A guy in a solo round the world yacht race got into trouble in the Southern Ocean and had to be rescued by the Aust. navy. When the first pictures were flashed onto TV he was wearing a channel 7 hat. His people and channel 7's people had already done lunch before he was even found.

He said thanks for saving my life, and got written up as a hero because that's the story he bought.

Wanna be a hero? You will need just the right balance of attributes: You dreams and your wallet must be bigger than you intelligence and your capabilities.
Instant hero. Just add something to fall off of.