Thomas Edison
Father of modern electricity
Thomas Edison's effect on the world can still be seen today. all the lights we use and most of our power comes from company's he started or was involved in, such as commonwealth Edison and the founder of GE (General electric).
Thomas Edison - 1894 Boxing cats
Personality
Thomas Edison was motivated as a young man. At the age of 16, He had a job at a telegraph office and he was doing experiments at night. He had a strong work ethic and tried to make everything as perfect as it could get. He wasn't limited to looking at a problem from one angel, instead, he would look at it from other perspectives until he was able to have an answer. He never worked alone, he always made sure he had the best minds in the US working for him and helping him invent all sorts of things.
Success
It could be argued that Thomas Edison created a power house of industry (Pun intended). Today most electricity across the US is provided by company's that that at one time were connected to him.