Malcom John Fraser,

Australian Prime Minister

(1975-1983)

A Tale of Triumph

Perseverance

Over AdversityAnd

Overcoming Adversity

Braille became blind after he accidentally stabbed himself in the eye with a small pointed tool used by his father to make holes in leather.

He later designed Braille Writing enabling blind people to read through feeling a series

of organized bumps representing letters.

(1809 – 1852)

Helen Keller(1880 - 1968)

When she was 19 months old Helen Keller came down with a serious illness which left her deaf and blind.

She was the first deaf and blind person to graduate from college in America. Keller went on to become a world-famous speaker, author

and advocate for people with disabilities.

Stevie Wonder(1950 - )

Blind from infancy, this singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer signed with Motown Records at the age

of 11. He has more than thirty Top 10 hits on the U.S. charts and won 22 Grammy Awards, the most ever won by a male solo artist.

When I graduated from … public school, my headmaster's parting words to me were: "Congratulations ... I predict you will either go to prison or become a millionaire."

Sir Richard Branson(1950 - )

Sir Richard Branson suffers from dyslexia, a specific learning disability. He fared poorly in school.

His Virgin Group covers sectors ranging from mobile telephony to transportation, travel, financial services, media, music and fitness, with more than 200 companies worldwide, employing some 50,000 people, in 29 countries. Global revenues in 2008 exceeded £11 billion.

“Even if you offered me £20 million now to recite the whole alphabet, I couldn't do it,"

Sir Jackie Stewart

At age 42 Jackie Stewart found out that he was dyslexic which explained his learning difficulties in school.

(1932 - )

Sir Jackie Stewart competed in Formula One motor racing between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Championships.

University (1996), Cranfield University (1998) and

He was awarded honorary doctorates from Heriot-Watt

University of St Andrews (2008) for his contributions to the sport.

Henry Winkler“To this day I pay with paper money for a slice of pizza and have no idea how much change I should get back.”

“The Fonz” from the popular sitcom, “Happy Days” suffers from dyslexia. His parents told him from young that he was a “dumb dog”.

He dropped out of high school and turned to acting. Because of his condition, “Fonzie” could never learn how to ride a motorcycle. It had to be towed on set. He also had difficulty remembering his lines.

Apart from acting, “Fonzie” devotes his time as a motivational speaker and campaigner for children with learning difficulties.

Born without the fibula in both legs, he was only 11 months old when doctors were forced to amputate his limbs below the knee.

In the 2008 Paralympics , he won Gold medals for 100m, 200m and 400m.

Oscar Pistorius (1986 - )

Jessica Cox

Born without arms, Jessica flies planes, drives cars, and otherwise lives a normal life using her feet . She holds the titles of the first person without arms in the American Tae Kwon-Do Association to get a black belt, and the first woman pilot in aviation history to fly using her feet.

(1983 - )

Perseverance

Walt Disney(1901 – 1966)

“… most of the people I talked to thought it (Disneyland) would be a financial disaster -closed and forgotten within the first year."

"He (Mickey Mouse) popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad … at a time when business fortunes … were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner.

Colonel Sanders

Colonel Sanders managed to find a business partner for KFC at the 1009th attempt.

The first "Kentucky Fried Chicken“ restaurant opened in 1952.

Sanders was already in his 60s.

A well known record company rejected The Beatles after a somewhat lacklustre audition, saying that "guitar groups are on the way out" and "the Beatles have no future in show business"

The Beatles

The Beatles received their Member of British Empire medals from the Queen in 1965

Their first number one album, “Please, Please Me” was released in March 1963.

The Beatles received 7 Grammy Awards and were awarded 6 Diamond albums, 24 Multi-Platinum albums, 39 Platinum albums and 45 Gold albums in the US.

Simon Cowell(1959 - )

Simon dropped out of school at the age of 16. He started at EMI as a mail boy and worked his way up.

In 2007 Simon received USD$45 million from American Idol, USD$15 million from Britain's Got Talent and X Factor, and USD$12 million from his record label. His estimated net worth in 2009 was USD$196 million.

The Sandwich Man

Sirivat Voravetvuthikun lost all his money in the 1990s stock market crash.

In 1997 he started selling sandwiches in the streets of Bangkok.

Today he operates six coffee break service outlets.

Lim Goh Thong(1918 - 2007 )

Many people thought it was too risky and foolish to invest heavily in developing the wilderness around Gunong Ulu Kali into a tourist resort.

To realise his Genting Highlands dream, Lim worked seven days a week and invested all his personal fortune. He almost lost his life on six different occasions.

Tony Fernandes (1964 - )

Starting Air Asia soon after the 911 terror attack, people predicted he would fail miserably.

Air Asia broke even and cleared all its debts in just one year.

Initial public offering (IPO) of its shares in 2004 was oversubscribed by 130 per cent.

Aiskrim Mingo MingoRamli Mazlan

Mingo Mingo is now sold at more than 50 outlets and 500 ice cream dispensers nationally.

Nobody supported Ramli’s dream to sell ice cream. Some even thought he was crazy for talking about it everyday.

Dangerously high levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and uric acid. The doctor told him : shape up or die by 60.

He competed in his first half marathon at age 48 and has completed 13 Ironman competitions to date.

Yee Sze Mun

Rizal Shahputra

Rizal spent a harrowing nine days sitting on a tree trunk afloat after being swept 100 nautical miles by the tsunami in 2004.

He survived by eating coconuts and packets of Milo floating in the sea and drinking rainwater.

Icons of Greatness

Nelson Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life in prison.

Nelson Mandela(1918 - )

Mandela served 27 years in prison,spending 18 of these years on RobbenIsland. Following his release from prison on11 February 1990, Mandela led his party inthe negotiations that led to multi-racialdemocracy in 1994.

He was inaugurated as the firstdemocratically elected State President ofSouth Africa on 10 May 1994 - June 1999.

Steve Jobs(1955 - 2011 )

a brilliant computer engineer started Apple Computers. Both men are credited for bringing computing technology to the desktops of everyday consumers in the form of the personal computer (PC).

In 1976, a 21 year old high school dropout, Steve Jobs teamed up with Steve Wozniak,

He oversaw the introduction of iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. At the time of his demise, Apple was the richest company in the world.

In 1980, Apple traded with a market value of $1.2 billion on the very first day of trading.

In 1985 Jobs was sacked from Apple. He returned in 1997 as CEO.

To find fault is easy. To do better may be difficult.

PlutarchGreek historian (AD 46-120)

If you look for the best in your employees, they'll flourish. If you criticize or look for the worst, they'll shrivel up. We all need lots of watering.

Sir Richard Branson

I was angered, for I had no shoes.

Then I met a man who had no feet.

Chinese Proverb

We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.

Carlos Castenada (Author, 1925-1998)

No matter what the level of your ability, you have more potential than you can ever develop in a lifetime.

James T. Mccay

The End

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