When fi ve-year-old Jonnie Peacock had to have his lower leg amputated after contracting meningococcal septicaemia, you'd think that he might have been allowed a few moments of feeling sorry for himself. But that was just not Jonnie Peacock's style, and by the age of
6 he was running around on an artifi cial leg, and enjoying his life - even if all that exercise meant he had to go back into hospital for further operations to remove more of his diseased leg. His teachers back then tell how they thought of changing the
rules for the school sports day, but that Jonnie wouldn't hear of it, determined to compete on the same level as his able-bodied schoolmates. When his class heard that the UK had won the Olympics bid,
Jonnie was only 12, and had never considered running seriously. That only happened two years ago when he started training seriously at Lea Valley. In those two years, he has become the world's fastest amputee
over 100m, beating his idol and mentor Oscar Pistorius and securing him Gold at the London Olympics. It's an amazing journey, which shows how determination and the ability to shrug off setbacks can put you absolutely at the top of your world. A big hand to Jonnie Peacock - at the age of 19 probably the world's greatest 100m Paralympian!
Charm and Big Vision - Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson was never a great student. Suffering from dyslexia and hence a poor student at Stowe School, he was later to fi nd that the ability to connect with people would stand him in good stead. Branson left school at 16 and started a student magazine, The Student, which he ran from the crypt of a church. In the back of the magazine he sold discounted records at
prices far lower than on the High Street. The venture was a huge success and Branson never looked
back. He set up Virgin Record Stores, later to become Virgin Megastores and then started the record label, Virgin Records. Every move Branson took was informed by his ability to look at
things with a clear light and really go for it. His inter-personal skills were always a huge asset, and he now
is head of the Virgin Group, with more than 400 companies. Branson is now the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom
with an estimated worth of $4.2 billion. Branson continues to push for bigger and greater goals. He started the world's fi rst passenger spacefl ight service and has taken part in numerous world record attempts. He is an activist on social matters and is one of the group know as The Elders who come together to infl uence positively world policy. From the start, Branson was in a position in which he delegated to others particular skills and tasks, while he was freed to maintain his vision. In that way, you could argue that for him, his dyslexia was an asset which left him uncluttered with academic information and let him see to the heart of business matters. His success is extraordinary and he is literally aiming for the sky. Big vision and wide horizons - these are at the heart of his impressive success.