1-10
1. Dick Hoyt
Ever since Dick’s son, Rick, was born, doctors had been telling him to institutionalize his son. His son was born with cerebral palsy, and they tried to explain to Dick that he’d never amount to anything more than a vegetable. Dick refused to give up on his son, and with the help of a computer, he taught him how to communicate. It turned out that Rick was quite intelligent indeed. Inspired by an article on racing he saw in a magazine, Rick later asked his dad to take him running. Dick, now 37 years old, had never been a runner. He gave it a shot and took his son out in his wheelchair and pushed him while he ran. The rest, as they say, is history. Rick told his dad that when they were running, it didn’t feel like he was disabled anymore. Dick became obsessed with giving his son that feeling of normalcy, and ever since has been participating in as many races as he could. As of 2013, they’ve completed over 1,000 races together; Rick being pulled, pushed, or carried by Dick in all of them. Unbelievably, nearly 250 of the races have been triathlons (6 of them Ironmans), 70 of them were marathons (30 of them the Boston Marathon), and over 200 of them 10km runs.
(from http://
2. Thomas Edison
When he was a young boy, Thomas Edison’s parents pulled him out of school after teachers called him “stupid” and “unteachable.” Edison spent his teenage years working and being fired from various jobs, culminating in his termination from a telegraph company at age 21. Despite these setbacks, Edison never deterred from his true passion, inventing. Throughout hiscareer, Edison obtained 1,093 patents. And while many of these inventions -- such as the light bulb, stock printer, phonograph and alkaline battery -- were groundbreaking, even more of them were unsuccessful. Edison is famous for saying that genius is “1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
(from http://www.growthink.com/
)
3. Jesse Owens
(from http://www.growthink.com/
3. Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens wasn't "supposed" to win. He was black and he was competing in track and field in 1936 Berlin. Hitler's Germany saw Owens as a lesser athlete because of the color of his skin. Owens would go on to win four gold medals (in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4x100 relay). He won with conviction and with grace.
(from http://greatist.com/fitness/
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4. Abebe Bikila
(from http://greatist.com/fitness/
4. Abebe Bikila
Bikila's unofficial personal best for the 42.2km – better than the world record – was widely dismissed as impossible. He arrived in Rome with one pair of running shoes but they were ruined in training in the month before the Games. With his new ones causing blisters, his decision to compete barefoot, feet toughened by miles of shoeless training on the high Ethiopian plains, only added to the general derision.
He went on to win the marathon.
(from http://www.theguardian.com/
5. An Act of Utter Kindness
“My Buddy Witnessed an Act of Utter Kindness Today…While he was standing on the corner waiting for the crosswalk he saw this woman buy two meals at a street vender and go sit down beside this man and give him one of the meals. She proceeded to introduce herself and talk to him about his life and just shot the [breeze] with him. She wasn’t acting superior, she was his equal, she just wanted to talk to and express inclusion to a fellow human being.”
(from http://kindnessblog.com/2014/
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6. Derek Redmond
Milton Hershey had a long path to the top of the chocolate industry. Hershey dropped out of school in the 4th grade and took an apprenticeship with a printer, only to be fired. He then became an apprentice to a candy-maker in Lancaster, PA. After studying the business for 4 years, Hershey started three unsuccessful candy companies in Philadelphia, Chicago and New York.
Hershey was not about to give up, so he moved back to Lancaster and began the Lancaster Caramel Company. His unique caramel recipe, which he had come across during his earlier travels, was a huge success. Hershey, who was always looking ahead, believed that chocolate products had a much greater future than caramel. He sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million in 1900 (nearly $25 million in 2008 dollars) and started the Hershey Company, which brought milk chocolate -- previously a Swiss delicacy -- to the masses.
Not only did Hershey overcome failure and accomplish his goals, but he also managed to do it close to home. Hershey created hundreds of jobs for Pennsylvanians. He also used some of his money to build houses, churches, and schools, cementing his status as a legend in the Keystone.
(from http://www.growthink.com/
8. Kerri Strug
(from http://www.theguardian.com/
9. Jean Beliveau
Read more about the incredible journey here: http://gadling.com/2012/05/25/
10. Michael Jordan
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