30 STORIES OF SELF-IMPROVEMENT AND MOTIVATION - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

I am going to tell you 30 stories of personal improvement and motivation to inspire you and increase your desire to achieve difficult goals or overcome difficulties. Among them are the examples of Nick Vujicic, Stephen Hawking, Malala Yousafzai or Lizzie Velázquez.

There are certain moments in life when it is difficult to move on. Situations in which we need a push to be able to face the problems and not fall in the attempt. However, there are people who have gone through these circumstances who live to tell the world about their experiences and thus be able to help others.

List of self-improvement cases that inspire

1- Nick Vujicic, the man who always gets up

Source: HectorDupont

Nick Vujicic's motivational story is possibly the most famous in the world. Dedicate to give talks, which can be viewed on YouTube. Without viewings they exceed millions of visits.

In his presentations, Vujicic introduces himself in the first instance, and then lies down on the ground. What do you do next? Leave those present astonished, since it is able to get up without the help of its limbs.

With this he tries to make us understand that everything is possible and that we must never give up in life. If he could, anyone can.

2- Ste

Source: Jim Campbell / Aero-News Network

Who doesn't know the story of one of the smartest men in the world? This physicist was diagnosed with ALS when he was just 20 years old.

The doctor did not predict many more years of life. But despite this, he would marry, continue to investigate, and live his life in the most normal way possible.

Today he is 74 years old, has published several best sellers on physics and is considered one of the brightest minds in the entire globe.

Also, if you want to know more about the life of this scientist, you cannot miss the movie "The Theory of Everything", focused on his life and illness.

3- Oscar Pistorius, the legless runner

Source: Elvar Pálsson from Iceland.

Regardless of his problems with the law, his worth in terms of sports is totally commendable.

Oscar Pistorius saw how the young people of his school ran in competitions, something that aroused his envy, since at just 11 months he had had his legs amputated after being born without a fibula. That was a serious problem.

The solution came with a carbon prosthesis. His effort led him to win a silver in the 4 × 400 relay at the Daegu World Championships.

The peak of his sports career came when he managed to compete in the Olympics for the first time.

4- Malala Yousafzai, the human rights defender

Source: DFID - UK Department for International Development

Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, Malala Yousafzai suffered a terrorist attack two years earlier in which she was shot a total of three times. Incredibly, the 17-year-old managed to survive after touching death and undergoing several important life and death operations.

Today she is a well-known fighter for human rights, dedicating herself especially to the equality of women and the problems that involve her country, Pakistan. To do this, she appears in different television programs in addition to running an important blog known worldwide.

5- Lizzie Velásquez, the most fighter in the world

Source: Larry D. Moore

Lizzie was born with several rare diseases. This made her face and body appear deteriorated. The problem arose one day when he entered YouTube and did a search on "the ugliest woman in the world." Her surprise was not at all satisfactory when she realized that it was she who appeared in the video.

Despite this, and like Vuijicic, he decided to turn his life upside down, and push forward. Today his talks are an ode to effort and living despite the adversities that have touched you.

It has a personal YouTube channel where you can benefit from Lizzie's experiences and learn about her day to day.

6- Bethany Hamilton, the fearless surfer

This surf fan used to frequent the beaches of Hawaii until one day, at the young age of 13, a tiger shark tore his left arm completely off the coast of Kauai.

What did Hamilton do? Continue surfing as if nothing had happened, defying your fear to achieve your dream: to become a professional surfer.

To this day, Bethany Hamilton is 25 years old and I can say that she is one of the best surfers in the world.

7- Narayanan Krishnan, the chef of the town

Krishnan is a reputed 5-star hotel cook. His ability as a chef does not raise doubts, as does his quality as a person.

He wakes up every day at four in the morning, cooks, takes his van with his equipment and drives to the city of Madurai in India to feed the people who cannot afford to eat every day.

The cook feeds 400 people a day and was selected by CNN as one of the 10 greatest heroes of 2010.

8- Derek Redmond, the athlete who never gave up

A successful man, Derek Redmon is an English atheist who had won it all: gold in the 86 Sttutgart European, the 86 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, and the 1991 Tokyo World Championships.

Already at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, and running as one of the favorites to win gold, he was injured in the semifinals, when, amid severe pain, he decided to end the last lap limping. Seeing him, his father came down to help him finish the race together.

9- Soichiro Honda, the challenging entrepreneur

Source: Financial Industry Research Firm, Unknown Photographer

Soichiro Honda went to Toyota for a job interview to fill a free vacancy. Apparently, his profile was not very funny to the company and they decided that Soichiro was not the right one for the position.

What is it that he did? Create a company that would compete with Toyota, to which she gave her last name.

10- Thomas Edison, the scientist who always learned

Source: JM White & Co., photographer.

Nothing more representative than the famous phrase by Thomas Alva Edison. After creating one of the greatest inventions in history, he reached an incredible conclusion that he stated: "I have not failed, I have only discovered 999 ways how not to make a light bulb."

Awesome motivational life lesson from one of the greatest thinking minds in history.

11- The Beatles, the group with a star

Source: Boer, Poppe de

In '62, a group of young men with long hair and bangs flocked to Decca Studios in London with high hopes.

Days ago, Mike Smith, a musical talent scout had heard them in one of his concerts at the famous The Cavern. Those who were there stated that its sound was the most mediocre that could be found.

The answer was the Smith's rejection, something that he would surely regret a few years later…

12- Elvis Presley, the king

Again, and as with The Beatles, sure that the manager put his hands to the head if he had known the success of the artist from Mississippi.

13- Charles Chaplin, the tireless comedian

Source: by Hulton Archive / Getty Images

If you've ever seen a Charles Chaplin movie, you know that his humor is unconventional.

That was what some executives thought when they saw him perform. Their idea did not suit them and they thought that their way of working was "twisted" and that they would not reach too many people. His denial was outright.

Given this, the actor kept trying until he received the opportunity that would lead him to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history.

14- Bobby Charlton, the footballer who survived

Source: DFID - UK Department for International Development

Mythical figure of English football. Its story is unconventional, and it will surely surprise you. Manchester United, a Charlton club, was returning from a European Cup match in 1958 when the plane in which they were traveling suffered an accident.

In total, 8 players from the first team died. Bobby was close to death for several days, but in the end he managed to save his life.

The most incredible thing of all is that, based on perseverance and effort, he returned to play and became the top scorer of the English team (until 2015) and contributed to the victory of the only World Cup that England enjoys.

15- Stephen King, the writer who never gave up

Source: Penguin Kolb

Did you know that Stephen King's first novel was rejected by most of the publishers he went to?

Upon arriving home, and as a result of frustration, he threw it in the trash. It was his wife who picked him up and encouraged him to keep trying. The rest is history. King has become one of the best-selling authors in history thanks to his intriguing and terrifying novels.

16- Isidre Esteve, the wheelchair biker

Source: Moritz Barcelona / Oriol Miralles

The promising career of rally rider Isidre Esteve turned upside down in 2007. After an accident in Bajo Almanzora, he fractured his T7 and T8 vertebrae. The consequence? Esteve should stay in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Far from collapsing and lapsing into passivity, the Girona-born man would publish his book The Luck of My Destiny just one year after his accident, where he recounts his experience and how to help people who have gone through similar circumstances.

His spare time is dedicated to making talks to people who have suffered the same fate.

Isidre is an icon of overcoming in the world of sport, he has recognized that he is currently working to return to competition, with the Dakar being his main objective.

17- Kelvin Doe, the engineer from Sierra Leone

Source: Kano Computing

This young man from Sierra Leone had to live in a place with few opportunities. His future could have been to become one of the famous child soldiers who are giving so much to talk about.

His story begins with the dream of building his own radio. For this, the young man began to study engineering on his own in 2010.

By 2012, Kelvin had already managed to appear on major television networks such as CNN and the BBC as well as becoming the youngest guest to enter the Massachusetts Institute of Technology visitor program.

18- Teresa Perales, the Paralympic swimmer

Source: LauraHale

A neurological disease led Teresa Perales to sit in a wheelchair for life. This was not an impediment to doing what he liked best: swimming.

Her effort and perseverance in this sport have led her to achieve nothing more and nothing less than 22 medals in Paralympic Games, in addition to multiple recognitions such as the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 2012, becoming the first Paralympic athlete to achieve it.. Mundo Deportivo would also give him the trophy for the human-sporting feat a year later.

The athlete herself has explained on several occasions that “the important thing is the way we face things that are happening. When I was in a wheelchair, I thought that my life was with my chair and that thanks to it I could do great things ”.

19- Mark Ellis and Lola Rose, the brothers who knew how to support each other

Mark Ellis is a young British man who suffered a stroke that left him unable to speak. This disease is known as the "Cloistered Syndrome".

In a tedious and dangerous recovery process (during the first months of illness the chances of dying are really high), the figure of his sister, Lola Rose, was totally transcendental.

In large part, and thanks to Rose, Mark was able to cope with the disease, reaching out to communicate with his loved ones. And it is that emotions and love are one of the most effective treatments in this type of disease.

20- Im Dong-Hyun, the bow champion with myopia

Source: Andy Rogers from Near Ipswich, England

Again, another Olympian, like Oscar Pistorius and Teresa Perales.

In this thirty-year-old North Korean, a myopia was detected that was increasing at a great speed. Being a teenager, Im already practically blind.

Despite this, his dream of practicing archery was never denied him, eventually participating in the London Olympics. He has never liked being considered handicapped and he proved it.

To this day, he can boast of having set a new world record of 72 arrows corresponding to 699 points in the individual modality and 216 arrows and 2087 points for teams together with two other compatriots.

22- Dich Hoyt and Rick Hoyt, the father who does not separate from his son

When Rick Hoyt was born, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his body, which caused not enough oxygen to reach the brain. The consequence was cerebral palsy from birth.

Regardless of this, he would begin to develop a great passion for sports, but his paralysis prevented him from doing them. Not happy with it, his father, Dick decided to start taking him to competitions.

When Rick had to run, he carried his son with him in a chair, when he had to swim, he pulled a boat, and when he had to cycle, he took him with him on a dock. Not even triathlons, duathlons, or even marathons resist him.

In this way, both enjoy a single passion. Check them out in this exciting video:

23- Pablo Pineda, the first person with Down Syndrome to have a university degree

Live image of the training of those affected by Down syndrome. Pablo Pineda's life is an example of improvement. Fighting against all the adversities and limitations that his illness implies, he decided to study at university: he was the first person with Down syndrome to be able to pass a degree.

With a degree in Teaching and a few subjects to graduate in Psychopedagogy, Pablo has received the Silver Shell for best actor at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. He has also written several books and lectures throughout Spain.

Pablo affirms that he hopes that in the future the educational system will be “more plural, rich and diverse”, making it clear that there are many people qualified to carry out higher studies.

24- Daniel Bergmann, the autistic boy who completes six Coursera programs

The 17-year-old Daniel has raised great expectations around him. His autism has not prevented him from completing no more and no less than six courses on Coursera (an academic education platform developed by Stanford University).

His ancestry is incredible, since at the age of twelve, he did not even have a vocabulary of forty words. Now, what he likes to learn the most is Greco-Roman poetry and mythology.

25- Alan Kempster, the limbless biker in his right zone

Source: 17foundation

A case that will make you remember Isidre Esteve's. Alan suffered a fatal accident in 1990 when a drunk truck driver drove him away, resulting in the amputation of his right arm and leg.

As you can guess, this did not lead him to put his passion aside, but quite the opposite. He keeps riding a motorcycle, and he will never stop, as he usually explains.

Alan Kempster leaves us an important reflection: “If you have a passion and a dream, you have and should go for them. Nobody will do things for you. "

If you want to know more about its incredible history, you cannot miss this video:

26- Juan Lascorz, the quadriplegic pilot

Juan Lascorz was doing a test during the SBK (superbike) world championship in 2012 at the Imola circuit until an accident left him quadriplegic and with minimal mobility in his legs and hands.

A few years later he returned not with a motorcycle, but with a buggie, and not to the superbike world championship, but to the Spanish TT Rally Championship.

“At last I'm doing what I like the most: racing,” said the Catalan rider, in what is an example of personal improvement.

27- Taylor Morris, the limbless soldier

Taylor Morris's story of self-improvement is totally heartbreaking. This young American soldier was posted to Afghanistan as a mine clearance expert. Unfortunately, a bomb caused him to lose all four of his limbs.

But, to everyone's surprise, the young man managed to get ahead, managing to greatly optimize his health. Likewise, a large part of the doctors affirm that Danielle, his girlfriend, has had a lot to do with this improvement.

Taylor has received the Bronze medal for valor, where she said that "if I had hands, I would put this medal on him, I would give it to Danielle."

Also, the story of Taylor Morris can be found on the internet with some photographs that have raised $ 250,000 for her recovery.

28- Carrie Brown, model with Down Syndrome

Source: Voice of America

Like Pablo Pineda, Carrie Brown is known for being a clear example of overcoming Down Syndrome. At just 17 years old, and with the support of her inner circles and, of course, the internet, this girl managed to become a Wet Seal model.

It all started with the rise of reviews with posed with the clothes of the well-known brand on their social networks. To this day, it is one of his most famous faces.

29- Jessica Long, the legless swimmer

Source: Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust CC 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses / by / 2.0)

Born in Siberia and adopted by an American family, Jessuca Long was born without her shin and foot bones. This problem led to the pointing of her legs below the knees when she was less than two years old.

Far from leading a passive life, he decided to dedicate his free time to swimming. With the passage of time, what began as a hobby was translated into professional activity.

Currently, he holds the Paralympic world record for legless athletes, something that can be added to the twelve gold medals he has achieved.

30- Mark Inglis

The reputed and well-known professional mountaineer took refuge in the mountains for 13 days due to a strong blizzard. The frostbite they suffered forced the doctors to amputate both legs below the knees.

One of his biggest dreams was to conquer Everest, a goal that was only temporarily truncated. Twenty years later, Mark Inglis managed to conquer the highest peak in the entire world.

Without a doubt, one of the most shocking stories of self-improvement you can read.

To finish…

If something has become clear to me when reading and summarizing these stories of motivation and self-improvement, it is that you cannot let anyone trample you, or let your own limitations limit you, worth the redundancy.

You cannot let circumstances control you: you control circumstances. You are the only owner of your actions

You can get something out of everything, and you can get something positive out of everything, you just need to have willpower and of course, desire. Don't forget, never give up!