What makes a hero?

I have been watching CNN for the past weeks, and they have been talking about these hero awards that they are going to be giving out. And I started to wonder, what makes a hero? Is a hero someone who can survive a great deal of hardship, and not give up and die? Is a hero some one that can make a positive difference in some one elses's life? Is a hero someone that is totally altruistic in their actions? Or do we take the Ayn Rand approach and see that person who is a hero is someone that is totally selfish in all of their actions and we fail to see their selfishness, and damn that selfishness, or do we truly see and respect their selfishness in our subconscious and applaud it by giving them awards of some type.

Whenever I see things like that, I really start to question heroism, and what is true heroism, and I question my motives at the very foundations of my actions. I know I want to be a hero. Who really would not want to be a hero? Who really does not want to make a difference? I believe that part of the human condition is realizing that life itself is a series of decisions, and every decision has a direct effect upon the next series of decisions and outcomes that are laid out for us. I only hope, no, I pray that I can make the best decisions in my every day life that has the best possible outcome for everyone involved.