A growing collection

Inspirations

The people who inspire me, and the words and stories they left us. The ones I keep coming back to, collected here one at a time.

Photo credits

Mark Twain: photo by A.F. Bradley, New York, Public domain; Leonardo da Vinci: photo by Attributed to Francesco Melzi, Public domain; Stephen Covey: photo by Neshan H. Naltchayan, Public domain; Greg McKeown: photo by Bibbines77, CC BY 3.0; Peter Diamandis: photo by Brassfield, CC BY-SA 4.0; Austin Kleon: photo by Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0; Dale Carnegie: photo by unknown photographer, Public domain; Chris Guillebeau: photo by Original: Jen Lemen from Silver Spring, USA Cropping: Mr. Granger, CC BY-SA 2.0; Gary Vaynerchuk: photo by Vaynermedia, CC0; Marcus Aurelius: photo by Daniel Martin, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jostein Gaarder: photo by Heike Huslage-Koch, CC BY-SA 4.0; Michael Pollan: photo by Cmichel67, CC BY-SA 4.0; Theodore Roosevelt: photo by Adam Cuerden, Public domain; John Bogle: photo by BillCramer, CC BY-SA 4.0; George Saunders: photo by Library of Congress Life, CC0; William McRaven: photo by United States Navy, Public domain; John Gardner: photo by U.S. Social Security Administration, Public domain; Jeff Bezos: photo by SECWAR, Public domain; Charlie Munger: photo by Nick, CC BY 2.0; Bill Gurley: photo by TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0; Elizabeth Gilbert: photo by Erik Charlton from Menlo Park, USA, CC BY 2.0; Ken Robinson: photo by Sebastiaan ter Burg, CC BY-SA 2.0; Simon Sinek: photo by Lance Cpl. Brendan Mullin, Public domain; Barry Schwartz: photo by Bill Holsinger-Robinson, CC BY 2.0; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: photo by librairie mollat, CC BY 3.0; Seneca: photo by Calidius, CC BY-SA 3.0; Abigail Adams: portrait by Benjamin Blyth, Public domain; Grace Bedell: photo by unknown photographer, Public domain; John Keats: portrait by William Hilton, Public domain; Ralph Waldo Emerson: photo by unknown photographer, Public domain; Vincent van Gogh: self-portrait, Public domain; Ernest Hemingway: photo by Lloyd Arnold, Public domain; E.B. White: photo, Cornell University senior photograph, Public domain; Kurt Vonnegut: photo by WNET-TV/PBS, Public domain; Amy Purdy: photo by Thatcher Cook for PopTech, CC BY-SA 2.0. Via Wikimedia Commons; cropped. Daniel Quinn: photo from Ishmael.org; Cal Newport: press photo by Penny Gray Photography; Stephen Shapiro: photo from stephenshapiro.com; Brian Johnson: photo from Heroic; Robert Waldinger: photo from Aspen Ideas; Paul Millerd: press photo, courtesy of Paul Millerd. Press and publisher photos are used with credit to celebrate each person’s work. Colorized hover versions of the black-and-white photos were made with an automatic colorization model; the originals are unchanged.

Every day I start with this Focus page to keep me grounded and often I reflect on inspiring people who I admire. These people aren’t perfect, they have their flaws, but there’s something about each of them that inspires me to be better. I hope they can be helpful to you too. If you click on their photos above it might take you somewhere surprising: some I’ve interviewed or written books about, some I’ve admired from afar, and some are fictional characters who I find in books I love. Wherever they may be, maybe they can inspire you the way they have me.

Their stories

“We can do no great things — only small things with great love.”

Mother Teresa

Her most popular quotes, checked against her own words

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“When I’m feeling stuck, my instinct is to do less.”

Paul Millerd

Author of The Pathless Path

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“If my life were a book, and I was the author, how would I want my story to go?”

Amy Purdy

Paralympic snowboarder, dancer, author

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“The only way I was going to start a non-profit is if we built a non-profit that I personally would feel comfortable giving to.”

Chase Adam

Peace Corps Volunteer, founder of Watsi

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“I measure my success by how happy I am, not how big the business is or how much money I’ve made.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

Author of Crush It!

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“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Mary Oliver

Poet of attention and amazement

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“…the bedrock of our very being is good stuff.”

Mister Rogers

Television neighbor to generations of kids

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“Find the best in everybody.”

Randy Pausch

Professor, dad, and giver of the Last Lecture

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“Well done is better than well said.”

Ben Franklin

Printer, scientist, statesman, humorist

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“I would love to support you and your work.”

Brian Johnson

Philosopher and founder of PhilosophersNotes

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More inspirations are on their way

New profiles join this shelf as they’re ready. In the meantime, their words live all over the site:

Coming 2027 The Daily Optimist

366 meditations on gratitude, kindness, and the people who inspire us — one true story or quote for every day of the year, from Hatherleigh Press.

Read a sample & get notified →

Follow along

One essay a week, every Saturday morning.