EXTRAORDINARY KIDS IN THE WORLD.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart—The six-year-old composer

At the age of three, Wolfgang Mozart played the harpsichord and by six, he had written his first musical composition. This was followed by the first symphony at the age of eight and opera at 12.

The legendary composer’s musical talents were quickly discovered shortly after his birth in Salzburg, Austria in 1756.

As a five-year-old, Mozart performed at the University of Salzburg with the piano and at the imperial court in Vienna the next year. At the age of 14, he set out to Italy to become an opera composer.

He died at the age of 35 and left behind more than 600 compose piesed. 

William Rowan Hamilton—Multilingual by the age of five

Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1805, William Rowan Hamilton showed his intellectual abilities at an early age, mastering Latin, Greek and Hebrew by the age of five.

By the time he was 13, the future mathematician knew 13 different languages, including Sanscrit, Persian, Italian, Arabic, Syriac and Indian dialects.

At the age of 15, Hamilton found errors while studying the works of French mathematician Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace.

He was appointed Professor of Astronomy, Director of the Dunsink Observatory and the Royal Astronomer of Ireland while he was still studying as a university student.

His greatest contributions includes a theory of dynamics and quaternions, a method used for three-dimensional space in mathematics.  

Ireland’s greatest mathematician was knighted in 1835 and died in 1865.

                                     

                                     

Pablo Picasso—The greatest artist of the 20th century

Born in Spain in 1881, Pablo Picasso developed his skills early, producing complex pieces with the support of his artist father and by the age of 15, his first large oil painting The First Communion was displayed in Barcelona.

The following year, his painting Science and Charity won a gold medal in Malaga and received honorable mention at a national exhibit for the fine arts in Madrid.

His interest in modern art eventually caused a rift between him and his parents.

In the early 20th century, Picasso co-founded  Cubist movement. His technique and style would change often throughout his life.

The artist died in France in 1973.

  

William James Sidis—The smartest man who ever lived

At eight years old, William James Sidis proved his mathematics giftedness by developing a new logarithm table based on the number 12 and gave a lecture at Harvard University a year later. The child genius set the world record as the youngest person to enroll at the prestigious university at the age of 11 and graduated cum laude five years later.

Sidis is considered to be the smartest man who ever lived, by some, with an estimated IQ of 250-300

Before his own experience with the terrible twos, Sidis had taught himself to read and shortly thereafter, became fluent in eight languages and wrote four original works of his own by the age of seven.

After an incredible childhood – or lack of it – adulthood was a struggle for Sidis and newspapers at the time reported that his “genius had burned out” due to the numerous obscure blue collared jobs  he obtained throughout his life.

       

Shakuntala Devi—The “Hindu Mathematical Wizardess”

RussiaToday via YouTube

Born in 1939 in Bangalore, India to a lion tamer father, Shakuntala Devi started her relationship with numbers through card tricks she played with her father at the age of three.

Nicknamed the “Human Computer,” and “Hindu Mathematical Wizardess” Devi demonstrated her mathematics abilities at the University of Mysore and Annamalai University as a child.

Her talent has been mentioned in the Guinness Book of world Records several times, such as when she extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number mentally and when she found the cube root of 332,812,557 in seconds.

In 2006, she published "In the wonderland of numbers" a story about a girl fascinated with digits.

Robert James Fischer—The greatest chess player

At 14-years-old, Robert "Bobby" Fischer won the World Chess Champion becoming the youngest winner of the title.  In that year, he captured the attention of the chess world with what has since been dubbed as “The Game of the Century.”

He broke another record the following year when he became the youngest international grandmaster of all times at the age of 15.

In 1972, he became the highest rated player in history with an FIDE rating of 2785.

In 1992, he played a match against an old rival in Yugoslavia and violated a United Nations sanction. Fischer dodged authorities for the next 12 years until his capture in Japan in 2004. He was eventually released in 2005 and granted Icelandic citizenship.

Throughout his chess career, he set many records, including beating two components at a quarter-final and semi-final for the world championship with identical scores.

Fischer died in Iceland in 2008.

Kim Ung-Yong—A guest physics student at age three

At the age of three, Kim Ung-Yong began taking courses as a guest physics student at Hanyang University in South Korea. By theage of eight, he was invited by NASA to study in the United States.

Born in 1962, Kim Ung-Yong is listed as having the highest IQ at 210 in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The young prodigy began speaking at four months old and merely two years  later, he was able to read in Japanese, Korean, German and English.

As a 16-year-old, Kim left NASA and decided to attend college in Korea to earn a doctorate in civil engineering.

Kim has been an adjunct professor at Chungbuk University since 2007 and has published approximately 90 papers on hydraulics in scientific journals.

Sufiah Yusof—The troubled prodigy

In 1997, Sufiah Yusof received her acceptance to St. Hilda’s College, Oxford to study mathematics at the age of 13. A few years later, the Malaysian intellect disappeared form her flat after a final examination.

She was eventually found working as a waitress in an Internet café and claimed her parent’s intense pressure on her to succeed led to the runaway.

Upon her return, Yusof lived with a foster family and gave her undergraduate degree another attempt in 2003. The following year, she married a lawyer from Oxford and never completed her program. The marriage lasted 13 months.

In 2007, it was discovered that the once child prodigy has since been working as a prostitute.The news was revealed days after her father was charged with sexually assaulting two 15-year-olds.

Yusof is now reported to be working as a social worker. 

Kathleen Holtz—The youngest lawyer

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Kathleen Holtz started California State University, Los Angeles at the age of ten and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in philosophy. As a 15-year-old, she started law school and became the youngest lawyer in California and, most likely, the nation at the age of 18 in 2007. The average age for individuals taking the bar exam in California is 30.

After passing the bar, Holtz worked for the law firm TroyGould.

In 2009, NBC was reportedly planning a television series based on Holtz’ story starring Hilary Duff.

Gregory Smith—The four-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee

University of Virginia

In 1999, at ten years old Gregory Smith received a four-year scholarship to Randolph-Macon College worth approximately $70,000. The young boy eventually graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and minors in History and Biology.

Two years later, Smith added meeting with Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, speaking in front of the United Nations, and being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize to his list of life achievements.

Smith has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times since then for his humanitarian work in East Timor, Sao Paolo, Rwanda and Kenya.

As a 16-year-old, Smith entered the University of Virginia to study for doctorates in mathematics, aerospace engineering, international relations and biomedical research.

Colin Carlson—The environmentalist boy genius

University of Connecticut

Colin Carlson taught himself how to read as a toddler and graduated from Stanford University Online High School by the age of 11.

At nine-years-old, he began taking college credit courses at the University of Connecticut and enrolled in the university full-time as a sophomore by the age of 12.

Carlson currently holds a 3.9 grade point average as a dual-degree honors student in ecology & evolutionary biology and environmental studies.

He recently filed an age discrimination complaint against the university when they denied his request to participate in field work that would require him to travel to South Africa.

The boy genius has interned with the Sierra Club, founded an environmental organization and testified before the state legislature.

Jacob Barnett—The next Nobel Peace Prize winner

mathboysmom via YouTube

At the age of eight, Jacob Barnett began attending Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

With an IQ of 170 – higher than Albert Einstein’s – Barnett could be in line for a future Nobel Peace Prize, according to one of the world's leading scientists and the 13-year-old's professor at college.

Akrit Jaswal—The seven-year-old surgeon

At seven years old, Akrit Jaswal added “surgeon” to his resume.

Born in 1993, the child surgeon became India’s youngest physician and university student.

The only downfall is that the young intellect knows just how gifted he is, reportedly saying, “People saw my potential and wanted to help me excel in life…I think they're of above average intelligence, but not as clever as me."

Jaswal has an estimated IQ of 146.

His mother told the Indianapolis Star that her son tested out of algebra 1 and 2, geometry, trigonometry and calculus after two-weeks of studying on the front porch.

Barnett has not let Aspergers Syndrome, a mild form of autism, slow him down.

Since enrollment, Barnett has been taking advanced astrophysics classes and is working on expanding Einstein’s theory of relativity. He is also working on challenging the Big Bang theory.  

Saffron Pledger – possibly one of the youngest members of a high IQ society

She hasn't even experienced proper schooling yet, but three-year-old Saffron Pledger already has an IQ score of 140 and might possibly become one of the youngest member of Mensa, an intellectual high IQ society with members in more than 100 countries.

In order to be a part of the scholarly society, members must score among the top two percent of the world’s IQ scores.

With her current score, Pledger is already 40 points above the national average and three points ahead of former President Bill Clinton.

The English-born Pledger is reported to be able to write, read, count up to 50 and solve simple mathematics.

She is the daughter of eight-time game show champion Danny Pledger, a 23-year-old web designer.

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Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was a German-born physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, among other feats. He is considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century.

Synopsis

Born in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany in 1879, Albert Einstein had a passion for inquiry that eventually led him to develop the special and general theories of relativity. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect and immigrated to the U.S. in the following decade after being targeted by the Nazis. Einstein is generally considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century, with his work also having a major impact on the development of atomic energy. With a focus on unified field theory during his later years, Einstein died on April 18, 1955, in Princeton, New Jersey.

Background and Early Life

Born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany, Albert Einstein grew up in a secular Jewish family. His father, Hermann Einstein, was a salesman and engineer who with his brother founded Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie, a Munich-based company that manufactured electrical equipment. His mother, the former Pauline Koch, ran the family household. Einstein had one sister, Maja, born two years after him.

Einstein attended elementary school at the Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich. However, he felt alienated there and struggled with the institution's rigid pedagogical style. He also had what were considered to be speech challenges, though he developed a passion for classical music and playing the violin that would stay with him into his later years. Most significantly, Einstein's youth was marked by deep inquisitiveness and inquiry. 

Towards the end of the 1880s, Max Talmud, a Polish medical student who sometimes dined with the Einstein family, became an informal tutor to young Albert. Talmud had introduced his pupil to a children’s science text that inspired Einstein to dream about the nature of light. Thus, during his teens, Einstein penned what would be seen as his first major paper, "The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic Fields."

Resident of Switzerland

Hermann Einstein relocated the family to Milan, Italy, in the mid-1890s after his business lost out on a major contract. Albert was left at a relative's boarding house in Munich to complete his schooling at the Luitpold Gymnasium. Faced with military duty when he turned of age, Albert allegedly withdrew from classes, using a doctor’s note to excuse himself and claim nervous exhaustion. With their son rejoining them in Italy, his parents understood Einstein's perspective but were concerned about his future prospects as a school dropout and draft dodger.

Einstein was eventually able to gain admission into the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, specifically due to his superb mathematics and physics scores on the entrance exam. He was still required to complete his pre-university education first, and thus attended a high school in Aarau, Switzerland helmed by Jost Winteler. Einstein lived with the schoolmaster's family and fell in love with Wintelers' daughter, Marie. Einstein later renounced his German citizenship and became a Swiss citizen at the dawn of the new century.

Marriage and Family

While attending school in Zurich, Einstein developed lasting friendships and alliances, also meeting his future wife, Mileva Maric, a Serbian physics student.

After graduating from Polytechnic, Einstein faced major challenges in terms of finding academic positions, having alienated some professors over not attending class more regularly in lieu of studying independently. Meanwhile, Einstein continued to grow closer to Maric, but his parents were strongly against the relationship due her ethnic background. Nonetheless, Einstein continued to see her, with the two developing a correspondence via letters in which he expressed many of his scientific ideas. In 1902 the couple had a daughter, Lieserl, who might have been later raised by Maric's relatives or given up for adoption. Her ultimate fate and whereabouts remain a mystery.

Einstein eventually found steady work in 1902 after receiving a referral for a clerk position in a Swiss patent office. Einstein’s father passed away shortly thereafter, and the young scientist married Milena Maric on Jan. 6, 1903. The couple went on to have two sons, Hans and Eduard. 

The marriage would not be a happy one, however, with the two divorcing in 1919 and Maric having an emotional breakdown in connection to the split. Einstein, as part of a settlement, agreed to give Maric any funds he might receive from possibly winning the Nobel Prize in the future. He had also begun an affair some time earlier with a cousin, Elsa Löwenthal, whom Einstein wed during the same year of his divorce. He would continue to see other women throughout his second marriage, which ended with Löwenthals death in 1936.

Miracle Year

While working at the patent office, Einstein had the time to further ideas that had taken hold during his studies at Polytechnic and thus cemented his theorems on what would be known as the principle of relativity.

In 1905—seen by many as a "miracle year" for the theorist—Einstein had four papers published in the Annalen der Physik, one of the best known physics journals of the era. The four papers focused on the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, the special theory of relativity (the most widely circulated of the write-ups) and the matter/energy relationship, thus taking physics in an electrifying new direction. In his fourth paper, Einstein came up with the equation E=mc2, suggesting that tiny particles of matter could be converted into huge amounts of energy, foreshadowing the development of atomic power. 

Famed quantum theorist Max Planck backed up the assertions of Einstein, who thus became a star of the lecture circuit and academia, taking on various positions before becoming director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics from 1913 to 1933.

Relativity and Nobel Prize

In November, 1915, Einstein completed the general theory of relativity, which he considered the culmination of his life research. He was convinced of the merits of general relativity because it allowed for a more accurate prediction of planetary orbits around the sun, which fell short in Isaac Newton’s

theory, and for a more expansive, nuanced explanation of how gravitational forces worked. Einstein's assertions were affirmed via observations and measurements by British astronomers Sir Frank Dyson and Sir Arthur Eddington during the 1919 solar eclipse, and thus a global science icon was born. 

In 1921, Einstein won the Nobel Prize for Physics though he wasn't actually given the award until the following year due to a bureaucratic ruling. Because his ideas on relativity were still considered questionable, he received the prize for his explanation of the photoelectric effect though Einstein still opted to speak about relativity during his acceptance speech.

In the development of his general theory, Einstein had held on to the belief that the universe was a fixed, static entity, aka a "cosmological constant," though his later theories directly contradicted this idea and asserted that the universe could be in a state of flux.  Astronomer Edwin Hubble deduced that we indeed inhabit an expanding universe, with the two scientists meeting at the Mount Wilson Observatory near Los Angeles in 1930.

While Einstein was travelling and speaking internationally, the Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler, were gaining prominence with violent propaganda and vitriol in an impoverished post-WWI Germany. The party influenced other scientists to label Einstein's work "Jewish physics." Jewish citizens were barred from university work and other official jobs, and Einstein himself was targeted to be killed.

Move to U.S. and Atomic Energy

In 1933, Einstein took on a position at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey and never went back to his native land. It was here that he would spend the rest of his life working on a unified field theory—an all-embracing paradigm meant to unify the varied laws of physics. Other European scientists also left regions threatened by Germany and immigrated to the states, with there being concern over Nazi strategies to create an atomic weapon. 

In 1939, Einstein and fellow physicist Leo Szilard wrote to President Franklin D Roosevelt to alert him of the possibility of a Nazi bomb and to galvanize the United States to create its own nuclear weapons. The U.S. would eventually initiate the Manhattan Project, though Einstein would not take direct part in its implementation due to his pacifist and socialist affiliations. Einstein was also the recipient of much scrutiny and major distrust from FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

Not long after he began his career at Princeton, Einstein expressed an appreciation for American "meritocracy" and the opportunities people had for free thought, a stark contrast to his own experiences coming of age. In 1935, Einstein was granted permanent residency in his adopted country and became an American citizen a few years later. During WWII, he worked on Navy-based weapons systems and made big monetary donations to the military by auctioning off manuscripts worth millions. 

Global and Domestic Activism

After learning of the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, Einstein became a major player in efforts to curtail usage of the a-bomb. The following year he and Szilard founded the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, and in 1947, via an essay for The Atlantic Monthly, Einstein espoused working with the United Nations to maintain nuclear weapons as a deterrent to conflict. 

Around this time, Einstein also became a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, seeing the parallels between the treatment of Jews in Germany and African Americans in the United States. He corresponded with scholar/activist u Bois as well as performing artist Paul Robeson and campaigned for civil rights, calling racism a "disease" in a 1946 Lincoln University speech. 

After the war, Einstein continued to work on his unified field theory and key aspects of the theory of general relativity, such as wormholes, the possibility of time travel, the existence of black holes and the creation of the universe. However, he became increasingly isolated from the rest of the physics community, whose eyes were set on quantum theory. In the last decade of his life, Einstein, who had always seen himself as a loner, withdrew even further from any sort of spotlight, preferring to stay close to Princeton and immerse himself in processing ideas with colleagues.

On April 17, 1955, while working on a speech to honor Israel's seventh anniversary, Einstein suffered an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was taken to the University Medical Center at Princeton for treatment but refused surgery, believing that he had lived his life and was content to accept his fate. "I want to go when I want," he stated at the time. "It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly." Einstein died at the university medical center early the next morning—April 18, 1955—at the age of 76.

During the autopsy, Thomas Stoltz Harvey removed Einstein's brain, reportedly without the permission of his family, for preservation and future study by doctors of neuroscience. Einstein's remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered in an undisclosed location, following his wishes. After decades of study, Einstein's brain is now located at the Princeton University Medical Center. A veritable mountain of books have been written on the iconic thinker's life, including Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson and Einstein: A Biography by Jürgen Neffe, both from 2007. Einstein's own words are presented in the collection The World as I See It.

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Why the efforts were in vain.

Sometimes you might do a lot of effort then find no result
Sometimes you might do your best to reach something and in the end find that your efforts are in vain.
Sometimes you might feel that you wasted lots of effort, time and resources but still didn’t get any reward...

Do you know why you feel so?
Because you know nothing about the bamboo trees!!

Here is why your efforts might not be in vain

If you ever asked someone who grows bamboo trees about the answer you will discover that at the beginning all efforts appear to be in vain before sudden rewards appear.

At the first four years, the seed is watered and taken care of but it only grows few centimeters above the ground. Imagine yourself watering a plant for four years without yielding any results?

But in the fifth year the bamboo tree suddenly grows to reach a height between 60 to 90 feet and all of a sudden it becomes taller than all other trees.

The tree was charging its potential for four years and then suddenly all the potential was unbleached and the tree outperformed all other trees.

you may be planting a bamboo tree too

You might be planting a bamboo tree without noticing. The effort that you did, each drop of your sweat, each moment that you have spent was never lost but in fact they were all steps you needed to take before you can shoot up in the sky just like the bamboo tree did.

If you don’t see yet the result of your efforts or if you feel that your efforts are in vain then don’t give up but know that you might be planting a bamboo tree as well.

Success, the media and you

I don't blame people who believe that they can succeed overnight or from the first attempt because the media has completely brainwashed them to think that way.

It usually takes the movie hero few days to recover from the most devastating failure and to become successful once again. This easy success mentality is the one factor that prevents many people from ever becoming successful.

If you want to know how success really happens then read more about the success stories of real people who managed to become successful in spite of the obstacles they faced. 

• Be Inspired.

I'm not motivated to do anything

So you are not motivated to do anything
You know the right things that should be done but instead you procrastinate, act as if you don’t notice them or fear to start working on them.

The state you are currently in is not loss of motivation or lack of energy but it’s a state of loss hope. When we lose hope in reaching what we want we don’t find enough motive to act.

After all motivation comes from believing that taking certain actions will lead to certain desired outcomes but if the hope in finding the desired outcome was lost then motivation is replaced with feelings of helplessness. 

Is this the end?

I want you to do the following exercise if you feel that you don't have the motive to do anything.

I want you now to visualize the following situations while keeping your eyes closed.

Scene one: Imagine that a week has passed and that you didn’t act or take any actions to change the situation. Try to live the experience as if you are there.

Scene Two: Then imagine that one month has passed and that you still lack the motive to act. Try to experience the feelings you will experience as if you are already in the future.

Scene three: Now imagine that a year has passed then do the same. How do you feel after a year of not doing anything? Is this how you want your life to be like one year from now?

Scene four: Imagine that five years have passed and that you are still the same person who lacks motivation, has no hope and who is still ill willed. Five years has passed and you are still the same person. Everyone around you seems to have found their way while you are growing older and feeling depressed.

The final scene : Now image that you are living the final year of your life. 20, 40 or 60 years may have passed and you are still the same person, you have the same problems and still in the same place. Is this how you want your life to be? How do you feel after wasting your whole life without taking actions?

Do you want to end up being a desperate and a depressed old person who cries whenever he remembers his past?

Is this really the end? Is this the ending that you want for your life?

• Be Inspired.

Sailing Against the Wind

Everyone knew that day that sailing against the wind was going to be dangerous, that drowning was one of the biggest possibilities out there, but they had to sail because they had no other choice.

While the ship was sailing against the wind, it was hit by an iceberg which made a big hole near the bottom of it. People's reaction varied greatly: some started to cry, others started to scream and beg for help while few managed to control their emotions.

Fortunately a rescue ship showed up and everyone was saved, those who cried, those who screamed and those who faced their fears with tremendous courage.

Live Like a Lion

As you saw, everyone was saved and crying and screaming didn’t change anything. If they were going to die, then crying would have had no meaning and if they were going to be saved then crying would have been a shameful memory that they carry on their for the rest of their lives.

The moral of this story is simple: If you are going to live this life, which is the only choice you have, then live it like a lion because living like a rabbit would change nothing.

If you are going to face life's problems, and this will definitely happen, then face them with courage! If you decided to get on the boat then know that facing storms is not an option. You can’t control the intensity of the storm but you can control your emotions when the wind blows and when the sky becomes dark. 

All of the problems that you are currently facing and all of these storms in your life are not optional events. Whether you want to or not, you will pass through them to the end. So why not pass through them as a courageous person instead of a coward?

If you had the choice not to pass through these difficulties, I may have not written this article; but if you are already on board then stand your ground and don’t run.

Any difficulties in life are temporary and will eventually pass, the question is, how will you face these troubles? Crying in despair, or smiling in their face with confidence? In both cases, the results will be the same.

Fear Nothing if You Decide to Set Sail

Before getting into that project, before deciding to take that job, or before thinking of starting this new business take your time and think it through. Examine your fears and learn about the possible risks, because once you decide to go on a venture, fear will be useless because it will change nothing.

The same problem could happen to four different people where one may cry, another may yell, the third may get depressed and the fourth may look the problem straight into the eye, but the result will be the same for all four of them!

In summary, you don’t have any other choice but to live, so live like a warrior instead of living with fear. In both cases the result will be the same, and who knows, maybe if you faced the problem courageously you might find another way out.

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Zinedine Zidane Success Story.

Zinedine Zidane was born on June 23, 1972, in Marseille, France. A three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Zidane led France to victory in the 1998 World Cup and starred for clubs in France, Italy and Spain. His career ended in shocking fashion when he was expelled from the 2006 World Cup final for headbutting an opponent, but he is nonetheless regarded as one of soccer's all-time greats.

Childhood

Zinedine Yazid Zidane was born on June 23, 1972, in Marseille, France. The son of Algerian immigrants, Zidane learned to play soccer in the streets of La Castellane, a rough section of Marseille. After starring for local youth clubs, 14-year-old Zidane was discovered at a French Football Federation training camp by AS Cannes recruiter Jean Varraud, and spent the next three years honing his skills in Cannes' youth division.

Professional Career

Zidane made his first professional appearance for Cannes at 17, scoring a goal in his debut. He transferred to Bordeaux in 1992, and in ensuing years the attacking midfielder earned renown for his sterling all-around play. Prone to the occasional flash of temper, Zidane otherwise was the embodiment of control with the ball at his feet, seemingly knowing when to maneuver through the defense, find a teammate with a pinpoint pass or rocket a shot at the goal.

Zidane transferred to Juventus F.C. in Italy's prestigious Series A League in 1996. The move brought a marked increase in visibility and expectations, but Zidane proved he was up to the challenge by steering Juventus to an Italian Super Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, an Intercontinental Cup and a pair of Series A titles over the next two seasons.

At his peak when France hosted the 1998 World Cup, Zidane spearheaded Les Bleus' march through the tournament with his crisp passing and dribbling, and then scored twice as France shut down Brazil in the final, 3-0, to become a national hero. Two years later, Zidane again was the linchpin of the French team's run to international glory, which culminated with a 2-1 win over Italy for the European Championship.

In 2001, Zidane signed with Spanish club Real Madrid for a world-record transfer fee of more than $66 million. The investment paid immediate dividends, as the French import helped Real Madrid win the coveted UEFA Champions League title in his first year and La Liga the following season.

Zidane had indicated he would retire after the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and it appeared his career was heading for a storybook finish when France advanced to the final against Italy. Instead, it ended in shocking fashion when, enraged by opponent Marco Materazzi's comments to him in extra time, he slammed his head into the Italian player's chest. Zidane was thrown out of the game, and France subsequently lost on penalty kicks.

Post-Playing Career and Legacy

In 2004, Zidane was named best European soccer player of the past 50 years by the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll and was included in the FIFA 100, Pelé's list of the 125 greatest living players. He remains one of a handful of greats to win the FIFA World Player of the Year/Ballon d'Or award three times.

Appointed a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in March 2001, Zidane annually captains a team of soccer stars against a side led by fellow retired idol and U.N. Ambassador Ronaldo in a match for charity. In 2010, he also served as a high-profile ambassador of Qatar's successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

Zidane joined Real Madrid's front office as an adviser and was named the club's sporting director in 2011. The following year, it was announced the French soccer legend would begin coaching at Real Madrid's youth academy, the first step in a new career of calling the shots from the sidelines of his beloved game.

He also had the best start of any of the coaches under Florentino Pérez's second spell at the club: Pellegrini, Mourinho and Ancelotti. Some of the most influential figures within the Madrid dressing room, such as Cristiano and Sergio Ramos, want Zidane to stay. But the club has given no indication about Zidane's future (he has two years to run on his contract). Zidane himself has evaded the issue, saying recently: “We haven't won anything yet”,  as though he is conscious that despite backing from the players, and having missed out on the league, perhaps his only guarantee of continuity will be if Madrid win the Champions League.

He was only appointed to his maiden senior first-team coaching role by Real Madrid in January, has ended his debut campaign by lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy.

Zidane had assisted Carlo Ancelotti at Madrid and coached the reserves before being promoted following Rafael Benítez's departure. Having led Madrid through three knockout rounds to Saturday's Milan showdown with Atlético, Zidane has followed in the footsteps of some distinguished men who marked their first full season as a coach with a European Cup success.

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Bishop Thomas Dexter (T. D.)

Bishop Thomas Dexter (T. D.) Jakes was born in South Charleston, West Virginia on June 9, 1957. He grew up in Vandalia, West Virginia, attending local Baptist churches. He spent his teenage years caring for his invalid father and working in local industries. Feeling a call to the ministry, he enrolled in West Virginia State University and began preaching part-time in local churches, but he soon dropped out of the university. He took a job at the local Union Carbide and continued preaching part-time. During this time he met his future wife, Serita Jamison. The couple married in 1981. In 1982, Jakes became the pastor of the Greater Emanuel Temple of Faith, a small, Montgomery, West Virginia independent Pentecostal church with about ten members. Over the next few years, the church grew, drawing an integrated congregation that helped increase Jakes' renown as a speaker and pastor. He moved the church twice - from Montgomery to Smithers and then to South Charleston, where the congregation grew from about 100 members to over 300. During this time, he began a radio ministry The Master's Plan that ran from 1982-1985. He also became acquainted with Bishop Sherman Watkins, founder of the Higher Ground Always Abounding Assembly (an association of over 200 Pentecostal churches). Watkins ordained Jakes as a minister of the Higher Ground Assembly and encouraged him to start a church in the Charleston Area. Jakes also used this time to continue his education by studying through correspondence courses from Friends University. Jakes completed a B. A. and M.A. in 1990 and a D. Min. in 1995.

After the 1990 move to Charleston, as his congregation grew, T. D. Jakes began to focus on the spiritual needs of the women in his church who had been abandoned and abused in their lives. He began a Sunday School class for them, "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," in which he encouraged the women to use their past pain as a foundation for new growth. He later started a similar class for men, which he called "Manpower." In 1993, Jakes self-published his first book, drawing on his experiences working with the women of his congregation. Woman, Thou Art Loosed would become Jakes' signature work and a national religious bestseller. He also began a new television ministry, Get Ready, which aired on Black Entertainment Television and the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Also in 1993, Jakes moved his church yet again, to Cross Lanes, West Virginia.

His ministry continued to expand, prompting the founding of the T. D. Jakes Ministries organization to oversee his work beyond the church itself. He continued to write and to publish, spreading his message of spiritual healing to new audiences. In 1994 he held the first of what would become a series of conferences for ministers and their spouses, "When Shepherds Bleed."

In May 1996, Jakes moved his family and his ministry again, as well as fifty other families involved in his work, to Dallas, Texas. There he purchased Eagle's Nest Church, a large Dallas church. Renaming the church The Potter's House, Jakes continued his work. The Potter's House, which 5000 seat auditorium and a 34-acre, campus has grown to a congregation of 14,000. Its ministries include the Ravens Reach program for the homeless, Operation Rehab, an outreach program for prostitutes, Transformation Treatment, a program for substance abusers, as well as prison ministries, literacy programs, youth ministries, weight-loss programs, and mentoring and job-training programs. His television ministry, Get Ready, continues to be broadcast three times a week on Black Entertainment Television and Trinity Broadcasting Network, reaching audience across the country and internationally. He has also continued to write and publish, having released 15 books. Woman, Thou Art Loosed, still his most popular work, has sold over 800,000 copies and has spawned a devotional series and a musical CD as well as its continuing influence on Jakes' conference of the same title.

Jakes, his family, and his ministry continue to be based in the Dallas area.

Critical Responses

T. D. Jakes has described himself as a "spiritual physician," as a person who "has discovered some medicine in the Word of God . . . As the physician, I am careful to always acknowledge that I am not the cure, but that I have been about to facilitate the cure because Jesus Christ lives in me." Community and political leaders in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metro area have expressed great admiration and appreciation of Jakes' work with the underprivileged and disenfranchised, awarding him the "Key to the City" in February 1997. Jakes has also been honored with the Gospel Heritage Award for Ministry (1996) and the Stellar Foundation Excellence Award (1996). Others have been more critical of Jakes, particularly commenting on his affluent lifestyle and profitable books and seminars. The Gazette Online criticized his profits from seminars; imply that Jakes' motive was profit rather than spirituality. Estimating a cost of $20 per person at one speaking engagement, the writer commented "that's $360, 000 for three days' work - more than Jakes might have earned in a lifetime at his chemical plant job." Despite such criticisms though, T. D. Jakes remains a powerful and charismatic figure who is renowned for his compassion for those who suffer and for his deep commitment to bringing spiritual wholeness to men and women. Writing inCharisma Magazine, Ken Walker explained "He {Jakes} delivers the Word in such a lightening rod fashion that he makes you believe that all things really are possible with God. “

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DROGBA's Success Story.

Didier Drogba was born on March 11, 1978, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. After emigrating to France at an early age, he became a star soccer player in his adopted country and later led the world-famous Chelsea club to multiple championships. An immensely popular figure in Africa, Drogba has captained the Ivory Coast national team and earned acclaim for his humanitarian efforts.

Childhood

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily was born on March 11, 1978, in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan. At age 5, he was sent to live in France with an uncle, a professional soccer player, with the hope he would be exposed to more opportunities by the experience. Eventually, his parents and siblings joined him in France.

Drogba became more serious about organized soccer as a teenager, playing for youth teams of the Levallois and Le Mans clubs. However, he was set back by injuries and his lack of training at one of the soccer academies that develop elite talent for European clubs, and struggled to earn recognition.

Professional Career

Drogba signed his first pro contract with Le Mans when he was 21, but he received his first big break after transferring to Guingamp in 2002, where he helped the club avoid relegation to the second division. He transferred to Marseille for the 2003-04 season, scoring 19 goals in 35 games to win the French Ligue 1 Player of the Year. Having reached his athletic prime, the 26-year-old was targeted by many of Europe's top clubs, and Chelsea paid a transfer fee of roughly $36 million for his services in 2004.

Drogba's performance was uneven in his first two seasons of Premier League play, and he drew heavy criticism for "diving," the act of falling down after contact in hopes of drawing a foul, and for his outbursts at referees. But the powerful 6'2" striker finally appeared comfortable in his third season, scoring 33 goals to win the Premier League Golden Boot, along with the game winners in the League Cup and FA Cup finals.

Drogba's career with Chelsea ended in storybook fashion when he scored the winning goal in a penalty shootout against Bayern Munich in the 2012 Champions League final. Altogether, he scored 157 goals in 341 appearances with Chelsea, and helped the club to three English Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups.

Droba signed a lucrative deal with Shanghai Shenhua in June 2012, but his career in China was short-lived, as he played just 11 games with Shanghai before transferring to the Galatasaray club in Turkey.

Superstar and Statesman

Drogba made his first international appearances for the Ivory Coast team in 2002 and by 2007 had scored 28 goals, a record for his country. Named African Footballer of the Year in 2006 and 2009, Drogba captained the Ivory Coast to runner-up finishes in the African Cup of Nations finals in 2006 and 2012.

Drogba catapulted the national team, nicknamed "the Elephants," into World Cup competition for the first time in 2006, and again in 2010. Although the Elephants failed to advance past the group stage both times, their appearance in soccer's biggest tournament with the likes of Brazil and England thrilled their devoted fans from Africa.

An immensely popular figure in his home country, Drogba has attempted to use his standing for good purposes. With the Ivory Coast ravaged by civil war in 2006, Drogba led the Elephants in prayers for peace after World Cup qualifying games and organized a team statement calling for an end to the war, efforts that were credited with helping to bring about a cease-fire.

He created the Didier Drogba Foundation in 2007, which, according to its website, "aims to provide financial and material support in both health and education to the African people." For his humanitarian actions, in 2010 Timemagazine included Drogba in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

- In Inspired.

NICK VUJICIC (Meet one of the most famous people in Australia - Impossibility is a state of the mind.)

FAMOUS AS:Evangelist

NATIONALITY:Australian

RELIGION:Christianity

BORN ON:04 December 1982 AD

    BIRTHDAY:4th December

AGE:33 Years

BORN IN:Melbourne

CHILDREN:Kiyoshi James

 VujicicSPOUSE:Kanae Miyahara

EDUCATION:Griffith University

FOUNDER/CO-FOUNDER:Life Without Limbs

NET WORTH :$500,000

HOBBIES:Fishing, Painting and SwimminG

Nick Vujicic, famous for his inspirational speeches, was born without limbs in his body. However, instead of letting his disability deter his everyday life, he took it as a challenge, using it to change millions of lives with the same faith that kept him going. As a child of ten, he always wondered why he was different from others, and decided to drown himself since he saw no purpose to his living. 

However, he stopped himself in time, thinking of his loving parents and how much it would hurt them to see him dead. From then on, there was no looking back for this young man, who now has founded his own organization, called ‘Life Without Limbs’. He has released motivational films, like 'Life's Greater Purpose' and 'Biography of a Determined Man of Faith'. He has also written a book titled 'Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life'. This speaker has even acted in a short film, ‘The Butterfly Circus’, earning the film three awards, and bagging one himself, for his brilliant portrayal of a man very much like himself, who is given a second chance to love himself. He is a devout Christian, believing that God loves everyone equally, and has taken it upon himself to spread the message to everyone around the world.

Childhood & Early Life:

• Nicholas James Vujicic the eldest son of Dushka and Boris was born in Melbourne, Australia, on December 4, 1982. The infant, though healthy in all other aspects, was born with autosomal recessive tetra-amelia, a rare condition where the child has no limbs at all, except feet with just two toes.

• Initially, it was quite difficult for the child and his family to cope up with the troubles that accompany the absence of hands and legs. He wasn't even allowed to study in a normal school, even though there was nothing wrong with his IQ.

• He gradually learnt to use his feet to write, type, play, and shave. He pursued his secondary education from the 'Runcorn State High School', Queensland, Australia, where he was also the head boy. He was also on the student council that carried out humanitarian work.

Career:

• When Nick, as he is known, turned seventeen, he started delivering speeches in his church group. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Commerce, specializing in financial planning and accountancy, from the 'Griffith University' in Queensland.
• As a speaker, he mainly addresses school children, young adults, and working professionals. He has also spoken at various churches, all across the globe, because he believes that Christ loves him as He loves all his children.
• In his career, Nick has travelled to more than sixty countries around the world, and has touched the lives of millions of people. In 2005, he established an NGO named 'Life Without Limbs', which has its headquarters in Agoura Hills, California.
• In the same year, Vujicic released the DVD of a documentary movie, titled 'Life's Greater Purpose'. The film talks about the motivational speaker's childhood, how he learned to use whatever was there of his limbs, and his married life.
• In March 2008, Nick appeared in the '20/20' television series aired in the United States, for an interview, taken by presenter Bob Cummings.
• In 2009, Vujicic featured in a short film titled 'The Butterfly Circus', directed by Joshua Weigel. It also starred Mexican actor, Eduardo Verástegui, and American Doug Jones.
• The movie won a lot of accolades, including the first prize awarded by the 'Doorpost Film Project', and the 'Best Short Film' at the 'Method Fest Independent Film Festival', as well as the 'The Feel Good Film Festival'.
• In 2010, Nick wrote a book, 'Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life', under the banner of publishing company, 'Random House'. He also released a DVD titled 'Biography of a Determined Man of Faith'.
• Vujicic gave a heart-rending speech in Switzerland, at the 'World Economic Forum', for their Annual Meeting's special session, 'Inspired for a Lifetime', in 2011.

• Major Works:

• Nick is an evangelist who is known for his organization, ‘Life Without Limbs’, that hosts events and presents talks on courage and faith in God to overcome any adversity faced in life.
• Awards & Achievements
• In 1990, Vujicic's determination and courage impressed the world, and he was felicitated with the 'Australian Young Citizen Award'.

• He was one of the contenders for the 'Young Australian of the Year Award' in the year 2005.
• In 2010, he won the 'Best Actor in Short Film' award at the 'Method Fest Independent Film Festival' for his performance in the role of Will, from the movie 'The Butterfly Circus'.

• Net Worth:

• Nick, who runs an NGO, ‘Life Without Limbs’, aimed at helping people overcome challenges in their lives, has an estimated net worth of 500,000 dollars.

• Trivia:
• This motivational speaker is best known for his saying, “If God can use a man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any willing heart!”

• - Be Inspired.