Who is your inspiration?

Who are the people in our world who inspire you the most? 

I admire professional athletes, not because of their talent, necessarily, but because of their work ethic. I am inspired by people with drive and who move through life with self-discipline. Mohammed Ali said, "I am going to show all of you how great I am!"  I have been studying people over the last 4-5 weeks who I think exemplify "goal-driven" lives.  

Les Brown

After my hospital stay I began listening to you tube videos by a man named Les Brown.  His story is awesome. He is such an inspiration. Les Brown always wanted to be a radio personality.  Les began hanging around his local radio station.  He would talk to the people who worked there.  He would do odd jobs for them, run errands, and take out the trash. Once Les gained their trust, they began showing him how to be a disc jockey. He caught on quickly.  You see, Les Brown was willing to do menial jobs in order to realize his dream of becoming a radio personality.  Les Brown is now a motivational speaker.  He travels speaking and telling his story to corporate America. Les Brown went from poverty to prosperity by never giving up on his dreams.

Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor is a world class athlete.  He is an inspiration to me because he uses positive self talk to propel his life forward.  What matters most is how you see yourself. When asked why he is a winner, Conor states, "I saw myself as a champion before anyone else did.  I tell myself I'm going to win. I never tap out because I will regret it. I am never afraid! I go after my rivals. I visualize myself with the belt 24/7. Your biggest battle is within yourself." Mentors change lives.  Conor McGregor is where he is today because someone took a young boy off the streets and cultivated a winning spirit inside of him.  Be a mentor!

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant, Durantula, has been second many times in his life.  As I have studied the life of Kevin Durant, I have seen a humble but driven spirit. Kevin encourages other athletes to focus every day on their goals with a long term goal in mind.  Kevin's long term goal was to become a Rec League Coach.  He surpassed that. It is said that KD has a "killer will", a look in his eye.  According to Lebron James, "When he is on, he is unstoppable".  After the 2013-2014 season, Kevin Durant was given the award for MVP. His acceptance speech is so touching.  Here is some of it. "I've been second my whole life. Second best in high school. Second in the MVP voting three times. Second in finals. I'm tired of being second. I'm not going to settle for that.  I'm done with it. Thank you to my mom. We weren't supposed to be here. You made us believe. Kept us off the streets. Put clothes on our backs, food on the table. When you didn't eat, you made sure we did.  You went to sleep hungry.  You sacrificed for us. You, mom, are the real MVP!" Wow! What a great man.  KD's mom told reporters that she wanted Kevin to become the man that he would look up to.  John Sinclair said, "failure is a bruise, not a tattoo." 

Silvester Stalone

"Life is about how much you can take and still get it done. It's not about how hard you can hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and still keep going. It's about how much you can take and keep moving forward." When you feel like you have given all you've got, take one more step. No matter how bad it is, no matter how bad it gets, you will survive. Easy is not an option. Have the guts to face the pain.  Don't waste the pain.  Push through it.

Irena Sendler

Irena Sendler is the 2003 winner of the Jan Karski Award for Valor and Courage.  She was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.  Irene rescued 2,500 infants and small children from the slums of Warsaw.  She worked in the sewers and smuggled infants out in the bottom of her toolbox. She trained a dog to bark as she was driving in and out of the gate so that the Nazi guards would let her pass on without being searched. Sendler put the name of every child with their information in a jar and buried it under a tree. Sendler was caught on October 20, 1943 by the Nazi's.  They broke her legs and feet so that she could no longer go into the slums to rescue children.  She was to be executed.  Her interrogator and intended executioner found favor in her and helped her to escape.  He told the Nazi commander that she had been executed and disposed of.  She lived hidden until after the war. Once the war was over, Sendler tried to reunite the children with their families, most of the parents had been gassed.  The children were adopted out to families in the US and across Europe.  

These are the people I want to emulate.  I know this is a long post, but I wanted to share the lives of these people with the people I love.  Choose one or two of them and google their stories.  You will be glad you did.