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These Five People Inspire Me – Here’s Why!

There are many people who inspire me from varied walks of life. People who have faced adversity head on, and have shown both courage and bravery.

Not giving up, but giving back. Living the motto of arise, awake and stop not till you reach your goal.

I have listed my top five in no particular order.

 1. Bethany Meilani Hamilton-Dirks

Bethany is a professional surfer who survived a 2003 shark attack at the age of 13, in which her left arm was severed.

Though she lost her arm, she returned to professional surfing and wrote her autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board.

You might also recognize her from The Amazing Race.  I love the show and was so amazed by her when I saw her on it. The Amazing Race is a reality television show in which teams of two race around the world in competition with other teams. If you have ever seen the show you will recognize the difficulty in completing the challenges.

I love that she is now sharing her story of determination, faith and hope.

Often we discourage ourselves by thinking we cannot achieve our goals, and consequently success because obstacles have been put in our way.  Let her story encourage and motivate you to go on. No matter what you are facing in life at this moment.

She is not only a fighter and a motivational speaker, but one of the top five people that really and truly inspire me!

'If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere. - Frank A. Clark 'Click To Tweet

 2. Joe Gebbia

He is the co-founder and CPO of Airbnb. What’s Airbnb?  It is a website for people to list, find, and rent accommodation usually when on holiday, or out of town from their usual place of residence.

When this company was started, Joe and his roommate could not afford the rent on their loft in San Francisco. Hard to imagine that after all their success. Anyway, in order to make some money, they transformed their living room into a bed and breakfast, and allowed guests to spend the night on an air mattresses.

Why does he inspire me? Well, Airbnb currently has over 1,500,000 listings 190 countries. Oh and by the way, they own no property. Sometimes all you need is an small and simple idea, along with the drive to see it through.

This goes to show that you only need to follow your dreams, make your ideas become goals, then turn these into reality.

 3. Christiane Amanpour

There is so much to say about why I have her in my top three of people who inspire me. I will try to keep it short.

I have always loved Christiane Amanpour. As far back as I can remember being a little girl, my dad would always watch the news, usually Sky News or CNN.

I remember seeing her on the TV screen and thinking, I would love to be a journalist. I was well aware that I was too shy to ever be in front of the camera.

Not pretty enough, too chubby. The camera does add on another 20 pounds you already wished you did not have doesn’t it?

Over the years, I followed her stories. Watched her cover the Bosnian crisis in the early 90’s  at an age when I could actually understand what was going on in the world. Her dad was Iranian, so she spent time in Tehran, where my dad had lived and my sister was born. Was this a sign? Nope it wasn’t.

You see I never became a journalist, however I discovered my love for writing. I am learning by doing. It seems to be different for every post I write. if you are a writer and reading this, I must ask – Is that ever the same for you?

I look up to her because not only has she worked her way to the top, she has gone above and beyond in her endeavor and love for sharing the stories of the world. Nine Emmys for Christ sake! No other news correspondent can compare. IMO.

 4. Blessing Platinum

She is the co-founder, Editor-in-Chief and Art Director of The Young Director (TYD).

When she founded and launched this company in August 2012, she had to do so with her and her husbands’ savings. A risk they took knowing full well that if it did not work out they would be back doing jobs they were not inspired by, or worse – on the streets.

Today their magazine has gained global recognition and is a fully interactive iPad-based business, fashion and lifestyle magazine.

Their tagline? THERE’S MORE TO LIFE THAN 9 TO 5. So if you are thinking of starting your own business, go ahead! You can do it! Blessing is evidence of this.

 5. Kevin Breel

Kevin is a writer, comedian and artist. He also suffers from depression.

I could not have this list of people who inspire me without adding him to it. One reason is that he has helped so many simply because he is so easy to relate to.

I came across Kevin’s story when his TED talk entitled “Confessions of a Depressed Comic” went viral. He is a mental health activist and has helped raise millions of dollars for suicide prevention.

In his TED talk he spoke about having to live two lives. The life people see on the outside, and the life he lives on the inside struggling with depression. As a social activist, Kevin has and continues to bring awareness to depression.

I believe we also live two lives. One as our fictional self, and the other as our authentic self.  Do you know the difference?

Depression is not talked about enough. Millions of people deal with anxiety and depression everyday. Most will exhibit emotions such as happiness, joy, cheerfulness, and their love of life – whilst drowning in anguish.

When a celebrity takes their life as a result of depression, the world takes the time to share their condolences, talk about depression –  the other 99.5% you will never hear about.

Our brains are organs just like our livers and kidneys that can get sick too. Lack of understanding is one of the main reasons depression remains a topic we avoid.

We need to open up, talk to each other, share our thoughts, feelings problem. Encourage one another. Show empathy. Be there for one another.

Love. Each. Other.

Is there anyone in your life, on TV, or in the news that inspires you?

I would be very interested in hearing stories of who inspires you and why.

Share below in the comments section. Let’s grow this list!