Inspiring People

On this page, I would like to present people that inspire me to you. These people come from different countries, have different skin colors, ages, genders, religions, and sexual orientations, and work in different fields. They all have their own amazing story!

Shakira has been my inspiration for over 10 years. She is an amazing singer and dancer, a polyglot who speaks more than 6 languages, a super smart woman, a philanthropist who cares about global education and our environment, a mother, and on top of that a very humble person.

Leonardo Da Vinci was named the genius of all genies for being a person talented in many different areas. He was a painter, a scientist, an architect, an inventor, etc. He is proof that in life we don’t have to decide for just one thing if we don’t want to. We can pursue different things and still be successful.

Listed as the most powerful woman on earth by Forbes 15 times/years Angela Merkel is one of the greatest politicians and diplomates ever and at the same time the woman next door. Her greatest assets are her ability to listen instead of speak, her humbleness despite all her successes, and her integrity. She was Germany`s leader for 16 years and even people who didn’t vote for her still admired her.

Chimamanda Adichie has written many amazing novels including "Americanah" and "Half of a Yellow Sun". In her writing, she speaks up about racism and always breaks stereotypes about her country. She has also delivered two amazing TED talks.

"When we realize that there is never a single story of any place, we regain some kind of paradise."

Bill Gates has always been an inspiration to me. He was the richest man on earth for 15 years but never acted like most of the other rich and famous people – he still is a normal person. His work on World Health, women empowerment, and climate change is amazing.

Jacinda Ardern was the Prime minister of New Zealand with one of the most diverse cabinets any country of the world has ever seen always leading with strength and empathy. She was pregnant and had a baby while being PM and managed it. This is just mindblowing. On top of that she is such an amazing and “down-to-earth” human being. On her Instagram, she is just a normal person.

You don’t need to be religious to be inspired by Jesus and his teachings. He spent his entire life fighting for social justice and teaching love and forgiveness. Unfortunately, the institution "church" has misinterpreted a lot of his teachings.

Apart from my love for Harry Potter (I mean the movies, I have to admit that I have never read the books) I admire J.K. Rowling not only for her fantasy and creativity but for something else: She took so many “Nos” to publish Harry Potter and still kept trying and believing in herself that one day she would be successful. Nowadays she is one of the richest authors on earth and all those people who did not believe in her and didn’t publish the books are probably still regretting it to this day.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is just amazing. He started his career as a bodybuilder and became Mr. Olympia. After that, he worked as an actor for some time. And finally, he became governor of California (was he wasn’t born in the USA he was unable to run for president. If he could, he would have). What I admire in him:

1. Whatever he does he never stops until becoming the BEST in this area – this applies to his fitness career as well as acting and his political career

2. Once he is at the top of something he doesn’t stop. He searches for a new challenge with has nothing to do with the previous one. Great person.

Yusra Mardini was 17 years old when she escaped her home country Syria due to the war. She was already a professional swimmer back then. On the way to Europe with her sister while crossing the Mediterranean Sea there was a problem with the boat. Her sister and she got into the water and brought the boat and the people safely to Europe by swimming and pulling the boat. She lives in Germany now and participated in the Rio 2016 Olympics under the flag of refugees. A true hero.

Pepe Mujica spent 14 years in prison before becoming president of his country Uruguay. He is a far-left politician and the amazing thing is that even as president he continued to live a simple life, refused to drive big cars, and would donate ¾ of his high salary. I may not agree with his political ideologies but I deeply admire him for his integrity. Most communists only stay communists until they get rich – but he kept living for his ideology.

Edurne Pasaban is the first woman to climb all fourteen 8.000+ peaks on Earth. I am a big fan of women who do things only men have done before to show the world that we are as capable as them to do these things.

Malala has always been one of my idols. She was shot by the Taliban as a teenager because she was fighting for the right to education for girls in her country. At only 17 years old she got awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace as the youngest person who has ever received it.

John Lennon was not only a singer but also a fighter for peace and justice. He combined his two passions by writing songs about hope and therefore inspiring millions of people.

Kristina Vogel is a German cyclist. After winning several World Cup and Olympic medals she suffered an accident in 2018 and since then she needs to use a wheelchair. What inspires me about her is that even after the accident (her career seemed to be over) she is still full of hope and positivity and tries to make the best out of it. I once saw her on German TV and was so impressed.

Nelson Mandela is a person that leaves me speechless. This man spent 27 years in prison because he was fighting for racial equality in his country. In the end, he became the president of the country and was awarded the Novel Prize for Peace. The most impressive thing is that he came out of prison without any grudge, he believed in forgiveness. 

Clarissa Ward is a conflict journalist who has lived in many countries like Lebanon, China, and Russia and covered conflicts and catastrophes in Syria, Myanmar, Japan, etc. She covered the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan as well while being a mom too. She breaks ALL kinds of stereotypes about women and mothers in our society and that’s amazing.

Imagine destroying your own country (an empire) just to do the right thing. Would you? Well, Mikhail Gorbachev did. After becoming chief of the Soviet Union he introduced several procedures that gave people the freedom to protest without fearing the Russian army anymore. It ended the union but it gave life to so many new countries and reunited Germany.

Rosa Parks is a person who literally changed history one day when she refused to stand up on a bus and give her seat to a white person (this was the law in the USA back then). She was arrested and freed shortly after but protests were already happening in the entire USA. She laid the path for the civil rights movement.

Albert Einstein was not only probably the most brilliant and intelligent person that has ever lived on this earth so far but he was also a visionary and believed in world peace.

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

Eva Zu Beck is a Polish Youtuber and Instagram person. After graduating from Oxford and working at the EU she quit her job and started traveling. She is a fearless woman who travels alone to countries like Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and shows the world the beautiful and true image of these countries.

Warren Buffet is a symbol of patience, intelligence, and humbleness for me. He is one of the richest men on Earth and was able to do it because he had patience and instead of constant selling and buying (due to lack of patience) he waited for the right moment (buy when everyone sells and sell when everyone buys). He has also never stopped reading and learning.

Frida Kahlo was a communist and feminist artist who was proud to be a Mexican (always wearing traditional clothes and accessories). She had many setbacks in her life but I admire her strength until the end.

Hans Rosling was a global health expert. He worked in many countries around the globe against deathly illnesses and educated people about vaccines and hygiene. What I love about him is that he also tried to educate people about their wrong opinions of other countries. This is actually the same thing that I try to do.

Amal Clooney is a lawyer who has worked for the international court and is specialized in human rights. Apart from being “George Clooney's wife” and a mother too, she works for justice every single day. So admirable.

Ursula von der Leyen is like Wonderwoman. She speaks 5 languages, has 7 kids, has worked as a defense and family minister in Germany, and is now the president of the European commissions. And on top of that, she is so fit. Speechless.

Joshua Cavallo was the first professional football player who came out as gay publicly. It is very brave to be the first one to do something. People like these are the ones who change the world. I really admire his courage!

Mahatma Gandhi led his country into independence while refusing consequently the use of violence. He was later murdered by an extremist of his own religion for being too soft on other religions. Crazy world.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

Angela Ponce was one of the first transgender beauty queens to participate in the Miss Universe contest. It takes so much courage to stand against the norm and believe in your dreams.

J Balvin is one of the most famous Reggaeton artists. He cares a lot about social issues and mindfulness. What I admire in him is that he never gave up on his dream. He started very low and it took him over 10 years to get where he is now.

Freely quoted from his Instagram: “From walking to my concerts to taking a bus to renting a car with my friend to getting on low-cost airlines and today I come in my own plane. But I am still who I am even without all of this.”

Paolo Coelho is one of my favorite writers. His books are so beautifully written and usually a mixture between novels, philosophy, and spirituality. My favorite ones are of course "The Alchemist" and "Like the flowing river".

Former refugee Halima Aden represents women in modest fashion and with hijabs in the fashion industry. She participated in beauty pageants and was on the cover of Vogue wearing her hijab. Apart from that she is such a lovely human being.

Barack Obama was the 44th president of the USA from 2008 to 2016. He was also the first Black person to be in that office. I recommend you to read his books about his life.

Freely quotes from A Promised Land: “I was scared – not because I could lose but because I realized that I could actually make it.”

Ashley Graham is one of the most successful Plus-Size-Models who fights against body-shaming. All bodies are beautiful and should be represented in fashion. I really admire her for her work.

Jeff Bazos is one of the richest men on earth. In the 1990s he had a vision: to create an online shop. After many ups and downs for many years, Amazon has become an international success. Successful people are people who see something in the future no one else can see and make it happen.

“People see things as they are and they ask why. I see things that never were and ask why not.” George Bernard Shaw

As a teenager, she founded the movement "Fridays for Future" to protest against world climate policies inspiring millions of teenagers around the world who joined the movement. The next generation comes strong.

Lewis Hamilton is a Formula One driver, but also a great human being who always uses his voice for injustices, mental health, and a vegan lifestyle. Really inspiring.

Marie Curie is the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in a time when women were not allowed to do many things. She never let society dictate what she could and couldn’t do and instead did what she thought was right by doing which inspired many women to do the same.

Reinhold Messner is the first person to climb all fourteen 8000+ peaks. I really admire and find inspiration in people who go over their limits again and again and do the impossible.

Eva B is a Pakistani rapper from Balochistan who mostly uses Niqabs when appearing in public and covering her face and her hair too. A woman's clothing does never define how empowered she is, her mindset does.

In a political world dominated by men, Christine Lagarde has managed to be head of the IMF for over 8 years and is now head of the European Central Bank. Even as a child she used to inspire me so much.

Stephen Hawking was one of the greatest physicists this world has ever seen. He had such a great intellect and came up with many mind-blowing ideas and theories. There is a movie on his life on Netflix which is really recommendable.

Mother Teresa was a European nun who was working in India. When she saw the living conditions of some people she started dedicating her entire life to making the world a better place. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Elon Musk is probably the biggest dreamer of the century. You can think whatever you want about his management style, but his ability to dream is exceptional.

Freely quoted from his biography: “At the entrance of Space X you see two pictures – one is how Mars looks right now, the other is how Elon Musk wants it to look like”

Sheryl Sandberg worked as Facebook CEO for many years showing that women can be in any top position. She has also delivered a very interesting Ted talk about how men and women are perceived in top positions.

Nuseir Yassin is one of my favorite social media people. Born and raised in Palestine he got a scholarship to study in the USA. In 2016 he quit his job to travel and shares his journey on social media. Nowadays he reaches millions of people always promoting peace and global understanding.

Waris Dirie is a model and activist against female mutilation. She tells her own story publicly and inspires others to speak up for justice.

Yuval Noah Harari is one of the greatest intellectuals, historians, and authors of our time. His books "Sapiens", "Homo Deus" and "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" are great. He has really good points, arguments, and ideas.

Apart from being an amazing actress Emma Watson is also an activist for so many different causes. I really love that she uses her fame for so many good things.

Danae Mercer is one of my favorite social media personalities using her social media to show how real women look and how all the perfection on Instagram is so fake. Such a courageous thing to do.