Traits you'll need on the way — Bernardo Moya Who are your heroes? @Bernardo_Moya
Soichiro Honda
The Japanese Henry Ford The son of a blacksmith born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1906,
Soichiro Honda spent his early years with his father repairing bicycles. He had little interest in school, forging his father's family stamp to show receipt of school reports. However, he was curious about engineering and his love of invention was born on seeing an airplane demonstration. Working fi rst as a car mechanic in Tokyo from the age of 16, in 1928 he returned to run his own car repair business. The big change in his life came post-war. In 1946 he found he could fi t bicycles with a small generator engine designed to power army radios. He sold 1500 powered bikes, and in 1948 began producing motorcycles. In the following decades, Honda turned his company into a
billion-dollar multinational. His engineering and marketing skills resulted in Honda motorcycles outselling Triumph and Harley- Davidson in their home markets. Honda remained president until retirement in 1973, when he stayed on as director and "supreme adviser". His status was such that People magazine dubbed him "the Japanese Henry Ford." Even in old age, Soichiro held a private pilot's license, enjoyed skiing, hang-gliding and balloon- ing, and was a highly accomplished artist.
He was an innovator, and unique in his home country - driven by his passion for invention.
— Honda was considered rude and abrupt by members of the Japanese establishment, and so it wasn't only his own lack of schooling and lowly position he had to combat - but the prejud ice of the society he lived in. He overcame it all to become a massively impressive entrepreneur. Bernardo Moya
Billie Jean King Flair and Determination
Born Billie Jean Moffi tt in Long Beach, California in 1943, Billie Jean King was a fi reman's daughter in a conservative Methodist family. With no fi nancial advantages, she learned to play tennis on public courts not far from home, augmenting her natural talent with rigid discipline. In 1962 at the tender age of 19, Billie Jean shot to stardom at the world's most prestigious tennis tournament, Wimbledon. At her fi rst attempt, she won the women's doubles title at alongside Karen Hantze Susman. It was the start of an extraordinary career. Between 1961 and 1979, Billie Jean King won a record 20 Wimbledon titles, including the singles in 1966–8, 1972–3, and 1975. She also won 13 US titles (including four singles), four French titles (one singles), and two Australian titles (one singles). Augmenting her sporting prowess was her sense of justice, which prompted her to demand equal prize money for women. Older tennis champ Bobby Riggs criti- cised her, saying the women's game was inferior to the men's, and that even he at 55 years old could beat the best women in the game. When Billie Jean was challenged by Riggs and offered $100,000 to play, she accepted. The hugely billed "Battle Of The Sexes" in 1973 saw her vanquish Riggs, though she drew no pleasure from beating an older man. Fearless in her personal life, too, she revealed that she was gay at a time when attitudes to homosexuality were far more entrenched than today. Her effect on the players who followed on from her has been as a massive inspirational fi gure.
— Her determination, her sense of justice and her willingness to stick her head above the parapet makes Billie Jean King an impressive force. She continues to champion the cause of tennis to this day, and is one of the all time greats of the game - male or female! Bernardo Moya
Success represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called failure.
“A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.” – Billie Jean King