Browse All Stories
Every published Reelspiration record, arranged alphabetically for complete access. For a more guided path, browse by challenge or collection.
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Abraham Lincoln
He Lost Elections, Carried a Nation Through War, and Kept Expanding the Meaning of Freedom
Abraham Lincoln
He Lost Elections, Carried a Nation Through War, and Kept Expanding the Meaning of Freedom
Leadership StoriesAdmiral Yi Sun-sin
Removed, Imprisoned, and Recalled—He Returned When His Country Needed Him Most
Strong RecoveriesAlex Smith
The Comeback That Was Bigger Than Football
Strong RecoveriesAlex Zanardi
After Losing Both Legs, He Returned to Competition—and Then Faced Recovery Again
Late StartsAlexander the Great
He Led From the Front—and Never Learned Where Enough Was
Amy Purdy
She Lost Both Legs—and Rebuilt a Life Larger Than the One She Had Planned
Amy Purdy
She Lost Both Legs—and Rebuilt a Life Larger Than the One She Had Planned
Leadership StoriesApollo 11
The Team Behind One Small Step
Leadership StoriesApollo 13
Failure Was Not the End of the Mission
Uncommon CourageAudie Murphy
The Young Soldier Who Kept Protecting His Company After He Was Wounded
B
5Babe Ruth
From Troubled Youth to a New Kind of Star
Leadership StoriesBerlin Airlift
Supplying a City Through the Sky
Strong RecoveriesBethany Hamilton
The Wave That Took Her Arm Did Not Take Her Future
Strong RecoveriesBillie Jean King
Winning the Match—and Changing the Game
Strong RecoveriesBrendan Fraser
The Return of a Beloved Star
C
3Charles McGee
He Flew Through Two Battles: Enemy Fire Abroad and Discrimination at Home
Leadership StoriesChester W. Nimitz
After Pearl Harbor, He Rebuilt Confidence Before He Rebuilt the Fleet
Colonel Harland Sanders
The Man Who Refused to Retire From His Own Potential
Colonel Harland Sanders
The Man Who Refused to Retire From His Own Potential
D
6Desmond Doss
He Refused to Carry a Weapon—and Kept Returning to Save One More
Leadership StoriesDoolittle Raid
A Mission That Changed Morale
Uncommon CourageDoris Miller
He Was Assigned to Serve Meals—Then Took Up a Gun He Had Never Been Trained to Use
Fresh StartsDrew Barrymore
Growing Up in Public—and Beginning Again
Leadership StoriesDunkirk Evacuation
When Rescue Became the Mission
Leadership StoriesDwight D. Eisenhower
He Led the Largest Allied Invasion in Europe—and Prepared to Take the Blame Alone
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Elon Musk
Risking the Next Chapter on Two Companies
Elon Musk
Risking the Next Chapter on Two Companies
Leadership StoriesEndurance Expedition
Every Man Came Home
Ernest Shackleton
When the Expedition Failed, the Mission Became Bringing Everyone Home
Ernest Shackleton
When the Expedition Failed, the Mission Became Bringing Everyone Home
Fresh StartsEstée Lauder
Giving the Product a Chance to Be Experienced
Uncommon CourageEugene Bullard
He Flew for France When His Own Country Would Not Let Him Fly
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6Garrett Morgan
He Invented Lifesaving Tools—Then Had to Invent Ways Around Racism to Sell Them
Leadership StoriesGeorge C. Marshall
He Built the Army That Others Would Lead
Fresh StartsGeorge Foreman
The Champion Who Returned Twenty Years Later
Leadership StoriesGeorge Washington
He Kept an Army Alive Long Enough for a Nation to Be Born
Told NoGeorge Washington Carver
Denied Admission Because of His Race, He Kept Pursuing the Education He Was Owed
Late StartsGrace Hopper
She Was Told Computers Could Only Follow Instructions—So She Changed the Instructions
H
8Hannibal Barca
He Chose the Route His Enemy Believed No Army Could Take
Strong RecoveriesHarriet Tubman
She Escaped Slavery—Then Chose to Return for Others
Uncommon CourageHedy Lamarr
The World Saw a Movie Star. History Eventually Saw the Inventor Too.
Late StartsHelen Keller
A Child Without Sight or Hearing Discovered That Language Could Open the World
Henry Ford
The Company Before Ford Motor Failed
Henry Ford
The Company Before Ford Motor Failed
Uncommon CourageHoratio Nelson
He Lost an Arm, Lost Sight in One Eye, and Kept Leading at Sea
Told NoHoward Schultz
The Vision the Original Owners Did Not Want
Strong RecoveriesHugh Herr
The Climber Who Lost His Legs and Began Designing Better Ones
J
8Jack Ma
Rejected by Employers, Then Misunderstood by Investors
Late StartsJackie Robinson
The Athlete Who Had to Win While Carrying More Than the Game
Fresh StartsJames Dyson
The 5,127th Prototype
Fresh StartsJan Koum
From Food Stamps to a Product Built Around Simplicity
Fresh StartsJeff Bezos
The Bet Behind the Everything Store
Late StartsJim Abbott
He Was Born Without a Right Hand—and Threw a Major-League No-Hitter
Strong RecoveriesJoni Eareckson Tada
A Diving Accident Changed Her Body. It Did Not Remove Her Ability to Create and Serve.
Strong RecoveriesJuliane Koepcke
She Fell Into the Rainforest—and Followed One Piece of Knowledge Home
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3Lauren Wasser
A Medical Emergency Changed Her Body—and She Turned the Warning Into a Mission
Lionel Messi
The Boy Considered Too Small Who Became a Giant of the Game
Lionel Messi
The Boy Considered Too Small Who Became a Giant of the Game
Strong RecoveriesLouis Braille
He Lost His Sight—Then Gave Millions a New Way to Read
M
10Madam C. J. Walker
Building Opportunity From a Problem She Lived
Late StartsMagic Johnson
The Announcement That Changed More Than a Career
Malala Yousafzai
The Attack Was Meant to Silence Her. Recovery Gave Her a Larger Audience.
Malala Yousafzai
The Attack Was Meant to Silence Her. Recovery Gave Her a Larger Audience.
Marie Curie
She Entered Rooms That Were Not Built for Her—and Changed Science Forever
Marie Curie
She Entered Rooms That Were Not Built for Her—and Changed Science Forever
Uncommon CourageMary Edwards Walker
She Served the Wounded in a War That Did Not Recognize Women as Equals
Michael Jordan
The Setback That Became Fuel—but Not the Myth People Repeat
Michael Jordan
The Setback That Became Fuel—but Not the Myth People Repeat
Strong RecoveriesMichael Phelps
The Champion Who Asked for Help
Leadership StoriesMiracle on the Hudson
208 Seconds to Make the Right Decision
Fresh StartsMonica Seles
The Champion Who Returned After Violence
Muhammad Ali
Standing for More Than a Record
Muhammad Ali
Standing for More Than a Record
N
5Nancy Wake
The Gestapo Called Her Dangerous Because She Would Not Stop Moving
Strong RecoveriesNando Parrado
He Walked Out of the Andes Because Waiting Had Become More Dangerous Than Moving
Leadership StoriesNapoleon Bonaparte
His Rise Proved the Power of Preparation—His Fall Proved the Cost of Overreach
Nelson Mandela
After Twenty-Seven Years in Prison, He Chose Negotiation Over Revenge
Nelson Mandela
After Twenty-Seven Years in Prison, He Chose Negotiation Over Revenge
Strong RecoveriesNiki Lauda
Six Weeks After a Near-Fatal Crash, He Returned to the Starting Grid
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Pelé
From Poverty to the World Stage
Pelé
From Poverty to the World Stage
Uncommon CouragePercy Julian
The Chemist Who Kept Solving Problems Others Tried to Keep Him From Entering
Strong RecoveriesPeyton Manning
The Neck Injury That Changed How He Played
Fresh StartsPhil Knight
Selling Shoes From the Trunk
R
8Ralph Lauren
Selling a Vision Bigger Than a Tie
Strong RecoveriesRandy Pausch
He Could Not Choose the Diagnosis—So He Chose What to Leave Behind
Fresh StartsReed Hastings and Marc Randolph
The Business That Kept Replacing Itself Before the Market Could
Fresh StartsRichard Branson
Turning Dyslexia Into a Different Operating System
Fresh StartsRobert Downey Jr.
When Talent Was Not Enough
Strong RecoveriesRoger Federer
Making Excellence Look Effortless
Late StartsRosa Parks
Her Refusal Was Not a Sudden Accident—It Was a Life of Preparation Meeting a Moment
Strong RecoveriesRoy Benavidez
He Heard a Team Was Trapped—and Ran Toward Them
S
7Sam Walton
The Store He Lost—and the System He Kept
Sara Blakely
The Idea No Manufacturer Wanted to Make
Sara Blakely
The Idea No Manufacturer Wanted to Make
Serena Williams
Returning to the Court After Childbirth
Serena Williams
Returning to the Court After Childbirth
Strong RecoveriesSimone Biles
The Champion Who Proved Stepping Back Can Be an Act of Strength
Fresh StartsSoichiro Honda
When the Factory Was Gone, the Need Was Still There
Strong RecoveriesStephen Hawking
A Short Prognosis Did Not Become a Small Life
Steve Jobs
Fired From the Company He Created—and Forced to Become More Than Its Founder
Steve Jobs
Fired From the Company He Created—and Forced to Become More Than Its Founder
T
9Tammy Duckworth
The Helicopter Crash Took Her Legs—Not Her Commitment to Serve
Uncommon CourageTemple Grandin
The Mind Others Misunderstood Became the Perspective an Industry Needed
Uncommon CourageTerry Fox
He Could Not Finish the Run—But the Run Never Stopped
Leadership StoriesThai Cave Rescue
The World Came Together for Thirteen Lives
Leadership StoriesThe 33 Chilean Miners
Sixty-Nine Days Underground
Uncommon CourageTibor Rubin
A Prisoner of War Who Kept Feeding and Caring for Others
Tiger Woods
The Comeback No One Could Promise
Tiger Woods
The Comeback No One Could Promise
Fresh StartsTina Turner
The Voice That Rebuilt a Life
Told NoTom Brady
The 199th Pick
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Walt Disney
The Dream That Survived Bankruptcy and the Loss of Its First Star
Walt Disney
The Dream That Survived Bankruptcy and the Loss of Its First Star
Strong RecoveriesWayne Gretzky
Seeing the Play Before It Happened
Wilma Rudolph
The Girl in a Leg Brace Who Became the Fastest Woman in the World
Wilma Rudolph
The Girl in a Leg Brace Who Became the Fastest Woman in the World
Winston Churchill
When Defeat Surrounded Britain, He Refused to Describe Surrender as Inevitable
Winston Churchill
When Defeat Surrounded Britain, He Refused to Describe Surrender as Inevitable
Uncommon CourageWitold Pilecki
He Volunteered to Enter Auschwitz So the World Could Know