fact that there are alternatives if you need help. If you feel overweight, if you’re not self-confident, if you have nervous habits, if you have smoking, I really try to use my name, my image, just make it better for people. The bigger I get, the more I’m going to give back.
Ralph Zuranski: Kevin, do you have any good solutions to the problems facing society, especially racism, child and spousal abuse and violence among young people?
Kevin Hurley: I think when you see the media and you talk to people, everybody blames the kids, the kids, the kids. Well, you know. Where did the kids come from? The parents, right?
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah.
Kevin Hurley: I really think and not being a parent myself, I hope I’m not out of line this way. I really think bad parenting leads to bad adolescence and bad children. Give me the question one more time, Ralph.
Ralph Zuranski: Okay. Do you have any really good solutions facing the problems in society, especially racism, child and spousal abuse and violence among young people?
Kevin Hurley: I’m a big fan of this movie, Big Fish. The guy says in Big Fish, “Most people are scared of things that they don’t understand. They just lack the social skills.”
Kevin Hurley: I think that is so true. Most people are just afraid of the things that they don’t understand. As far as racism, for myself, I was educated in a private school and a public school which I could see advantages and disadvantages to both.
Kevin Hurley: There’s a real problem in some of these guarded communities with exposure to different cultures and ethnocentrism. I would like to see that gone. A person is a person. Culture is a culture. Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanza, Dolly Llama, whatever you want to do. People should be educated.
Kevin Hurley: I was just in a school yesterday. It’s a complete private school. They were wonderful academically, but I saw a real lack of culture there. I think that’s really important part of the education process, not just reading and writing and arithmetic but learning how to deal with other people.
Kevin Hurley: Unfortunately it seems to me that a lot of kids don’t get that until they get to a college or a university.
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Boy, that’s so true. Well, if you had three wishes for your life and the world that would instantly come true, what would they be?
Kevin Hurley: I guess success, peace and prosperity.
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Those are good ones. What do you think about the In Search of Heroes Program and its impact on you the parents and business people?
Kevin Hurley: I think you’re doing a wonderful job like I said, Ralph. I hope everybody is listening up. I hope it’s inspiring you to become a hero. Again, you don’t have to go out and make a million dollars; you don’t have to be on TV. You could go to the local food bank and help put some stuff together for the holidays.
Kevin Hurley: I’ll be down at the Salvation Army Christmas Day serving up some stuff.
Ralph Zuranski: Oh. That’s great. I know that you’re not a parent yet but what do you think the things parents can do that will help their children realize that they too can be heroes and make a positive impact on the lives of others?
Kevin Hurley: I think parents have to realize that the globe is becoming more and more diverse. This is the United States of America. It’s not all one religion and it’s not all one race.
Kevin Hurley: You can, obviously, if you’re one faith, or of one ethnic background, you’re going to raise your kids like that. For me, being a parent, if I’m ever lucky enough to be married and to do that I just want them to understand that there are good people and there are bad people and that’s that.
Kevin Hurley: It doesn’t matter where you’re from, what you look like, what you believe in. A good person, either you have moral ethics from the way you were raised or you don’t.
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Boy, that’s so true. Well, Kevin, I know you’re a busy person with over 300 dates a year. That’s pretty amazing. That’s a lot of traveling. I know that Robert Channing does a lot of those also. It’s just a heavy strain on his family. I really admire you and how many people’s lives that you’re changing by helping them understand the power that’s resident within their own minds.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have one parting thought that you’d like to leave with the people listening to this interview?
Kevin Hurley: Believe. If you can dream it, you can have it. You can become it. You’ve just got to be patient. You’ve just got to persevere. Isn’t that really what a hero is? You just lock onto it and you don’t let go until you accomplish it.
Ralph Zuranski: Boy, that’s so true. Kevin I really appreciate your time and thanks again. Good luck on all of your gigs that you’re doing. That’s astounding. Are you going to continue that level of going out that often for the next couple of years?
Kevin Hurley: Yeah. I’m going to do it as long as I can. We’re going to see what happens. My products are becoming more and more popular and I’m spending more and more time developing programs to help people off the stage.
Kevin Hurley: But I’ve got to be honest, Ralph. I didn’t get into this for the money or any other reason other than I love what I do. I don’t think it’s going to be possible for me to be able to put it down. It just wouldn’t be me. I have to do this.
Ralph Zuranski: Oh, that’s great. Well, thanks again, Kevin Hurley. I really appreciate your time.
Kevin Hurley: Thanks Ralph.
Kevin Hurley is the world’s foremost hypnotist and also is recognized as one of the funniest of all the hypnotists in the world today. He has wowed audience from one side of the planet to the other and has basically been on the stage with some of the most important people.
Ralph Zuranski: I’m doing well. Would you be able to tell us a little bit about your career and what you do?
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely. I’ve been in show business and entertaining, making people happy since I was ten years old. I started out as a magician and a slight of hand artist and an illusionist. Then eventually I moved over to hypnosis.
I’ve been so fortunate to train with some of the best hypnotists around the world. I really believe in doing my own material so I took what I learned and developed a 90-minute stage show that’s taken me all over the world.
Ralph Zuranski: That’s really amazing. One of my friends, Robert Channing, who is the world’s foremost mind reader, I did a Heroes interview on Robert. He was how I was able to get connected with you.
I was just amazed at just how incredible you are and how you can transform people’s lives in such a short period of time just by working with their mind. How do you do the hypnosis thing?
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know, hypnosis is based on a psychological principle called suggestion. Basically, we’re walking around – you, Ralph, myself, everybody listening to us is walking around with the most powerful computer in the world inside of them right now.
Scientists are always arguing that we use somewhere from 7% to 14% of our brain. So that’s all that we’re tapping into right now. Everybody feels they’re exercising in hypnosis. We could use a little bit more.
It’s called pyramiding. Somebody goes into hypnosis by progression, by listening to my suggestions, by trusting me and they just go deeper and deeper. I do a combination of things.
Obviously, I make people all over the world happy by watching the stage show. It’s a comedy stage show. I come out. I do some stand up comedy. I get some people out of the audience, 15 to 20, sometimes 30, and 40 depending on the size of the stage. I hypnotize them and I make them do extraordinary things.
They’re happy after the show because I just made them the stars of the evening. They’re going to be so popular in their communities, the talk of the town for weeks to come. I made the audience happy because I made them forget about their problems for 90 minutes. All they were worried about was what outrageous thing is going to happen next.
I did that for a while. Then I found something else out. People kept asking me afterwards, “Kevin, can you help me stop smoking? Can you help me lose weight? I am so stressed out. I’m afraid of flying. I grind my teeth. I bite my nails,” and so on and so on.
I kept a notebook of all these requests from all over North America and all over the world. Now we’re actually developing products, audios, CDs and entire programs of self-help to utilize the hypnosis, to use progressive relaxation in the comfort of your own home and accomplish these goals while you’re completely relaxed or sleeping.
Ralph Zuranski: Well, you know, that’s pretty amazing. I know that you’ve met a lot of really important people and a lot of individuals that others would consider as heroes. What is your definition of heroism?
Kevin Hurley: My definition of heroism is on so many levels. But, you know, I don’t think you have to be in the Wall Street Journal or make headlines to be a hero. A hero is somebody that claps their hands when their feet hit the floor out of the bed in the morning; they just want to make a difference.
An old wise hippie told me the definition of an intellectual is somebody that gets up and thirsts for knowledge every day. I just think a hero is somebody that can go out in their community and make a difference. I don’t think it should be measured by money and publicity. It’s about, obviously, how many lives you can touch.