Nick Vujicic was born in Melbourne, limbless, missing both arms at shoulder level, and having one small foot with two toes protruding from his left thigh. When he was seventeen, he started to give talks at his prayer group, and eventually started his non-profit organization, Life Without Limbs...
Life without Limbs: A non-profit organization created by Nick
Ototake Hirotada (乙武 洋匡) (born April 6, 1976) is a Japanese sports writer from Tokyo. Born without arms and legs due to a disease called tetra-amelia, he is most notable for his 1998 memoir No One's Perfect (五体不満足) ISBN 4770027648, which was a bestseller in Japan. To date, it has sold 4.5 million copies in Japan, making it the second-highest selling book there in nearly 50 years.
Links
Teacher born without limbs teaches children acceptance, respect
http://fisherwy.blogspot.com/2007/04/japanese-armless-author-becomes.html
Due to a slip of the doctor's hand during her birth, Hwang was born with cerebral palsy -- a permanent physical condition that affects movement. Unable to control her muscles, Hwang's childhood was spent "like a blob of soft mud on the floor or on the bed," she said.
She could not talk, drooled non-stop, and after seeing her crawl around, a neighbor said, "This child belongs in a circus." Not only that, she was often bullied by other children who threw rocks and punched her.
Her parents prayed for her everyday, and by elementary school, Hwang was able to take her first steps. In second grade, a teacher at school discovered Hwang's talent and encouraged her to continue drawing.
At the age of 14, Hwang's family emigrated to Los Angeles. "At first, I did not like LA, because some of my classmates at school hit me," Hwang said. "They hit me even though they were disabled, too. I went to a school for the disabled."
But Hwang studied hard, learning English within the first three years and was accepted at East Los Angeles College, majoring in art with a minor in psychology. "I was very happy during my college life," she said. "I like psychology because I like to probe the depths of the human mind and see how or why people behave."
Hwang then moved on to graduate school and obtained a doctorate from the California State University in Los Angeles.
Her first art show was held in Los Angeles in 1988, featuring abstract oil paintings.
"I get inspirations from books, poetry and nature," she said. "My paintings are like my children."
Another popular story about May Hwang was when she is giving a speech via writings on the board. A student ask her if she hated herself due to her condition and how she look at herself. She wrote on the board
I'm cute
I've got nice legs
My parent love me
God love me
I can draw
etc....
At the end of the board, she wrote "I look at what I have and I don't look at what I don't have". This is her philosophy.
Other Links in Chinese
http://web.nehs.hc.edu.tw/newsletter/307/people.html
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/herrykevin/4557684
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/williamtwwilliamtw/article?mid=3991&prev=4028&l=f&fid=5
Another inspirational woman
Book: Footnotes: A Life Without Limits By Lena Maria Klingvall
Diana Golden - Golden Opportunities Fund
Sports of The Times; A Champion Slips Away Unnoticed - NY Times
This song was originally sang by Judy Garland for the movie "The Wizard of Oz".
The lyrics is as follows:
Over The Rainbow
(Arlen-Harburg)
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true
Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemondrops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemondrops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
you can find out more about this song at the wiki.
I like this song. It gives you a sense of tranquillity. So, stop your worry and enjoy this song.
Here is the lyrics.
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
(George Weiss / Bob Thiele)
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shakin' hands, sayin' "How do you do?"
They're really saying "I love you"
I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Oh yeah
More about this song at the wiki.
I recommend the following books:
Success Built to Last by Jerry Porras by Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery, Mark Thompson – This is the first book you should read if you are wondering why you are still continuing the dreadful life that you are going through now. This book convinces readers that the only way to success is to follow your passion and chasing your dreams.
Now, Discover Your Strength by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton – This book is for those who do not know what their passions are and where their talent lies. This book has two parts, the first part, consist of argument that asserts that most of us had been focusing on correcting our weakness while neglecting our strengths. The author, Marcus Buckingham, advocated that we should focus on enhancing our strength while correcting our weakness to the extent that it does not hinders your strength. The second part of the book consists of discovering your hidden talents. Please note that talents and strengths are different. Talents are your natural ability and strengths are your talents being executed effectively and efficiently. This section contains description of various talents. You don’t need to read them, instead you register the web site provided in the book and use the ID contain in the book to take the online psychological test. The test will show what your five top talents are. The test was developed by the organization Gallup.
Strength Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath – Those who had read the previous book, "Now, Discover Your Strength" need not read this book. The only reason to buy this book is to take their improved test called Strength Finder 2.0. Please note that despite the title, the test does not help you to discover your strength but your natural ability.
I will discuss about these three books in details later. In the mean time, have a wonderful life!
