"I WAS BORN DEFORMED BUT MY AMBITONS AND VISIONS ARE NOT DEFORMED"...

Every person deserves the chance to reach his or her full potential. For every disability you have, you are blessed with more than enough abilities to overcome your challenges.

However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. Every disability conceals a vocation all you need to do is to find it which will turn the necessity to glorious gain. Disability does not mean inability. The only disability in life is bad attitude. Some people have bad attitude and that is their disability. Disability is a matter of perception. If you can only do one thing very well, you are needed by someone.

Take a look at these great men and women who despite being disabled, believed that they have all it takes to become a greater person in life.

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  Stephen Hawking

   
  Stephen Hawking knew what he wanted to do by the time he was eight years old.Hawking decided to be a scientist and chose physics. Stephen was interested in studying the universe. He attended Oxford University in England, as an undergraduate student. He received his Ph.D in 1966 from Cambridge University. By the time he was 35 years old, Hawking was Cambridge’s first Gravitational Physics professor and received the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics award. Stephen Hawking has also published a book called A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes. The book tries to explain many of Hawking’s physical and mathematical ideas and calculations without using math. The book became a best seller and was made into a movie.
  When Stephen Hawking was 21-years-old, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also know as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This disease attacks the nerves that control a body’s voluntary movements. It affects walking, speaking, breathing, swallowing, etc. At the time of his diagnosis, the doctors gave Hawking two years to live. Hawking has defied this time frame and is still working. Today, Stephen cannot move much at all, has trouble holding his head up, and cannot speak, though he doesn't let it stop him. He now uses a special computer that displays the text he types and speaks what he types with an electronic voice.
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    Jim Abbott

    
    Jim Abbott has thrown a no-hitter, won Olympic gold in 1988, and been on Letterman. He is one of a handful of professional players who never once put on a minor-league uniform, jumping instead straight from college baseball to the big league. But those aren't the only reasons we know Jim Abbott. He is the only player in major league baseball who was born with one hand.
    Abbott was able to reach the major league without having a right hand, and he quickly became one of the better pitchers in the game during the early 1990's.
    
    • oscar pistorious
     
  • Oscar Pistorious is a South African sprint runner. Both of Pistorius' legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. He was the first athlete to compete at the Paralympic games and Olympic games, competing in sprint events for below knee amputees in Paralympic events, and in able-bodied sprint events. At the 2011 World  Championships in Athletics, Pistorius became the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics.

  • Nick Vujicic

      
  
  Nick is an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with Phocomelia, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of legs and arms. As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability. He presents motivational speeches worldwide which focus on living with disabilities and finding hope and meaning in life. Vujicic once said  that he keeps a pair of shoes in his closet due to his belief in miracles. wow!!!.

  • David Beckham

    
    David Beckham is one of the most famous professional soccer players in the world. David suffers from OCD and it manifests itself through constant cleanliness and perfection of all that is around him. Anything out of order is enough to cause a conflict and must be attended to immediately.
    David Beckham began playing football at a young age. He played for clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, PSG and won many trophies with them. He is one of the richest footballers.
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      Tom Cruise

      
      Tom Cruise is among the most talented actors in Hollywood. His films take in hundreds of millions of dollars and his fans also number in the millions.
      
      Even though Tom Cruise battles dyslexia, which is a learning disability that alters the way the brain process written material, he was nominated for and won several awards for best actor. 
      
       
      
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    Henry Holden

    
    From the time he was a young child, Henry Holden’s dream was that of becoming an actor. To date Henry has numerous acting credits to his name. He has made appearances on T. J. Hooker, AFTERmash, Hill Street Blues, Knots Landing, Hunter, Dear John, and Kids Incorporated. Henry also starred in a rock video, entitled, "I Got News for You." In addition to acting, Henry is an athlete, stand-up comic, and activist. 
    Henry Holden contracted polio during the 1952 Epidemic. He was four years old at that time. His disability has never stopped him from pursuing a path of excellence in his life, even though he wears leg braces and uses crutches. Henry is a tireless advocate for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all forms of entertainment and media. He is the founder of Performers with Disabilities for the Screen Actors Guild, and recently, he was the recipient of the very first American Scene Award given by the Screen Actors Guild. Henry’s motto is "Attitudes are the Real Disability!"
     
    
    
    
    
  •  Ludwig van Beethoven
    (famous musician) Beethoven is the greatest German composer and musician who was deaf at the later part of his life. In his early life he was famous as a pianist. He got the primary knowledge of music from his father, who was a musician. He has some mysterious power which led him to create famous compositions one after another. After the age of 28, he started becoming deaf and his personal life was not so peaceful. He composed many piano sonatas such as Waldstein, Appassionata, etc.
    
    

    • Cobhams Asuquo

        

      Cobhams is a born blind Nigerian musician, producer, and songwriter. He is CEO/ Head of Productions of CAMP (Cobhams Asuquo Music Productions) which is currently representing himself. Despite being blind he is a good pianist and has won many awards.
      
      

      • Marlee Matlin

        
        Marlee Matlin is a stand-up comedian and an actress. Some of her films include It's My Party, Bridge to Silence, Walker, and Children of A Lesser God. Marlee Matlin became deaf in infancy due to Roseola infantum. In 1987, she captivated the world by winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in the film Children of a Lesser God.
        
      
      
      
      

      • Aimee Mullins

        
        Aimee Mullins was born without fibulae, the bones that support the calf part of a person's legs. After her first birthday her legs were amputated in the hope that she could learn to use prosthetic legs, and she did--even better than most people can use their normal legs! Aimee became a world-famous sprinter when she grew up, breaking paralympic records for the hundred meter dash and the long jump.
        After her athletic career, Aimee became a model and actress. In 1999 she was named one of People Magazine's "Most Beautiful People." And she owns 12 pairs of legs!
      
      

      • Heather Whitestone

        
        
        There she is...Miss America. But unlike other Miss America crown holders, Heather never actually heard those words in 1995 as she was crowned. Miss Whitestone was the first person with a disability ever to be selected as Miss America. Heather had been deaf since the age of 18 months. Doctors told Heather’s parents that she would never read beyond the third grade level, nor learn to speak. In response to the judges’ question about her aim in life, she replied that she would like to assist children from all backgrounds to reach their fullest potential in life, to set high goals, and achieve them, as she had done. Heather’s special talent for the Miss America talent portion of the contest was ballet.
        Heather Whitestone is currently the spokesperson for the Helen Keller Eye Research Foundation and the Starkey Hearing Aid Foundation. She has also authored a book entitled, Listening with My Heart. Ms. Whitestone is a motivational speaker who believes in and promotes following your dreams.
        In 2002 she decided to have a cochlear implant operation in order to hear more fully in her right ear. The primary motivator for electing the surgery was an incident when she did not hear her son's cries for help. She said that she has not regretted her decision, thanking her family for supporting her.
    
    
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      Terence Parkin

      
      Many swimmers competed in multiple events during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.  One of them was Terence Parkin of South Africa.  Terence's events included the 200 and 400 meter individual medley, the 4x100 meter free relay, and the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke.  He swam in a total of eight different qualifying and final races in five days during the Olympics.  Terence finished fifth in the 400 meter individual medley.  In the 200 meter breaststroke, he finished second to win the silver medal.
      What makes this 20-year-old Olympic swimmer somewhat unique is that he has never been able to hear a race starter's signal.  Born deaf, Terence uses a strobe light similar to a camera flash to signal the beginning of the race.  The Olympic competitor only began swimming at age 14.  Now he holds three national records in South Africa and owns a silver medal from the Sydney Olympics.
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      Chris Burke

      
      Chris Burke, best known for the character, Corky, played for four years on the television series, Life Goes On, and became one of America's favorite personalities. Through his work, he was able to transform America's image of the people with disabilities. Ever since Chris spoke his first word, it became clear that he was a remarkable individual with many talents.
      Chris Burke was the first person with Down syndrome to star in a weekly television series. Currently, he serves as the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) Ambassador. Chris had the faith in his own abilities and the courage to face prejudice as he pursued his dream to become an actor.
      Today Chris travels all around the country delivering inspirational speeches to various groups of children, students, parents, and professionals.
      
      
      • Albert Einstein
      
      
      The Mathematician/Physicist who had a learning disability and did not speak until age 3. He had a very difficult time doing maths in school. It was also very hard for him to express himself through writing.  He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics.  He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his "services to theoretical physics", in particular his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, a pivotal step in the evolution of quantum theory.
      
      • Thomas Edison
        
        Edison is the great inventor who had over 1,000 patents and his inventions are in various fields used in our daily life. In his early life he was thought to have a learning disability and he could not read till he was twelve and later he himself admitted that he became deaf after pulling up to a train car by his ears. He first captured world attention by inventing the phonograph. His most popular invention is the electric light bulb. He also developed the telegraph system. He also became a prominent businessman and his business institution produced his inventions and marketed the products to the general people. 

      • Stevie Wonder

         
        Stevland Hardaway Morris  known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He became one of the most critically and commercially successful musical performers of the late 20th century. He has been blind since shortly after birth.
        
        
        
         You too can write your success story...
        Never give up in life. Though there will be obstacles, keep on moving!!!