Louis Pasteur is perhaps best known for his work in the germ theory of disease. He also discovered how to stop milk and wine from going sour through the process now known as ‘pasteurization’. He discovered the first rabies vaccine, fearlessly extracting saliva from the mouths of rabid dogs.
“Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.”
- Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
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Christopher Reeve was an American actor, director and writer. He was best known for playing the role of ‘Superman’ in four films. In 1995 he was paralyzed after being thrown from a horse. Reeve lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries and for stem cell research.
“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
Christopher Reeve (1952-2004)
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Sophia Loren is an Academy Award winning actress, widely known to be the most famous Italian actress the world has known. She has said that living in extreme poverty as a youth gave her the strength of character to succeed in life.
“Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.”
- Sophia Loren (1934- )
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Michael J. Fox is a Canadian and American film and television actor who has garnered many Emmys and Golden Globes during the course of his career. In 19991 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and remains active in raising money and awareness for stem cell research, which holds the most promise for helping those with Parkinson’s.
“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.”
- Michael J Fox (1961-)
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Colin Powell was a former Joint Chief of Staff and the 65th U.S. Secretary of State serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African-American to serve in both of these positions.
“Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.”
- Colin Powell (1937-)
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As a young child, this American visionary and inventor of the geodesic dome often made things from materials he found in the woods, sometimes making his own tools as well. A quote from Buckminster Fuller.
“When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”
- Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983)
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Two quotes about problems from an eminent author, psychotherapist and the founder of Jungian Analysis…
“To ask the right question is already half the solution to a problem.”
“[The greater problems in life] can never be solved but only outgrown.”
- Carl Jung (1875-1961)
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Descartes, famous for his statement, ‘Cogito Ergo Sum’, or ‘I think, therefore I am,’ is known as the ‘Father of Modern Philosophy’.
“Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems.”
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
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Linus Pauling was an American quantum chemist and biochemist who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1954 and also the Nobel Peace Prize in 1963 for his campaign against above-ground nuclear testing.
“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas”.
Linus Pauling (1901-1994)
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Stewart Brand is an author and creator of ‘The Whole Earth Catalog.’ He was one of the ‘futurists’ consulted for the planning of the movie ‘Minority Report’, starring Tom Cruise.
“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road.”
- Stewart Brand (1938- )
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“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start,
anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”
- Unknown author
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Sam Shepard is an American playwright and actor. His early science fiction story, ‘The Unseen Hand’ was the inspiration for Richard O’Brien’s famous cult movie, ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’. Shepard won an Oscar nomination in 1984 for his portrayal of Chuck Yeager in the movie, ‘The Right Stuff’. Although Shepard is known for his aversion to flying, he allowed the real Chuck Yeager to take him up in a jet to prepare for the part.
“Character is an essential tendency. It can be covered up, it can be messed with, it can be screwed around with, but it can’t be ultimately changed. It’s the structure of our bones, the blood that runs through our veins.”
- Sam Shepard (1943- )
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Igor Stravinsky was financially successful as a composer, conductor and performer of his music. He was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people of the twentieth century. Even so, Igor and his wife, Vera Stravinsky, often had money woes, partially due to providing substantial unending financial support to his adult children.
“Money may kindle, but it cannot by itself, and for very long, burn.”
- Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
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The third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He also owned and managed a large estate.
“Never spend your money before you have it.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
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Oprah Winfrey is a huge force in teaching the principles of successful living as well as the promotion of world peace through her TV show and her work with girls and young woman in Africa.
“The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work."
- Oprah Winfrey (1954- )
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