Tenacity
* Having tenacity can lead you to success *
By: Sonja Shirkevich
Mary Zimmerman and Amy Purdy
Both Mary Zimmerman and Amy Purdy faced their own sets of adversity in their lives. Mary Zimmerman was a young girl during WWII. She did everything she could to stay hidden from the Nazi’s. Although, her actions reflected back on her health many years later. All Zimmerman wanted was to live. Amy Purdy’s story is similar, but different. Purdy was an avid snowboarder, until she was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. For some time, she gave up on life, but slowly she assured herself that she can still do great things. Since then, she has won two gold medals for Team USA in the Paralympics. Both ladies had the tenacity to keep striving to live their lives to the fullest. Both women were very successful in their lives, thanks to tenacity.
Derek W. Clark
Derek Clark was unfortunately birthed to an incapable mother and father. Both parents severely abused the young boy and were quite combative. He still has a scar where his biological mother burned his hand in dangerously hot, boiling water. Even though his life wasn’t the best, he still had the tenacity to keep going to see what life can bring him. His tenacity prevented him from ending his life early as well. He just wanted to do something with his life. Not only that, he wanted to live. He never lost sight of his goals, and in time, he completed them. Now he is a widely known singer/songwriter, and he uses his life's story in his music. Some people also acknowledge him as a motivational speaker. Although his life was rough in the beginning, his tenacity lead him to success as well.
Foster Care Speaker Sings His Heartfelt Song About Foster Care - Derek Clark, Motivational Speaker
Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Hamilton was one of the best surfers in her area. One day, she went surfing, which led to Hamilton losing her left arm to a shark. She gave up surfing after her first competition without her arm and began to think that she had nothing to live for. Her father felt sympathy for her and attached a string to her surf board so she could surf. This led to Bethany's everlasting tenacity to try and try until she could get up on the board again. She has won 1st place in Nationals without her arm. Currently, she is an expectant mother. Her tenacity has lead her to success.
Bethany Hamilton
Hamilton and her board after the accident.
Amy Purdy
Purdy and her snowboard. Her prosthetics can been seen at the bottom of the picture.
Derek Clark
Clark grew to become a well-known singer/song-writer despite his adversity through childhood.
Steve Jobs
In 2003, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. As his health declined, he eventually had to give up his seat as the CEO of Apple Industries. While he was still CEO, he had the tenacity to push the limits of his company and his health. He worked his hardest to design the last IPhone he would ever create, the IPhone 4. His pancreatic cancer could've taken him early, but he decided to stay for the sake of his company. Despite his disease, he still worked for the best of his company and his tenacity lead to the success of Apple.
Steve Jobs Infograph
Shows how Jobs' has had some ups and downs
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison was granted a patent to create his light-bulb in 1880. Then, he worked and worked and tested his project to perfection. For a long time, his experiment kept failing. But no, Edison had the tenacity to kept testing and testing until his experiment finally worked. In the end, he became a wealthy businessman thanks to his tenacity. His inventions have helped society throughout time. His tenacity to keep trying lead to the invention of the light-bulb, which is very much used in our society today.
Works Cited
- "Derek Clark's Story of Never Giving Up." Motivational Speakers Keynote Speakers Conference Keynote Speakers Foster Care Speakers and Child Welfare Speakers Derek Clark Inspires You To Never Give Up. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2015
-"Thomas Edison." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 27 May 2015