There are some who are born talented........and some who don't require talent...............
1. Helen Keller
Inspiration of a movie The Miracle Worker, Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to earn the degree of Bachelor of Arts. She was also an authoritative member of the Socialist Party ofAmerica where she openly criticized the policies of Woodrow Wilson. An illustrious author of 12 books and winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Helen devoted her later life to work for the American Foundation for Blind.
2. Nick Vujicic
Victim of a rare disease Tetra-amelia syndrome, which is characterized by the absence of all four limbs, Nick Vujicic was born on december 4, 1982, in a Serbian family, in Australia. Throughout his childhood, he struggled a lot to overcome the sick mentality of society and finally at the age of 17, he established an NGO Life Without Limbs. After graduating in Accounting and Financial Planning, he started his journey as a motivational speaker of subjects revolving around meaning of life, hope and disability.
3. Stephen Hawking
Not only does God play dice, but… he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen. Sure enough, this genius, victim of a motor neuron disease, has changed the world by his revolutionary theories. Completely paralyzed with his legs, arms and voice, Hawking’s wheelchair is attached with a computer system which is operated by an infrared ‘blink switch.’ This renowned cosmologist and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts is admired among tech pundits for his works on gravitational singularities, black holes along with his best seller A Brief History of Time.
4. Patrick Henry Hughes
What more can I say about this dynamic and inspiring soul? This multi-instrumental musician was born blind on March 10, 1988, along with crippled limbs. An inborn patient of bilateral anophthalmia and hip dysplasia, Hughes was backed up by his father, who introduced him to piano at the early age of nine months. Hughes was spotlighted by media, when in 2006, as a student of University of Louisville, he played trumpet in the Louisville Marching Band where his father was pushing him on a wheelchair. After the exposure of his extraordinary talent, he was subsequently invited to perform across the country.
5. Ludwig Van Beethoven
One of the most celebrated phenomenon among romantic and classical composers, Beethoven was born in the family of musicians in Germany. During the adolescent, his hearing ability began to deteriorate and later he became completely deaf but this disability didn’t trespass his caliber of composing. Promoter of the modern symphony orchestra, Beethoven has established himself as a master legend in the musical arena.
6. Martin Luther King
Three decades after King was gunned down on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tenn., he is still regarded mainly as the black leader of a movement for black equality. That assessment, while accurate, is far too restrictive. For all King did to free blacks from the yoke of segregation, whites may owe him the greatest debt, for liberating them from the burden of America's centuries-old hypocrisy about race. It is only because of King and the movement that he led that the U.S. can claim to be the leader of the "free world" without inviting smirks of disdain and disbelief. Had he and the blacks and whites who marched beside him failed, vast regions of the U.S. would have remained morally indistinguishable from South Africa under apartheid, with terrible consequences for America's standing among nations.
7. Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi inspired the world with his faith in truth and justice for all Mankind. He was a great soul who loved even those who fought against his ideals to bring about peace with non-violence.
How could a meek and fragile person of small physical stature inspire millions to bring about a profound change in a way the mightiest had never achieved before? His achievements were nothing less than miracles — his creed was to bring peace to not only those who suffered injustice and sorrow but to espouse a new way of life for Mankind, with peace and harmony. His life was a message — a message of peace over power, of finding ways to reconcile our differences, and of living in harmony with respect and love even for our enemy.
8. Liz Murray
Elizabeth "Liz" Murray was born September 23, 1980 the Bronx, New York, to poor, drug-addicted, HIV-infected parents. She became homeless just after she turned 15, when her mother died of AIDS, and her father moved to a homeless shelter. Murray's life turned around when she began attending the Humanities Preparatory Academy in Chelsea, Manhattan. Though she started high school later than most students, and remained without a stable home while supporting herself and her sister, Murray graduated in only two years. She was awarded a New York Times scholarship for needy students and accepted into Harvard University, matriculating in the fall semester of 2000. She left Harvard in 2003 to care for her sick father; she resumed her education at Columbia University to be closer to him until 2006 when he died of AIDS. As of May 2008, she was back at Harvard working towards her degree with plans to graduate with a degree in Psychology in June 2009.
Her life became a movie in 2003 and she now works as a professional speaker, representing the Washington Speakers Bureau. That same gutsy strength that pulled her from the streets now transforms the lives of others, from student groups to business audiences in need of inspiration to overcome their own obstacles.
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