Had a nice conversation this morning with a friend about Katie Couric's new book: "The Best Advice I Ever Got, Lessons from Extraordinary Lives"

It was an interesting book with celebrity essays/articles on what these accomplished individuals encountered on their paths to success, such as the people they met along the way who acted as mentors, parental influences, even seemingly insurmountable mountains they had to climb in order to "win" at their game.

The idea for the book happened as a result of commencement speeches, in which these same celebrities were giving advice to new grads. I wonder how many of those grads will even remember what they heard.

Retrospection always makes one hear better. These grads have barely begun to live. Life's lessons are often just words when you are so green. The old adage, hindsight is 20-20 is true. If those same grads hear the same speech three years from now, they will have a different perspective. Ten years from now, and they will have a completely different perspective.

With all this recent hoopla at the Olympics, I am particularly aware of our penchant for hero worship. We are insatiably thirsty to hear about "celebrity" success. How did they get there?

That's all good and very interesting, but what about the quieter, less flashy successes? Are they not also valid? Success is in realty a series of smaller successes. You never really arrive, but the successful person keeps at it. You may not even know you are successful until someone tells you. Bank account is only one part of it.

And what about those small successes? What about courageous failures that change the course of a person's history and are often the catalyst for tremendous success? What about the interim between failure and success? That's the time you don't know if or when the tires will ever hit the road.

What if this same person never achieves our idea of success, but he gave it his all? He may not be in the news, but has a successful life.

What about the person with a dream who is loyal to that dream and never gives up? Is that not also heroic and worthy of our admiration?

What about the brilliant musical performer who likes to play to a small audience and not be part of a big music machine? Why would he choose to do that if he's so good and he can play at Madison Square Garden? Maybe that's the very reason he's so good. He's not complicating his message with red tape. Ever think about that?

Success is not always simple. We are always giving up something in order to have something else. That's okay. We make choices, and those choices are personal. I celebrate the integrity it takes to make such choices fearlessly.

What about the guy who gets to the Olympics and is running in the marathon. He falls and injures himself somehow, but he finishes that race, even if he comes in last? Are we not also inspired by this kind of valor? Can we not admire and learn from that? I know we can, and do.

What about the great teacher who has influenced so many lives for the better? He/she may be written up in the local paper, but is seldom on national news. Paparazzi not following him.

I can go on and on. Don't get me wrong, I love to hear stories of outstanding success, so I can learn and be inspired. It gets my own adrenaline going, especially when it's real. And it's also fun to be a voyeur.

We have so much hero worship in our world, and frankly, many of our heroes are just plain notorious, and not real heroes at all.

Celebrities can be, and are manufactured. I give you the Kardashians. Man, those kids have one brilliant marketing mom.

It's all good fun as long as we keep it in perspective.

Success in everything is a goal. Let's keep our values solid and straight, and achieve "real" success by doing something real.

Then, let's hire Kris Kardasian to put it over the top.