True heroism is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.

The line is reported as coming from a commencement address Ashe delivered at Ohio Wesleyan University (dated May 12, 1991 in a later reference). It was later reprinted in venues like Reader’s Digest as a takeaway about what heroism means.

It frames heroism as grounded, unshowy commitment to helping others, contrasting service and sacrifice with competitive ambition or winning at any price.

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.