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Imad Atwi
Dubai
United Arab Emirates

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Neil Armstrong has died today at age of 82. In light of his memory and achievement for mankind, who has been your greatest role model & why?

Neil's death is yet another proof that it really does not matter how you leave this earth or to where, rather than what you do or accomplish on it.

Who has been your greatest role model who has shifted progression - no matter how small (on a personal scale) or large (on a historical global scale)? and why?

+12

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Esther Hartwig 10+
- +1
Sep 19 2012: Richard Dawkins. He's incredibly smart, educated and brave. I could listen to him for hours and hours (or alternatively read his books), simply because when he speaks about science what he says makes perfect sense and it's beautiful to see it all unfold. I also love how well-spoken he is, and on top of it he has a great sense of humour.
He inspires me to study harder, think further and trust my common sense.
Cindy Dubielak
- +1
Sep 19 2012: Jane Goodall. She is a powerful role model for girls in general. Smart, observant, intuitive. She went to where the evidence could be recorded, living in the jungle, paying attention. She learned how to live and prosper in a male-dominated field, advanced humankind's awareness of ecology, habitat, community. Her work has made a difference for primates. It's made a difference for girls and women and animals and science. And she just kept at it and at it and at it. I admire her to no end.
Dan F 50+
- +1
Sep 16 2012: Another modern figure - Christopher Hichens is high on my admiration chart for entering a social environment here on earth about as forbidding as the out of earth environment explored by Mr. Armstrong.

He also recently past away, but at a much younger age. His profession was as journalist and writer. His legacy may be best described as debater extraordinaire. He was dedicated to exposing religions for short comings. It was on this subject that he caught my attention.

No matter where you come down on this sensitive topic, you owe it to yourself to listen to one or two of his many debates on the subject (check out Youtube). In my opinion his dedication and legacy was and is to enrich critical thinking about the nature of the real world.

The reason I admire Christopher Hitchens is wrapped up in what i perceive as three distinctive and valuable aspects of his rich personality: intellectual honesty, personal courage and the ability to connect with an audience through wit and logic via his unique and civil "Hich Style."
chen xin
- +1
Sep 16 2012: actually i didn'thave one ,i am a chinese ,everyday i just do my own business,nor do i care abut it .we chinese usually do not talk about something like this .we may say that how wonderful mj dances,we just see his moves.oh god .we do not adore someone.we think that we ourselves are the best ! what about your country .and how do your people purchase a star?is it crazy?
- Zakrey Higgins
  - 0
  Sep 18 2012: I think the problem with a lot of people, mainly Americans, is we try to emulate our idols or people that inspire us, more often than utilizing them as motives for inspired improvement. I think everyone should have someone motivate them in a means of how they can make themselves better than that person or industry or profession or whatever it may be. But I feel the same way as you in a sense, I know there are people better than me at what I do however, but I do what I can to exceed those limits and make me the best. lol
Mark Hurych
- 0
Sep 15 2012: Bucky Fuller.

He worked for the betterment of humanity, convinced that we can and should help each other live excellent lives while we simultaneously take care of the planet.

Mark
Mats Kaarbö 10+
- +1
Sep 11 2012: Jacque Fresco for looking globally and holistically at how we can improve our world to one that emphasize collaboration, sharing of resources and how to relate to one another, so that human behaviors such as greed, hunger for power and basically every other negative and detrimental behaviors can be phased out thus making our monetary system obsolete by putting science and technology in the core of societal management which would provide everybody on Earth with the necessities of life and a quality of standard never imagined before.
Terry Haynes
- 0
Sep 11 2012: I guess the number one role model for me is Helen Keller. I have always admired how she overcame her disabilities. The courage she had has inspired me in so many ways.
Jonathan Gronli
- 0
Sep 7 2012: Hmmm. Hard question. I'd probably say that one of my biggest role models is Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo. It's mostly because of the fact that I'm currently an aspiring game narrative developer while also doing some game studies for a masters degree. He was one of the first people who publicly said that games should have a stronger narrative by being more like books and movies that the player is invited into to have an effect. He was also one of the first people who decided to make a game that, in order to actually understand the narrative arc of the game and as well as the game world, the players had to connect and talk to each other in real life. And this was prior to the world wide web and social media.

And it's also remarkable that he's been in the industry for over 30 years and still has the same passion and love for his craft as when he had started. That's one of the things that's inspiring about him. Everything that he is involved in, he steps in with the same amount of joy and wonder that he had since his first project. I hope I can maintain a passion for everything that I do like he has and still does.
timber maniac 20+
- +1
Sep 5 2012: My brother was my role model as I grew up. He would come home from school (he is 3 years older than me) and relay to me what he's learned and express how he felt about it. It was like having a Ted Talk come charging through the door, passionate and articulate about what it wants the world to know. I was inspired by him but also I challenged his ideas, and together we would create a solution or refine a question. I was happy to live in my own thoughts as a child but he inspired me each day to share ideas and be passionate about what I believe in.
David Brossman
- +3
Sep 4 2012: Mahatma Gandhi
Why? I only have 1964 characters remaining, which really isn't enough to even get started.
Maybe because he could have written really cool bumper stickers like:
Be the change you want to see in the world.
An eye for an eye, leaves the whole world blind.
Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress
And even with 1626 remaining, I'll stop at that, and just let everybody ponder the greatness of the man.
Ranjit Sinha
- 0
Sep 4 2012: Education in Indian Schools, particularly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and the Hindi speaking belt needs to be improved through improving the on-going education system for teachers. I want some ideas.

Ranjit Sinha
Don Wesley 50+
- +1
Sep 4 2012: God's Son.
The Perfect Personality
Fully Aware and Caring about all Humanity
Revealing to us the Child-Like Curiosity of Loving.
A lamb among the wolves, but fearless.
Kindness Reciprocates.
The Devil Complicates.
Don Wesley [From The Silent Generation - the 30's]
Luke Hobbs
- 0
Sep 4 2012: Chogyam Trungpa because he dedicated his life to our betterment in such a way that seemed only logical, taking the core of Buddhism to bring light into our own modern research into human psychology and well-being. He's the kind of man I'd like to see as a world leader.
JEFF D.
- 0
Sep 4 2012: Michael Jordan is my role-model. as he is is for many others. just trying to break his records, will make me follow the right decisions , and fight tru temptations. and also i consider my past self as a role model to consider. because i survive this far, and i'm still here, living .

nice chat!
Louise Nelson
- +4
Sep 3 2012: Having had some more time to give thought to this conversation I have to add that many of my patients have truly been heros and role models for me. I've seen people that would pass as ordinary folks face suffering and death with grace and equaminity. Unfortunately some others have taught me that you can't deal with - that is "face" anything if you're running like h*ll in the opposite direction - a very valuable lesson for me.
- Karl Meyer
  - 0
  Sep 17 2012: I have had some unfortunate things happen in my life and have been on the receiving end of medical care, so I would like to reciprocate and tell you that some of the doctors and nurses that I have met are people whose sense of compassion and desire to help are truly remarkable. It puts them in that special class of people whom everyone should have the privilege of meeting.
george watson
- +1
Sep 2 2012: i cant say role model but i would have to say that many of teds speakers are inspiring. I believe that if we could take bits and pieces of these talks and use them in every day life we would be a better people, sound so easy but difficult to do. I cant say any one ted talk has changed me but they keep nudging me into doing the more moralistic, correct,, proper, kind action. thank you George
Louise Nelson
- +3
Sep 2 2012: When I was a new graduate nurse I was the opposite of most of my peers. I was book-smart - I could sit down with an exam and answer questions about caring for patients very well, but I wasn't very good at practical hands-on patient care, at setting priorities, or at organizing my work. My first head nurse, Alice Gonzalves, asked me "So what's your problem? What do you need?" I told her I had plenty of knowledge in my head but it hadn't worked it's way to my hands and feet yet. She told me not to worry, that she would make sure I wouldn't make any mistakes, which she did. She also modeled how to deal with multiple priorities, how to respond to anger and insults, and how to focus on the goals: taking care of patients, working with a team, and getting tasks done. Within a couple of months she turned me into a pretty good nurse with high standards, and I owe her for a lot of the satisfaction I've had over my 42+ year career.

I had the privilege of working at the NIH Clinical Center for almost 11 years as a cancer nurse and spending about 15 years on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic in the US. Those are experiences I wouldn't trade for anything, and I doubt that I would have "been there, done that" if it weren't for Ms Gonsalves.
Anne Thull
- +7
Aug 31 2012: My Mother, Louise, is my greatest role model. She raised 5 children on her own (3yrs-15yrs old) when she became a Widow at the age of 41. She had the opportunity to receive Welfare and Church donations - She would not want to accept either.

Here's part of an amazing conversation I had with my Mother on her 85th Birthday:

We were alone chatting and I asked why she never accepted Church or Welfare help when she was first widowed ?
" What type of lesson would I have taught my children if I didn't show them they had to earn everything by themselves, and never plan on anyone helping them when times are difficult..." she replied.......and Mom was right - My outlook on life would have been completely different. I would have gladly embraced government help at 14 years old.

"One regret I have" she said, "..was that only 1 of my 5 children attends Church regularly...what did I do wrong? " she asked.
"Nothing! " I replied, " I know everyone believes in God and they are all good people....I did not like the confinement or routine of the mass . I feel very close to God when I am in Nature or drawing, painting, working on my art...I would get a ' Natural-High' and feel very close to God."
"Really?!" Mother replied, "That's EXACTLY how I feel when I am in Church! "
We both laughed!
Mom was thrilled to know she did nothing wrong - we all found God in our own way....
And now I understood why she wanted to go to church every day...to get her " Natural High" - that helped her through that day.

My Mother taught me I can do anything - If - ..I am interested in it, ..I work hard at it, ..I don't give up until I accomplish it.

My Mother passed away suddenly the week after her 85th birthday.
All of her children were happily married, and she had 10 amazing Grandchildren
- Imad Atwi 10+
  - +2
  Sep 1 2012: A good deity would want people to be positively productive, with a constructive attitude.
- Angela Preston
  - 0
  Sep 3 2012: Well said. God is everywhere and in every action.
  - Anne Thull
    
    +1
    Sep 4 2012: How true Angela! ... you sound like my Mom!... :)
- JEFF D.
  - 0
  Sep 4 2012: nice. role model. its motivating just reading about it.
Ralph Turner
- +2
Aug 31 2012: I don't really have a role model, but I always admired the inventor and industrialist Lord William Armstrong. There doesn't seem to be much literature on him really, but if you visit his estate in Northumberland, England, then you can really appreciate the mans ingenuity.
http://heritage.imeche.org/Biographies/WilliamArmstrong
- Imad Atwi 10+
  - +3
  Sep 1 2012: There's a very thin line between admiration, role model act, and inspiration.
  
  I'll try to make a visit next time i'm in England.
Hiroki Sano
- +1
Aug 31 2012: All people around me: young to old, men to women, friends, family, teachers. I have learned what is important in our life to have a good relationships with people you meet. I am not a good speaker of my feeling, thinking, and opinions, but learning from their ways of expressing their attitudes and minds, I learned how to do them. From now on, I will keep myself modest and learn anything important in our life.
Scott Koenraadt
- 0
Aug 31 2012: one of my greatest inspirations has been Fidel Castro, he saw mass corruption and his homeland turned into a playground for another country, he stood up and stopped it. He motivated a small backwards country into repelling a super power that was just off his coast, survived numerous assassination attempts and attempted coups. His general story is one that proves that the weak can defy the powerful.
- Imad Atwi 10+
  - +1
  Sep 1 2012: True, except for the "weak can defy the powerful part".
  Define weak. He was at all time more powerful, he just used the right channels to create those ripples.
Ian Sheane
- +1
Aug 29 2012: Nikola Tesla is one of my biggest hero's, not a role model because he was terrible business man, for example he managed to intern for Thomas Edison in a short time being there he had been promoted to the assistant to Edison. Edison asked him to redesign two turbines need for his Direct Current, Edison offered him 50000$ to do the work so he did and when he asked Thomas about the payment the reply was you just don't understand American humor. But this didn't stop him, he had an amazing mind that could visualize objects quite clearly until he tried to touch them. Another reason I like him is because of his dream for free and wireless electricity for the entire world. He tried to make the earth a conductor so whenever you needed electricity all you would have to do is stick a mettle pole into the ground. He was an inventor and idealist, trying to make the world a better place. Unfortunately his life was cut short with mass amounts of debts. He is probably the most under appreciated inventor of his time.
- Imad Atwi 10+
  - +2
  Sep 1 2012: And what was stopping him from being an inventor and a keen business man at the same time? Do these two professions require that disparate traits that can't be fulfilled in parallel in one person?
  - Caroline Wang
    
    +1
    Sep 3 2012: I don't think they do. But it requires alot of mental capacity and expansiveness of the mind. Practice.
- maryline NZ
  - 0
  Sep 5 2012: I first learned about him on this really funny sheet http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla. Then I googled him. He is indeed an inspiration, and he was a bad business man, which is not a bad human quality.
Diagnosed Polarity
- +1
Aug 29 2012: Martin Luther King. He stood up to discrimination and poverty and helped pave the way for greater equal rights in America. No one can ever say that one person can't make a difference in this world. We can all make a difference. The only thing we need is the hunger. We need to want something badly enough.
ted shawshank
- +1
Aug 28 2012: Liars and arrogant people. You'd be surprised how much you can learn from them about human behavior.
Weird but true.
- Anne Thull
  - 0
  Aug 31 2012: yes Ted -
  you ignore everything but what you want to learn from them - and you'll learn a lot - then you go your own way -
Jake Maddox
- +2
Aug 28 2012: I think it's a shame that so few people have listed a parent as a role model. Mine is my father. Not a perfect man but I loved and respected him. Through his great example as well as his faults, he taught me how to be a better husband, father, and overall human being. Btw Imad, you seriously look like James Franco man. :-)
- Imad Atwi 10+
  - +2
  Sep 1 2012: I agree, though we tend to be pretty biased to our parents for logical proximity and "parental" reasons, and our judgement might be impaired because of the personal impact involved. Another way to look at role models (from a macro level) is their ability to propagate their message (or actions, etc) and have it resonate enough with the people to leave a discernible and indelible impact on the subjects.
  
  Nonetheless, parents are the everyday un-celebrated heroes of the younger generation.
  
  That's the second time I hear the James Franco thing. I definitely need to start capitalizing on this somehow.
Zachary Danz
- 0
Aug 28 2012: Steve Jobs.

I very recently finished reading Steve Jobs the biography by Walter Isaacson. Straight up - this book was the very best fairy-tale fantasy story I’ve ever read. The man is my idol. Steve saw the big picture. He strove to push the human race forward. He saw the importance of the relationship between science and art. He had the power to distort reality itself with the sheer power of his indomitable will.

To quote Apple’s Think Different campaign, “The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.”
Jonathan Landell
- +2
Aug 28 2012: Greatest role model

Wright Brothers. Limited resources. Unlimited passion. They succeeded.
Everyone else: Huge resources. Limited passion. They Failed.

Need I say more?
- Anne Thull
  - +1
  Aug 31 2012: 3 cheers for the excitement of a small business start-up ! We need more of these - more individual innovative companies - keep the positive-competition exciting -
John Moonstroller 20+
- 0
Aug 28 2012: Without a doubt, Neil Armstrong is one of my greatest hero's. No one else will ever be the "First man to step on the moon". His courage is a model for all people.

Einstein was my greatest hero and a role model for a long time, and still one of my hero's.

Issac Newton had been my role model since my teenage years.

My grandmother is my greatest hero and role model of all. She taught me how to think and question everything around me. Her philosophy was: talk softly and carry a stiff switch. :)
- Jonathan Landell
  - 0
  Aug 28 2012: Succession plan for heroes. Why not.
  
  PS: No one will ever be the "First man to reply to your comment here"
  - John Moonstroller 20+
    
    0
    Aug 28 2012: Are you speaking to me Jonathan? If so I don't understand your question. Sorry.
Nicolai Blankers
- +2
Aug 28 2012: My greatest inspiration as an independent inventor is Michael Faraday.
Faraday started his life as a nothing - an average boy born to an impoverished family with a low social caste. He taught himself everything he knew from the books in his master's bookbinding shop. Then he went to work as a servant for one of the great scientists of his day - Sir Humphry Davy - and was constantly treated badly because of his low social caste... but he forced himself through all that and more to build the incredible modern world we take for granted. He invented the first electric motor and the Faraday Cage, and discovered diamagnetism. While Faraday's inventions might not have been the very most important in the history of innovation, I greatly admire him for his use of science as a motivation to overcome society.
- Jonathan Landell
  - 0
  Aug 28 2012: But alot of people have used science as a motivation to overcome society.
  The underdogs of this world are too many to count.

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