Of all the superheroes in popular culture, I've always been most drawn to Batman. While many superheroes come by their superpowers through genetic blessing or freakish accident, Batman is a regular guy who gained his superhuman abilities on his own. He studied science, perfected his body, sharpened his mind and powers of deduction, and utilized technology. He became superhuman through his own effort, adding to his powers element by element.
While such a transformation might seem like a flight of unrealistic fantasy, it's really not. While we may never quite approach Batman's level of prowess, we can build ourselves into men whose abilities far surpass that of the average joe. Don't believe me? Consider Houdini.
Houdini was an ordinary man who through the force of discipline and hustle taught himself how to escape from any handcuff, chest, prison, straitjacket or safe in the world, hold his breath for almost four minutes, fly one of the first planes in the world, endure freezing temperatures, untie knots with his toes, and charm the pants off of ordinary folks and dignitaries alike. He kept the goal of becoming superhuman ever before him and he attained it.
