The Ordinary Hero is an in-depth search of where we should turn to find meaning in our lives. Yves Bertrand describes three societal models that the ordinary person tries to follow and compares these contemporary models to mythological heroes. The first is the "star" who struggles and triumphs to be the best (Hercules), the second is the "boss" who gives orders and organizes (Zeus), and the third is the spokesperson for everything — nature, the cosmos, God (Gaia). According to Yves, these figures determine how we approach the world, how we act, and where we see ourselves or dream of being.

The Ordinary Hero questions society’s "off-the-rack" images of who we should be and asserts that these images ultimately do not work because they rely on external values, values that stifle knowledge, imagination, and freedom. When these standards fail us, we are disoriented and aware that we’ve searched for meaning in the wrong places.

Bertrand contends that the meaning of our lives does not exist outside of ourselves, but that we need to build it from day to day in the freedom that we can only attain through knowledge and imagination — a "custom-made" image celebrating our individual differences. Having conquered this wisdom and acknowledging the need to change, we will all become ordinary heroes, true to ourselves and at peace with the universe.