BEFORE: A prodigy rock climber, by age eight he had scaled the face of the 11,627-foot Mount Temple in the Canadian Rockies, and by 17 he was acknowledged to be one of the best climbers in the United States. In January 1982, after having ascended a difficult technical ice route in Huntington Ravine on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, Herr and a fellow climber Jeff Batzer were caught in a blizzard and became disoriented, ultimately descending into the Great Gulf where they passed three nights in −29 °C degree temperatures. By the time they were rescued, the climbers had suffered severe frostbite. Both of Herr’s legs had to be amputated below the knees; his companion lost his lower left leg, the toes on his right foot, and the fingers on his right hand.
AFTER: While a postdoctoral fellow at MIT in biomedical devices, he began working on advanced leg prostheses and orthoses, devices that emulate the functionality of the human leg. Using specialized prostheses that he designed, he created prosthetic feet with high toe stiffness that made it possible to stand on small rock edges the width of a coin, and titanium-spiked feet that assisted him in ascending steep ice walls. He used these prostheses to alter his height to avoid awkward body positions and to grab the hand and foot holds previously out of reach. His height could range from five to eight feet. As a result of using the prostheses, Herr climbed at a more advanced level than he had before the accident, making him the first person with a major amputation to perform in a sport on par with elite-level, able-bodied persons.
BEFORE: After leaving school, he briefly considered joining the Indian Army and hiked in the Himalayan mountains of Sikkim and West Bengal. Eventually, he joined the Territorial Army and, after passing selection, served as a reservist with the SAS in 21 SAS Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), for three years until 1997. In 1996, he suffered a free-fall parachuting accident in Zambia. His canopy ripped at 16,000 ft, partially opening, causing him to fall and land on his parachute pack on his back, which partially crushed three vertebrae. He later said: “I should have cut the main parachute and gone to the reserve but thought there was time to resolve the problem”. According to his surgeon, he came “within a whisker” of being paralyzed for life and at first it was questionable whether he would ever walk again. He spent the next 12 months in and out of military rehabilitation.
AFTER: In a showcase of what pure determination and hard work can do, on 16 May 1998 he achieved his childhood dream climbed to the summit of Mount Everest, 18 months after breaking three vertebrae in a parachuting accident. At 23, he was at the time among the youngest people to have achieved this feat. This is the inspirational story of the amazing Bear Grylls. He is known to the world as a television presenter for the Discovery Channel, with his own show called Man Vs. Wild. Also Visit Life Story Of Barack Obama
Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States—becoming the first African American to serve in that office—on January 20, 2009. The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, Obama grew up in Hawaii. Leaving the state to attend college, he earned degrees from Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago, where he met and married Michelle LaVaughn Robinson in 1992. Their two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha (Sasha), were born in 1998 and 2001, respectively. Obama was elected to the Illinois state senate in 1996 and served there for eight years. In 2004, he was elected by a record majority to the US Senate from Illinois and, in February 2007, announced his candidacy for president. After winning a closely fought contest against New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination, Obama handily defeated Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee for president, in the general election. When President Obama took office, he faced very significant challenges. The economy was officially in a recession, and the outgoing administration of George W. Bush had begun to implement a controversial "bail-out" package to try to help struggling financial institutions. In foreign affairs, the United States still had troops deployed in difficult conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the first two years of his first term, President Obama was able to work with the Democratic-controlled Congress to improve the economy, pass health-care reform legislation, and withdraw most US troops from Iraq. After the Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in 2010, the president spent significant time and political effort negotiating, for the most part unsuccessfully, with congressional Republicans about taxes, budgets, and the deficit. After winning reelection in 2012, Obama began his second term focused on securing legislation on immigration reform and gun control, neither of which he was able to achieve. When the Republicans won the Senate in 2014, Obama refocused on actions that he could take unilaterally, invoking his executive authority as president. In foreign policy, Obama concentrated during the second term on the Middle East and climate change. Obama left the presidency, at age fifty-five, after his constitutionally limited two terms ended on January 20, 2017. He announced plans to remain in Washington, DC, until his younger daughter finished high school and, as a former president, to play a restrained but active role in public affairs. He also devoted energy to raising money and planning for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois.
1) “The best investment you can make is in your own abilities. Anything you can do to develop your own abilities or business is likely to be more productive.” — Warren Buffett
2) “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” — Steve Jobs
3) “If you’re changing the world, you’re working on important things. You’re excited to get up in the morning.” — Larry Page
4) “I’m always looking for the right person to solve a problem. I only have so much time.” — Meg Whitman
5) “Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” — Oprah Winfrey
Mark Zuckerberg, in full Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, (born May 14, 1984, Dobbs Ferry, New York, U.S.), American computer programmer who was cofounder and CEO (2004– ) of Facebook, a social networking Web site. After attending Phillips Exeter Academy, Zuckerberg enrolled at Harvard University in 2002. On February 4, 2004, he launched thefacebook.com (renamed Facebook in 2005), a directory in which fellow Harvard students entered their own information and photos into a template that he had devised. Within two weeks half of the student body had signed up. Zuckerberg’s roommates, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, helped him add features and make the site available to other campuses across the country. Facebook quickly became popular as registered users could create profiles, upload photos and other media, and keep in touch with friends. It differed from other social networking sites, however, in its emphasis on real names (and e-mail addresses), or “trusted connections.” It also laid particular emphasis on networking, with information disseminated not only to each individual’s network of friends but also to friends of friends—what Zuckerberg called the “social graph.” In the summer of 2004 the trio moved their headquarters to Palo Alto, California, where Zuckerberg talked venture capitalist Peter Thiel into giving them seed money. Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard to concentrate on the fledgling company, of which he became CEO and president. In May 2005 Facebook received its first major infusion of venture capital ($12.7 million). Four months later Facebook opened to registration by high-school students. Meanwhile, foreign colleges and universities also began to sign up, and by September 2006 anyone with an e-mail address could join a regional network based on where he or she lived. About that time Zuckerberg turned down a $1 billion buyout offer from Yahoo!, but in 2007 Facebook struck a deal with Microsoft in which the software company paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook; two years later Digital Sky Technologies purchased a 1.96 percent share for $200 million. In 2008 Zuckerberg’s new worth was estimated at about $1.5 billion. After Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) of stock in 2012, Zuckerberg’s net worth was estimated at more than $19 billion.
1. "Approach failure with the right mindset." Many people think failure is just plain bad. Often managers and entrepreneurs are paralyzed by fear of failure. Failure is so scary in incremental and large context - they refuse to act and innovate. Miller believes you should let go of the fear and embrace the failure. He notes, "At the end of the day, innovation and action is what creates success instead of blocking ourselves from taking risks." 2. "Own the Failure." Ownership of failure should be celebrated by managers and entrepreneurs alike. When you acknowledge failure, you acknowledge the need for innovation, initiative and action. There is always a new idea to take away from failure. One has to be open to looking for the benefit. "Owning failure is a critical step to being able to identify course corrections and pivots that are necessary to ultimately get a successful result," says Miller. 3. "Stay Clear on Your End Result." Failure is hugely discouraging, but if you harp on how bad it makes you feel, you will likely lose sight of the reason you failed in the first place - to achieve something you care deeply about. Miller explains, "If you are focused on the small failures and successes, you may miss out on how those failures or successes are affecting the big picture." 4. "Get Feedback From Your Team." Oftentimes people who fail are unable to maintain an objective perspective on why things went off the rails. They are too emotionally attached to what happened. Listening to others can help put things into perspective. Miller says, "The feedback of others, can identify more than just whether the initiative is successful or not. It can also identify the causation of failures. 5."Use Data to Find the Roots of Failure." Miller believes using metrics is not only essential for determining success, but also identifying where failure lies. He explains, "Within each major high level metric, there may be sub metrics that must be measured to identify where in the chain of events lie the success and favors. By creating a consistent measurement system, leaders can readily identify what is successful and what is off track to allow for course correction." 6. "Keep on Trying." Thomas Edison once stated, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Miller believes you should feel good about taking risks and daring to innovate, even if it leads to some degree of failure. Not everyone succeeds, but if you keep at it and learn, you will eventually achieve success.
1. George Soros escaped the Nazis to become one of the world’s most successful investors : George Soros is the type to invest in a franchise and make it into success. His humble beginnings were in Hungary, where he survived that nation's Nazi occupation. Soros' father, in fact, was instrumental in saving his son's life by paying off a government employee. After the war, in 1947, Soros escaped his Iron Curtain and Cold War life and made it to London. He subsequently managed to earn a degree from the London School of Economics. But that's hardly the end of the story. Even after graduation, Soros was still living a modest life, working at a souvenir shop. Only later did he get rich and become part of a merchant bank that sparked his career as one of the most famous investors on the planet. 2. Larry Ellison came from the slums to co-found Oracle : Larry Ellison was born on the Lower East Side of New York during World War II, back when that district was still poor and teeming with immigrants striving to survive. At an early age, Ellison contracted pneumonia and was sent to the South Side of Chicago to live with relatives. Despite these obstacles, he was able to educate himself and join Software Development Laboratories, in 1977. This was a crucial move, because in 1982 the company became Oracle. This is a company that brings in $38 billion every single year, and along the way, Ellison -- who stepped down as CEO in 2014 -- managed to accumulate over $46.2 billion in net worth. 3. John Paul DeJoria ran his business from his car : DeJoria was born in Los Angeles, a first-generation American. He started out his business life selling Christmas cards and newspapers before he even turned 10. He also spent time in a gang. The path ahead looked like a disastrous one for DeJoria. But, instead, he later created John Paul Mitchell Systems using a $700 loan. He lived out of his car and sold shampoo door to door. Later, he would diversify into diamonds, mobile phones and alcohol. But first it took him a long time to escape living out of his car. 4. Do Won Chang worked three jobs to survive : Do Won Chang is the famous face behind Forever 21, who much earlier immigrated to the United States from South Korea, in 1981. Before he founded Forever 21, he worked three jobs simultaneously, as a gas station clerk, a janitor and a coffee shop employee. That period lasted for three years before he founded the company and opened its first clothing store, in 1984. This family business grew quickly by taking advantage of the benefits of "fast fashion." Forever 21 is now multi-national and has 480 locations across the world. It has also managed to bring in $3 billion per year. And the next generation has been taken into the company, as Chang has brought his two daughters on board. 5. Zdenek Bakala flees Communist Czechoslovakia with $50 : Zdenek Bakala happens to be one of the leading coal entrepreneurs in the United States. Originally from Czechoslovakia, he fled that country when he was just 19. He arrived in Lake Tahoe with just $50 in his pocket. Once there, he got a job washing dishes at Harrah’s casino. Fast-forward a few years: Bakala attended the prestigious University of California-Berkeley and acquired his undergraduate degree. That higher education credential gained him entry into the banking world. And returning to his homeland, in 1994 he opened the Credit Suisse office in Prague. Due to his enormous wealth, Bakala has managed to acquire huge shares in both coal and iron ore, which he still holds to this day.
