If I could be the person I really wanted to be, the person I should be, then I would try to be more like these people:
Mark Twain, who never lost his sense of humor, even after life no longer gave him much to laugh about. He was also pretty good about re-inventing himself, as during his lifetime he was a steamboat captain, writer, printer, lecturer, entrepreneur, reporter, and iconic wit. He didn't mind failing, so long as he learned what he had to learn for the next big idea.
Milton Hershey, who failed many, many, many times in his quest for making the best chocolate, but persevered in spite of incredible odds. The result: the unequaled perfection of the Hershey bar and chocolates, a product that gives millions of people great enjoyment. He also started the Hershey School, to provide a better life for orphans.
Marie Curie, who was the first person to win TWO nobel prizes, but also faced incredible odds as both a woman and a Jew. Fortunately, she had extreme faith in her abilities as a scientist, and ultimately discovered radium. Without her, we would not have many of the diagnostic tools we have today, including xrays, radiology etc, which has saved countless lives. Her dedication to her work should always be an inspiration.
Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, who refused to write a sequel and pander to the publishing industry. As she stated, "Mockingbird still says what it has to say; it has managed to survive the years without preamble." It was her first and only book, and no book has ever generated as much controversy over the years. And yet, it still stands today as America's greatest novel.
Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, and all those who fought for civil rights, in spite of beatings, jail, threats, and even death. They faced the ugliness of human nature, and yet still believed enough in people as a whole to push for equal rights for all.
Ghandi, who believed in making the worlda better place one person at a time. He was also a great proponent of civil disobedience -- if you didn't like what your government was doing, you had the right to tell them so, and work towards a greater good.
Dhali Lama, whose love of all things is unparalleled. He is a great student of human nature, and believes that each of us has the ability to find our own happiness by reaching out to others and doing good work.
Lise Meitner, one of the scientists whose early work on nuclear physics helped in the eventual creation of the A-bomb, refused an offer to work on the project at Los Alamos, declaring "I will have nothing to do with a bomb." Because of her anti-bomb stance, she was forced to find work in Europe after the war, and watched as her fellow scientists received Nobel Prizes for "their" work in nuclear fission. She later stated she cared nothing for prizes or accolades, only for working towards the betterment of science. She is best known for being "a physicist who never lost her humanity."
John Muir, naturalist and preservationist, who helped ensure the protection of the giant Redwoods in California, was one of the first people to recognize the delicacy of ecosystems, and one of the first to witness man's influence on those systems. He lobbied President Roosevelt to create a park where man's influence would be limited, and where the last of the old growth forest would remain untouched. Because of his influence, we can now enjoy all of the wonderful parks and forests maintained by the Nat'al Park Service.
I think I have a long way to go...
Monday, January 21, 2008
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