Written by student outlier, Nicole Steiner Nicole Steiner is a junior at Legend High School in Parker, Colorado. Her dream is to write novels that captivate and inspire her readers. Nicole's other passions include running, writing songs, singing and playing her guitar. She also enjoys delivering games to those in need through her community service project A Game For You. Nicole is the recipient of multiple awards, including five CCIRA Writing Awards, In addition, she received the distinct honor, of joining 100 other teens, chosen from 10,000 applicants to attend the 2015 Disney … [Read more...]
An Unlikely Hero
From Chapter 3, "Persistence, Press on!" in Ingredients of Outliers An Unlikely Hero Chances are you’ve never heard the amazing story of a man named Cliff Young, but he’s a legend half a world away—in Australia, the Land Down Under. The legend began in 1983, as the inaugural foot race from Sydney to Melbourne was about to get underway. It was an ambitious undertaking, covering a distance of 875 kilometers, or more than 540 miles. That’s the equivalent of running nearly 21 complete marathons—in a row! To put it in perspective, that would be similar to running from New York City to … [Read more...]
Tenacity: From Braces to Races
From Chapter 3, "Persistence, Press on!" in Ingredients of Outliers From Braces to Races The woman whose story follows had no aspirations to be a role model. “I don’t consciously try to be a role model,” she said, “so I don’t know if I am or not. That’s for others to decide.” After reading her story, I’m sure you’ll agree that she proved to be an outstanding one, inspiring others to press on, no matter what obstacles they faced. Born prematurely in 1940 in the segregated South, the twentieth of 22 children in a desperately poor family, there was nothing about this tiny … [Read more...]
A Shining Example of Persistence
From Chapter 3, "Persistence: Press on!" in Ingredients of Outliers A Shining Example America’s history is replete with the stories of men and women whose “press on” and “never quit” attitudes are shining examples of the determination and the persevering spirit on which our nation was built. Among my favorites is Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States from 1901 to 1909. Although he was one of the most colorful and popular men to have ever served in that capacity, Roosevelt was far more than a political figure. He was—among other things—an adventurer, an historian, a … [Read more...]
Tempered Mettle and Gifts for Children
I used to pray that our children sailed unscathed through adolescence and young adulthood. As a parent why would we ever want anything less for our kids? Retrospectively, I may have gotten this one wrong. Years ago, as an undergrad resident assistant, come October I would have a small cohort of freshman outside my door. Their stories were similar; academic rock stars in high school, then during the fall semester of college they experienced a couple of missteps, a poor grade or two on a test, a broken relationship and then crash, the wheels came off the bus. Often they planned to head back … [Read more...]