Inspiration
Find inspiration in the lives of people with disabilities who have impacted the world around them.
"Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one's ideas, to take a calculated risk— and to act." —Andre Malraux
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Jim Abbott | Athlete |
Born with only one hand, Jim Abbott has been a Major League Baseball pitcher for the California Angels, the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, and the Milwaukee Brewers. |
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Muhammad Ali | Athlete |
A Golden Gloves champion at age 17, an Olympic gold medalist at age 18, and an undefeated heavyweight champion at age 22, Ali’s greatest fight was not in the ring. Ironically, after beating the his toughest opponents, it was Parkinson’s disease that would prove to be his greatest foe. "I hated every minute of training but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'" |
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Ludwig van Beethoven | Musician, Composer |
Beethoven is widely regarded as one of history’s supreme composers, and he produced notable works even after losing his hearing, including his Ninth Symphony (Ode to Joy) and Piano Concerto No. 5 (the “Emperor”). He was one of the greatest figures in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in music. "Every day is lost in which we do not learn something useful. Man has no nobler or more valuable possession than time; therefore never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." |
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Halle Berry | Actor |
Berry acquired unilateral hearing loss (80% hearing loss in her left ear) after being severely beaten by a former boyfriend. |
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Orlando Bloom | Actor |
“I suppose my dyslexia made me feel like I wasn’t smart enough. Some people are just brain boxes, but then in everyday [situations] they’re clueless. I was street-smart; I was always bright, but I found it harder in the classroom.Once I [passed] my exams, I felt better because I knew that I could do it if I applied myself.” |
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Foxy Brown | Rapper |
In 2005, Foxy Brown revealed that she was slowly losing her hearing after being diagnosed with a rare condition that only affects 1 in 10,000. She suffered severe sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. |
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Julius Caesar | Politician Julius Caesar, a brilliant general and formidable politician, had seizures in the last two years of his life (possibly caused by a brain tumor). |
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Ray Charles | Musician Ray Charles taught himself piano at age three. When he lost his sight at the age of seven, he entered the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind, where he learned classical piano and how to compose scores in Braille. There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/ray_charles.ht There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/raycharles167064.html There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/raycharles167064.html There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/ray_charles.html |
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Agatha Christie | Author |
Agatha Christie is the world’s best-known mystery writer and all-time best selling author of any genre other than William Shakespeare. |
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Bill Clinton | Politician |
William Jefferson Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States, and the third-youngest president, behind Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. In his second term, Clinton realized that he had difficulty with high-frequency sounds. He managed his hearing loss through the use of bilateral hearing aids. |
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Tom Cruise | Actor |
During the making of Top Gun, Cruise realized that he could never learn to fly a plane. He decided to overcome his dyslexia through a program of Scientology that helped him take a step-by-step approach. |
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Thomas Edison | Inventor |
Edison began to lose his hearing at age 15, perhaps a result of contracting scarlet fever. As an adult, he used telegraphy codes to communicate. When he went to see a play at the theater his wife tapped Morse Code on his leg. |
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Albert Einstein | Physicist |
Einstein attended school in Germany in the late 1800s. He was not very successful in his classes. He did poorly in history, geography, and languages, although he became skilled on the violin. Despite his struggles with the subjects, Einstein showed an interest in mathematics and science. He went on to study physics and mathematics for four years. He is best known for the Theory of Relativity and the mass-energy relation of E=mc². |
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Carrie Fisher | Actor/Author |
Carrie Fisher, the child of two Hollywood stars (Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher) was diagnosed as bipolar in her early teens. |
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Harrison Ford | Actor |
Ford began to show symptoms of clinical depression while in college. He’d sleep for days on end, finding it more and more difficult to raise himself. He recalls one day waking after a 3-day nap and deciding to attend a class. Everything moved in slow motion. He got to the class and, unable to turn the handle of the classroom door he turned around and went back to bed. “The kindest word to describe my performance,” he said later, “was ‘sloth.’ Work went undone, classes were ignored." |
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Michael J. Fox | Actor |
Michael J. Fox is an actor, producer, and author. In 1991, he was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. Upon disclosing his condition in 1998, he shifted his focus and committed himself to a campaign for increased Parkinson’s research. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which he launched in year 2000, raises awareness about Parkinson’s disease and has become the leading fundraiser in the U.S., putting $140 million into research over eight years. |
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Danny Glover | Actor |
Danny Glover is probably best known as the actor who played Roger Mortaugh opposite Mel Gibson in the famous Lethal Weapon films. But most people don’t know that he was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 15. For Glover, who had also been diagnosed with dyslexia in elementary school, respect was hard to come by. |
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Whoopi Goldberg | Comedian/Actor |
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actor, singer-songwriter, political activist, and talk show host. Goldberg made her film debut in "The Color Purple." |
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Bethany Hamilton | Athlete |
Hamilton’s lifelong dream of becoming a professional surfer was interrupted in 2003 when she was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark while surfing. The attack left Bethany with a severed arm but did not destroy her eagerness and courage to continue to pursue her dream. |
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Stephen Hawking | Physicist |
Considered one of the world’s leading theoretical physicists, Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge, a post once held by Sir Isaac Newton. |
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Salma Hayek | Actor |
After the release of the movie Frida, Hayek was asked by a London journalist, “What was the toughest part of your performance?” |
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Tommy Hilfiger | Fashion Designer |
“I performed poorly at school, when I attended, that is, and was perceived as stupid because of my dyslexia. I still have trouble reading. I have to concentrate very hard at going left to right, otherwise my eye just wanders to the bottom of the page.” |
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John Irving | Author |
Irving was labeled as "stupid" and "lazy" by teachers growing up. When he learned he was struggling because of dyslexia, he payed twice as much attention to his reading and writing. |
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Magic Johnson | Athlete |
On November 7, 1991, two months after getting married and still very much at the top of his game, Johnson announced his positive test for HIV and immediate retirement from basketball. Johnson was one of the first celebrities to make such an announcement and still remains the most well-known person to publicly disclose the disease. |
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James Earl Jones | Actor |
James Earl Jones- the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, Mufasa in The Lion King, and the voice of CNN- is the most in demand voice in Hollywood. Most people think of him as a “former” stutterer, but Jones still stutters when speaking spontaneously. As an actor, he has developed situational fluency when playing a role. |
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Keira Knightley | Actor |
“I remember going in for an audition when I was 8, and it was the most excruciating experience because I couldn’t read my lines. |
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Jay Leno | Talk Show Host |
Leno is mildly dyslexic and got mainly C's and D' s in school, but that still did not deter him from applying to and eventually graduating from the esteemed Emerson college in Boston. |
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Marlee Matlin | Actor |
Matlin lost most of her hearing at the age of 18 months, following a bout of Roseola Infantum. She lost all hearing in her right ear and 80% of hearing in her left ear. |
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Heather Mills McCartney | Model / Activist |
In August 1993, McCartney's life changed forever when she was involved in a road accident with a police motorcycle that resulted incrushed ribs, a punctured lung, and the loss of her left leg below the knee. |
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Aimee Mullins | Athlete/Model |
“Truthfully, the only real and consistent disability I’ve had to confront is the world ever thinking that I could be described by those definitions.” |
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Terence Parkin | Athlete |
The 25-year-old South African was born with a severe hearing disability and uses sign language to communicate with his coach. |
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David Patterson | Politician |
David Patterson (born May 20, 1954) was the 55th Governor of New York State. He was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind in the U.S. |
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Michael Phelps | Olympian |
Michael Fred Phelps has won 23 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian, and is often cited as the greatest swimmer and one of the greatest Olympians of all time. |
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Curtis Pride | Athlete |
Pride played baseball all through high school and college. He first signed with the New York Mets and has subsequently enjoyed a successful career in professional baseball playing and played with the following major league teams: The Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox and the Montreal Expos. |
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Christopher Reeve | Actor |
American actor, director, producer and writer, Reeve is renowned for his film portrayal of Superman and Clark Kent in four films from 1978-1987. |
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Nelson Rockefeller | Politician |
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was a philanthropist, Governor of New York State, and the 41st Vice President of the United States (1974-1977), serving under President Gerald Ford. |
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt | Politician |
At age 39, Roosevelt lost the use of both legs due to polio, but refused to be limited by his disability. He went on to become Governor of New York State and the 32nd President of the United States. One of the central figures of the 20th century, Roosevelt was the longest-serving holder of the office and the only President elected more than twice. |
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Harriet Tubman | Activist |
Harriet Tubman developed a seizure disorder through sustaining a head injury early in life. It has also been reported that she suffered from narcolepsy and headaches. Nevertheless, Tubman led hundreds of fellow slaves from the American South to freedom in the North and Canada via the Underground Railroad. She became the first woman to lead an armed assault during the Civil War. Later in life, she was active in the women’s suffrage movement. Tubman inspired generations of Americans who fought for civil rights. She was buried with military honors. "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." |
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Erik Weihenmayer | Athlete |
Despite losing his vision at the age of 13, Erik Weihenmayer has become one of the most celebrated and accomplished athletes in the world. He was first introduced to rock climbing at a camp for blind teenagers and began climbing more difficult mountains. "People have the inner resources to become anything they want to be. Challenge just becomes the vehichle for tapping into those inner resource." |
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Heather Whitestone | Miss America |
Heather Whitestone lost most of her hearing at the age of 18 months. "As a profoundly deaf woman, my experiences have shown me that the impossible is indeed possible!" |
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Montel Williams | Talk Show Host |
“When the neurologist said those words, ‘You have MS,’ it hit me like a brick. I thought the diagnosis was a death sentence. . . I had a choice to make. I could spend the rest of my life feeling sorry for myself as the victim of a tragic fate. Or I could view my illness as a call to action – an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of millions who suffer from MS and their loved ones. |
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Henry Winkler | Actor/Author |
Winkler began writing a series of children books with his partner Lin Oliver called "Hank Zipzer, the World's Greatest Underachiever". The books are inspired by Winkler’s struggle with dyslexia. The first eight books of the series are in bookstores now and have sold over a million copies nationwide. While growing up, Henry Winkler often felt that the person he was inside was invisible to others. “Inside you feel one way, and people are telling you that you are another way,” he says, “and I couldn’t reconcile that.” |
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Woodrow Wilson | Politician |
Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. Dyslexic from childhood, he did not learn to read until he was 10 and never became a rapid reader. "I would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose." |
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Stevie Wonder | Musician |
Blind from infancy, Stevie Wonder has become one of the most successful and well-known artists on the Motown label, with nine U.S. #1 hits to his name and album sales totaling more than 70 million units. "You can't base your life on other people's expectations." |
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Mark Zupan | Athlete |
Mark Zupan is captain of the United States quadriplegic wheelchair rugby team which competes in the Paralympic Games and the official spokesperson for Team USA. "Life is too short not to laugh at yourself and the cards you're dealt." Life's too short not to laugh about yourself and the cards you're dealt.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/markzupan538163.html Life's too short not to laugh about yourself and the cards you're dealt.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/markzupan538163.html |