Steve Jobs
Co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple.
American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor.
Ref: Interview conducted by the Santa Clara Historiacl Association. 1994. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkTf0LmDqKI (accessed Dec 2022)
Photo: Matthew Yohe. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Ellen DeGeneres
The well-known host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which ran from 2003 to 2022. Ellen is also a comedian, actor, writer, producer and household name.
Ref: DeGeneres, Ellen (2011). Seriously...I'm Kidding. New York: Grand Central Publishing.
Barack Obama
The 44th president of the United States (2009 to 2017), and the first African-American president of the United States.
Ref: President Barack Obama's Back-to-School speech , September 8, 2009 in Arlington, Va.
William Whelwell
English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian and science historian
in the 1800s .
Ref: Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy in England, Lecture 7. (1852) https://archive.org/details/lecturesonhisto00whewgoog/page/n122/mode/2up
Yoda
Iconic character, a leader of the Jedi Council, Star Wars.
Created by George Lucas.
Ref: Yoda (among final words). Return of the Jedi, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kjEnDj7K30 ( accessed Dec 2022).
Robert T. Kiyosaki
Author of 26 books including Rich Dad Poor Dad, which has sold over 32 million copies in 110 countries and been on the New York Times bestsellers list for over six years.
Ref: Kiyosaki R, Lechter SL.(2000).Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! Warner Business Books, 2000.
Photo: By Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128795493
Ed Sheeran
An iconic, award-winning, chart-topping English singer-songwriter. .
Ref: Instagram. 12 May, 2023. The Stern Show
https://www.instagram.com/p/CsGvwJ2gIjh/ May 12, 2023.
J. K. Rowling
British novelist, author of the iconic Harry Potter books
Ref: Harvard University Commencement Address (5 June 2008) Full text at Harvard Gazette:"The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination"
Photo: John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com , CC BY-SA 2.0
Coco Chanel
Founder of Chanel. The pioneering French fashion designer known for the little black dress. The only fashion designer listed on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
Ref: As quoted in Believing in Ourselves (1992) by Armand Eisen, p. 15
John Wooden
Basketball legend and the first person to be enshrined as both a player (1961) and a coach (1973) in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Ref: Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court (1997)
Reese Witherspoon
American actor, recipient of an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Listed among Forbes the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2019 and 2021.
Ref: What Reese Witherspoon Wants You to Remember About Failure. MarieClaire.com https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a23340335/reese-witherspoon-crate-and-barrel/[accessed March 2023]
Photo: By dtstuff9. CC BY-SA 2.0
Denzel Washington
American Academy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor. and film-maker.
Named the greatest actor of the 21st century by The New York Times in 2020.
Ref: Denzel Washington Motivational Speech 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbnzAVRZ9Xc (accessed Dec 2022).
Bruce Lee
A Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor, who bridged the gap between East and West. Named by Time as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
Ref: Bruce Lee, Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living, Part VIII : On Ultimate (Final) Principles, p. 121 (2000)
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (1863 – 1947) , the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was the main creator of the assembly line technique of mass production. This led to the first affordable car for middle-class Americans.
Ref: 1922 December 21, Engineering Production, Volume 5, Number 116, The Engineer’s Bookshelf, (Book review of “My Life and Work” by Henry Ford in collaboration with Samuel Crowther).
Photo: SnapMeUp , CC BY-SA 4.0
Michael Jordan
Widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time. Famously known to have said: I have missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games.
Played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Ref: Nike Culture : The Sign of the Swoosh (1998), by Robert Goldman and Stephen Papson, p. 49
Photo: London. UK. Athe Roundhouse, Chalk Farm ,19th October 2006.
John F. Kennedy
The 35th and youngest President of the United States.
Ref: Day of Affirmation Address, University of Capetown, Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966 | JFK Library [Internet]. [cited 2023 Mar 24].
Elon Musk
Founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc; co-founder of OpenAI.
Ref: I lost many battles - Elon Musk’s speech that broke the internet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3WdEOh6ezg (accessed Dec 2022).
Photo: The Royal Society, CC BY-SA 3.0
Marilyn Monroe
Screen legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Iconic actress, model and singer.
Ref: Barris G. Marilyn: Her Life In Her Own Words.
Herman Melville
An American (1819 – 1891 - quite poetic!) poet, novelist and essayist. His novel Moby-Dick is considered one of the great American novels.
Ref: Melville H. Hawthorne and His Mosses. The Literary World, August 17 and 24 https://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/nh/hahm.html (accessed March 2023)
Benjamin Carson
Retired American neurosurgeon, author, and politician. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the USA, in 2008.
Ref: Ben Carson, Take The Risk (p. 36)
Photo: Ben Photo by Gage Skidmore CC-BY-SA-3.0
Samuel Beckett
Irish playwright, novelist, poet and winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Ref: Worstward Ho (1983)
Elbert Hubbard
American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher
Ref: Electrical Review (c. 1895) https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Elbert_Hubbard
