George Sampson the 13 Year Old Dancer Wins Britain’s Got Talent

It’s Christmas Eve, and I think that warrants something special. So, here is the amazing and inspirational story of George Sampson, the 2008 winner of Britain’s Got Talent.

George Sampson hails from Manchester where spent years dancing on the street to entertain the crowds and earn a little money. Right off the bat, that is amazing because he suffers from a rare condition called Scheuermann’s disease, which affects developing bones in children and teenagers and can cause a curvature of the spine.

The condition even caused him to go temporarily blind in one eye for two months around Christmas time, Sampson said to The Sun Newspaper. “The eye was all inflamed. I’d been using Deep Heat for my sore back, so at first I just thought I’d got it in my eye. But I ended up blind,” he said. “The spinal nerves were trapped and it affected my optic nerves, I lost all my coordination and it was really hard to dance, as I didn’t have my balance. I kept bumping into everything.”

Despite the disease, George actually competed in 2007, but marginally failed to make the grade. However, he didn’t let that stop him! Instead, he went home and worked even harder.
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Bryan Gaynor on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’

Brian GaynorIf you haven’t noticed, I love people who refuse to let their disability hold them back from doing something extraordinary. Bryan Gaynor is one such person.

Despite a little bout with Scoliosis, Bryan has become quite a dancer, having pretty much mastered one particular style – the Robot. He’s put his own little twist on it that he likes to call Chibotics.

Although he didn’t make it all the way on So You Think You Can Dance, he did make it far enough to entertain the heck out of a whole lot of people.

Here’s how…
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World’s Fastest Para-Olympian Swimmer Has No Arms!

Swimmer With No ArmsAs I’ve often noted, disabilities have no bearing on how much a person can achieve in life. Take for example Igor Plotnikov’s world record breaking 32.52 in the 50m butterfly at the Para-Olympics.

Now, if someone were to ask how you thought a swimmer without arms would do in a contest against athletes who’s arms were intact I’ll bet you’d guess wrong. Just watch and see.
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What My Father Means to Me, by Richard E. Hoyt Jr.

Dick And Rick HoytA while back I wrote about one of the most inspiring stories I’ve ever heard about, the father and son team of Richard Hoyt and Richard Hoyt Jr. Well, in the June 2007 issue of Men’s Health magazine Richard Jr. published a huge father’s day letter to his dad. I figured it would be appropriate to share given that we’re only a week away.

You have to realize that it takes an extraordinary effort for him to communicate in this manner, so the length and eloquence of the message are moving.
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Worlds First Wheelchair Backflip!

Wheelchair BackflipJimbo comes through again with this video of a world class athlete, Aaron Fotherinham, who happens to also be in a wheelchair.

Aaron’s special wheelchair was built by a company called Colours in Motion, and they truly have the coolest mobility gear I’ve ever seen.
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World’s Most Inspiring Story – Dick and Rick Hoyt

Video CameraThis is quite possibly the most inspirational and touching thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt, and words don’t do it justice so just watch the video.

And guys… don’t watch this around anyone you don’t want to see you weep. Trust me. And by the way, stop making excuses for not doing anything with your life!
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Social Security and Retirement Benefits

Social SecurityOk. I’m not ready to start thinking about Social Security just yet, but my parents are. So I attended an education seminar put on by my financial advisers which included a presentation by Tom Clark from the Social Security Administration.

The following are the Cliff Notes from Tom’s very informative lecture.
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