The Great People of Our Time

By Dean Gualco

We read about the great people of our time to find their inspiration for a life of risk and uncertainty, how they overcame the challenges of their life, and why they never gave up no matter the adversity or criticism encountered. We study great people because we want to learn from their stories, their hardships and their triumphs. We converse with great people because we want to be inspired to achieve greatness in our own lives, a fact that is certainly within our grasp.

Greatness, in contrast to what some believe, is not a circumstance a person is born into. Most are not born to be multimillionaires any more than others are born to be the best tennis players of their generation. Those who become great are among the chosen few not solely because of their birthright or talent, but because of their passion and fearlessness. Great people have certain traits and characteristics that make them unique, but these traits are common to most men and women.

In studying the great people of our time, the most striking revelations were the similarities in their paths to greatness. Those who become great did so because they followed their passions, overcame formidable obstacles, went down swinging for what they believed in, and left a legacy of honor, decency, and goodness. These are the defining characteristics of the great people of our time, a remarkable story of those who led purposeful and meaningful lives that fulfilled their destiny and made the world a better place to live.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Oct 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491750322

Dean Gualco

Dean Gualco is the owner of Torgun Consulting. He earned his doctorate from the University of the Pacific and his master’s degree from the University of Southern California. He is also the author of The Good Manager.

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THE GREAT PEOPLE OF OUR TIME

Copyright © 2014 Dean Gualco.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-5029-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-5033-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-5032-2 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 10/25/2014

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Milton Hershey

Chapter 1 Passion

The Passion of Our Lives

Finding Your Passion

Education

Oseola McCarty

Travel

Reading

Dolly Parton

The People We Meet

Walt Disney

Chapter 2 Obstacles

Childhood

Elie Wiesel

Health

Wealth

Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Rejection

The Demons and Addictions

Paul Newman

Death

Lou Gehrig

Chapter 3 Go Down Swinging

Fear

Fighting the System

Mistakes and Misses

Gotta Have a Little Luck

Courage

Margaret Thatcher

Chapter 4 Legacy

Platform

Destiny

Make-a-Wish

Decency, Honor and Goodness

Danny Thomas

References

Also by Dean Gualco:

What Happened to the American Dream?

The Meaning of Life

The Good Manager: A Guide to the 21st Century Manager

Choices and Consequences: The Disintegrating Political, Economic and Societal Issues of our Time

Making a Difference: Changing the World in Which we Live

To my children, Gunner and Tori,

who have given me a blessed life.

Always look for the good along the road of life.

Acknowledgments

I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to the following people, without whose contributions I would not be the man I am today.

• the Man Upstairs, who has made this all possible

• my parents, who, throughout my life, have provided shining examples of how to live a decent and honorable life

• Bill Munroe. A great family man, and the best friend to have. I am truly blessed!

• Jeff Thompson. If you were to create a mold of the definitive friend to spend time with as you progress through life, Jeff would be that person.

• Keith Williams, the first real friend I ever had. Friends come and go, but some friendships last a lifetime.

• John Ellis—congrats on the new daughter (the first of many, I am sure)!

• My children, Gunner and Tori. My sincere hope is that this book encourages you to follow your own passions in life, never waver or falter when facing the obstacles along your paths, and go down swinging for who you are and for what you believe. This is the ambition of a great man, and I am convinced this will be the legacy of your time on this earth.

The fear of failure,

and the fear of what others think,

has destroyed the ambitions of most men.

If I spend my time doing good,

maybe the Good Lord will let me stick around a little longer.

Introduction

What makes a person great, a person who has exploited his or her potential to make a lasting contribution to human culture and human welfare? We read about the lives of those people who are considered great to find out how they did it, how they overcame the obstacles in their paths, how they developed the courage to remain steadfast through criticism, and why they never gave up, no matter the adversity encountered. We study these people because we have much to learn from their stories—their adversities and their triumphs. By learning about these people, maybe we’ll learn how to make our own dreams come true.

Many spend their lives searching for worldly success, because greatness often results in fame and fortune. But that should not be one’s ambition; people should aspire to do something that they are good at. Hopefully, by doing so, these people will see that they add to the enjoyment of others. Think of Tiger Woods and golf or Robert De Niro and acting. By following their interests, they have allowed some to enjoy their contributions and inspired others to follow their own hearts in choosing their lifework. Fame and fortune were not Tiger or Robert’s ambitions, but fame and fortune did result from doing what they loved. That is as it should be.

Greatness is not necessarily something a person is born with. Most are not born to be multimillionaires any more than others are born to be the best tennis players of their generation. In reality, there are three types of people in the world:

• The Wasters are born rich with natural talent and do nothing with their potential. These individuals have a unique talent or ability that few enjoy, but spend little time perfecting that talent and in the end, their lives are a tragic waste of opportunity.

• The Chosen Few are born rich with natural talent and do something with these talents. These individuals have unusual talents that few have and perfect their talents. They realize their potential, and the world benefits from their unique gifts.

• The Fearless may not come into the world with natural talent, but they marshal that talent through adversity or criticism and strive until the very last days of their lives. These are the people who should be most admired, for they may have few advantages and little luck but they had courage and perseverance. They are called the fearless because they expended every effort and, through sheer determination, did their best with what they have. There is very little more we can ask of ourselves or anyone than to reach their full natural potential.

Those who become great are often among the chosen few and the fearless not solely because of their birthrights or talents, but because of their drive and dedication. Great people have certain traits and characteristics that make them unique, but these traits are common to most men and women—if they only have the desire and will to follow their hearts and minds and never waiver or falter while making their dreams come true.

In studying the great people of our time, the most striking revelation were the similarities in their paths to greatness. They followed their passions, overcame all obstacles, went down swinging for what they believed in, and in the end, left legacies that shaped our world. Their journeys were exciting and invigorating, and they achieved a level of greatness that fulfilled their destiny and enriched a generation. And it all started with a passion that consumed their life.

Passion

It is too easy to claim that those who have lived great lives did so because they had God-given talents that they exploited. Whether it is a basketball player blessed with extraordinary height, an actress born with a beautiful face and body, or a scientist with intellectual capabilities that astound the average person, talents alone do not lead to greatness. One must make use of that talent.

Those who achieve greatness do so not only because of the gifts they were given or the talents they developed, but because they had passion for the adventure that inspired their lives. These individuals were consumed with the desire (both mentally and physically) to follow certain paths. These paths may not have been financially rewarding (few painters become wealthy while they are alive) or resulted in fame (many people lead great lives without the world noticing), but their drive fulfills the haunting and intense desire to spend their time on this earth following a desire.

Some call passion the call of their life, or what they live for. That passion may not be realistic or worthy to some, but not others. Those who achieve greatness do so because of an almost singular obsession with spending their life in the pursuit of this passion. Every action, every decision, is