Amelia Earhart
My idol. My personal hero. My first thought when I got the idea for this article. Amelia Earhart was fearless and extremely ambitious. Empowering women since 1897 – so, way before it was cool.
Since an early age, she was popular and fun to be around, because of her ideas and imagination. She was encouraged to be herself, not facing the need to fit in the tight frames of society’s expectations. Undeniably, it helped her to grow into the women she was destined to become.
As a teenage girl, she cared about her education and was inspired by women all over the world – she kept pieces of information about women in different fields – from veterinary surgeons through lawmakers and trade union leaders to mental health workers and farmers. These women had one thing in common – they were pioneers. She aspired to be the same.
Soon after, she discovered her true passion – aviation. I admire her love for freedom, boldness, and devotion. She was the first women to fly over Atlantic – as a passenger (‘like a sack of potatoes’ – as she said after landing) but not yet as a pilot. She wrote a book about the ‘Friendship’ flight and finally gave it a shot on her own – in a solo flight (1932, when she was 34 years old). She proved her greatness and became America’s Favourite.
She never stopped putting the bar higher and higher. She was chasing life and living the fullest. She died doing what she loved somewhere over the Pacific near the equator (or lived her days on a paradise island – the theories vary).
That’s my idea of an amazing life.
Emma Watson
Besides the obvious, that Emma Watson is a beautiful and talented actress, she is a very smart woman who uses her popularity in the best possible ways.
I admire her intelligence and not giving a shit about mocking while getting her degree. I love her speeches for the UN and her activism. For me, she is the face of feminism. She is the kind of feminist that I aspire to be.
Books recommended by her, automatically land on my wishlist. I have also a lot of sentiment toward her most famous role – Hermione Granger – since the Harry Potter series were the books which I grew up with.
Rufus Scrimgeour:
Are you planning to follow a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?
Hermione:
No, I’m not. I’m hoping to do some good in the world!
~~ ~~
It’s not the word [feminism] that’s important. It’s the idea and ambition behind it.
~ Emma Watson
Elon Musk
My next guest needs no introduction. If I had to describe him in just three words, I would say:
sharp
driven
visionaire
Meeting Mr. Musk is on my bucket list since I read his biography. I adore his devotion to all the projects that he is handling and I admire that he is a dreamer. Because dreamers are pushing the world forward. They are able to imagine the unimaginable and since they can do that, they are the ones who can get us there – the future.
Speaking about the future – just have a look at how Tesla has been changing the automotive industry. I am personally a huge fan and I made a promise to myself that the first car that I will buy on my own – it’s gotta be electric. It’s gotta be a Tesla. Otherwise, I’m good on foot :).
I am also following SpaceX because as an aeronautical engineer I find it extremely interesting by principle. I love that they made the path for other private companies in the space industry and that they are innovating at such fast pace. Flipping the table again, Mr. Musk.
If you are into this topic I recommend their website for more info & their twitter account. Great content on space, in general, you will find here – EverydayAstronaut. Total Geek! (which obviously is a compliment !)
Mr. Musk –
Keep on innovating.
Keep on pioneering.
Keep on pushing the world forward.
And yeah, going to Mars is on my bucket list too.
Steve Jobs
What I liked about Steve Jobs most were his self-awareness, his creativity, and his amazing intuition. The guy knew what people will need before they knew it themselves- if that’s not pure vision then I don’t know what is. He gave us what we wanted in the best possible wrapping. Cause Apple devices are most of all: beautiful, and simple.
One of my favorite quotes comes from his speech at Stanford, back in 2005. You can read it here, or watch it here. I strongly agree with what he said there and I’ve always tried to live accordingly to those rules. I truly believe that questioning my life will make me happier – sure as hell it will make my life more interesting, pushing me to change and into trying new things. Which for me is pretty damn close to happiness.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is just secondary.
So, people – stay hungry, stay foolish.
Gary Vaynerchuk
I don’t think that there is another person with so much appreciation, so much love, and so much positivity.
Gary Vee is living proof that:
Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it.
~ Albert Schweitzer
At the same time, Mr. Vaynerchuk is THE entrepreneur. He is the social media king and what I love most about him is his honesty, his hard work, his openness. The rules are very simple and we know they are working cause he is living the example.
He is extremely empowering and a pure inspiration. I don’t know where he gets this energy but it’s truly amazing. I adore it.
My favorite lessons from Mr. Vaynerchuk are the following:
- Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless.
- If you’re not dreaming big for yourself
who’s doing it for you?- You move fast when you don’t pay attention to judgment.
- You are gonna die.
PS I love that my text editor is auto-correcting his ridiculously hard-to-spell surname (at the same time underlining ‘visionaire’)
Martyna Wojciechowska
Editor of polish National Geographic, writer, journalist, host of a tv show about women from most remote places on earth. The most inspiring person in Poland (according to me).
Martyna Wojciechowska is no stranger to obstacles and struggle – both physical and emotional. Like while filming in Iceland she had a car accident. One of her closest friends and member of the crew died and she was badly injured. The doctors said that she will be lucky to walk again. Yet, she walked and she climbed Mount Everest (wrote an amazing book about it too – Move the Horizon).
What I admire most about her is that she lives on her terms. Although in Poland, being a single mother and focusing on a career isn’t usually pictured enthusiastically – she is respected and adored. I love her too and I think she is a great role model.
She is very positive, smart, strong, bold and beautiful. She gives me courage. I’d love to meet her one day (as every person on this list who isn’t dead).
Greta Thunberg
People wished that she ‘just shuts up’, and thought that she will be a one-season flare.
But guess what, Greta Thunberg has a voice. Regardless of her young age, she speaks for more than just her generation and she is here to stay. So fasten your seat belts – it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
Honestly, it was just a matter of time until someone like Greta would show up. By a very simple act – refusing to go to school – she became a symbol and started a global movement. It just took two simple things from her side:
Speak up the truth.
Don’t back off.
That’s it. This is more important and the irony is that adults kept telling her, that her place is in the classroom – but what’s the point of preparing to live in the world when there might not be one?
All big changes start small. All great people were once nobodies. This young lady might be a kid but she ain’t nobody.
Seems like standing up for what you believe in and what you think is important is the best way to make a difference. Bravo Greta! I admire your strength and persistence. You are an inspiration.
Malala
For those who don’t know who Malala Yousafzai is – she’s a girl from Pakistan, an activist for human rights and right to education among girls. Since 2009 she was writing a blog on how the Taliban are closing schools and forbidding girls to learn. Because of that, she was shot in 2012. She survived.
After what this girl went through, many of us would search for the most remote rock and go hide underneath it. Not Malala. She came back stronger, more determined and convinced that what she is doing matters. IT DOES!
And the world acknowledged it by giving her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.
Since then she kept her voice clear and strong, continued to work and learn, and published a book. The book is meant for children, is about her life and it’s titled Malala’s Magic Pencil. (polish version was issued last year on my birthday 🙂 – 28th of October)
Jerry Seinfeld
Is the first stand upper that I liked. He doesn’t care about other people’s opinion which, should be a principle for any comedian. I like his sense of humor because it’s bright and perceptive. He reminds me that no matter the situation there is always room for positivity and a smile.
I love his Netflix show – Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
It’s simple.
It’s authentic.
It’s hilarious.
Of course, I like other comedians too, especially David Letterman and Trevor Noah. Mr. Seinfeld, however, touched me by being such a craftsman and his appreciation towards classic comedies – I adore old movies.
I even love his ridiculous shoes.
If New York is the human body, cars are germs.
~ Jerry Seinfeld
Trevor Noah while on the show:
The Super Bowl. The final, the biggest sporting event of football had a 100 milion viewers watching.
A random match during the season, not post-season, not any final, no cup, nothing. A match between Barcelona and Real Madrid had 400 million viewers.
Clearly, that is THE football. By the rules of democracy and just numbers alone, that is THE football.
~ Trevor Noah, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
A lot of very funny stuff is in that show! Highly recommended.
Maria Emma Torrenegra
I doubt you know this lady. I just recently learned about her story, because I was applying for a job at Torre. I didn’t get the job but I got something even better – another inspiring story.
Maria Emma Torrenegra was born in 1913 in Barranquilla (north Colombia). Back then girls couldn’t get higher education. High schools were allowed only for boys. Which transferred into only male universities as well. However in 1929 one University – Universidad Comercial del Atlantico – opened a course that didn’t require a high school diploma. Maria Emma was one of the first students to graduate.
More rocks and stones were thrown at here soon after when she found herself supporting her whole family. Even paying for her brothers’ education – who could study degrees that were out of reach for herself. One might say – It’s a man’s world, isn’t it?
Well, it’s not anymore.
[While there are many stories similar to this – Marie Emma Torrenegra was an inspiration for a real change that we can see today, which is the Torre company.]
Additional links:
Amelia Earhart. The thrill of it – a book about Amelia Earhart, by Susan Wels,
20 hrs. 20 min. – a book about the Friendship flight, by Amelia Earhart,
Elon Musk biography, by Ashlee Vance,
Crushing it!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Theis Business and Influence-and How You Can Too, by Gary Vaynerchuk
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World, by Gary Vaynerchuk
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