Simply because you have a disability, that is no excuse for you to give up on a dream or to continue to forge ahead. There are many individuals who have not let their disability keep them from becoming the best that they can be. Over 750 million people in the world today have some type of disability. That is a huge amount of people, it’s three times as many people as there are in the United States. Not all of them gave up simply because of their disability. As a matter of fact, a number of them excelled in spite of their disability and the purpose of this article is to bring encouragement to you so that you can do the same.

Grant it, the 750 million includes every type of disability, from physical disabilities to learning disabilities, to emotional disabilities. The point is that we need to accept the limitations that our disability gives us in its specific area and move on with our lives in the areas that we are not limited. The rest of this article will give names of famous people who have achieved celebrity despite their disability. I am not going to mention the type of disability that these famous people have or had, I’m simply going to mention the fact that they overcame it. I hope that it will inspire you.

Did you know that Albert Einstein did not speak until the age of three? Even as an adult Einstein found that searching for words was laborious. He had a difficult time with his schoolwork, especially math. He also had a hard time expressing himself in written language. He was thought to be simple minded. This is Albert Einstein, arguably, the greatest mind of our the 1900’s.

Thomas Alva Edison was unable to read until he was twelve years old. He was also a poor writer. However, he saw the light.

George Washington couldn’t spell, even in adulthood. His grammar usage was very poor. His own brother suggested that George go out and survey the back woods because he thought that would be appropriate for him. We all know what he accomplished for himself and the United States. Besides Washington, another U.S. president who had a learning disability was Thomas Jefferson. Woodrow Wilson, an U.S. president and. Nelson Rockefeller, who was a vice president of the U.S. both, was severely dyslexic.

There is a huge list of present day famous people who have who have overcome some sort of a disability. I don’t want to name any of them here, however, I will refer you to Delphi Internet Service Corp. a division of Medsupport FSF International Inc. Their URL is www.medsupport.org to see that list. The point is that you need to overcome and persevere. Your talent can shine in spite of any disability that you may have.

Here are some famous people with different disabilities as well:

Goya: Spanish painter (1746-1828): At age 46, an illness left him deaf. He went on to create the most famous Spanish art of the 19th century.

Stephen Hawking: physicist/mathematician has Lou Gehrigs Disease and is in a wheelchair. He needs a computer to speak.

John Milton: English Author/poet (1608-1674): He became blind at age 43. He went on to create his most famous epic," Paradise Lost."

Harriett Tubman: Abolitionist (1830-1913): As a child she was struck by an overseer. The blow fractured her skull and resulted in narcolepsy for the rest of her life. She rescued hundreds of slaves on the Underground Railroad.

Ludwig van Beethoven (Famous Musician) - known to be deaf

Helen Keller (Devoted Life to Persons with Disabilities) She was Blind, Deaf, and Mute.

Franklin D. Roosevelt had Polio, was governor of New York State then elected President of the United States for 4 terms.

And let us not forget our own Superman:

Christopher Reeve Not since FDR has a person with a disability commanded so much media attention. FDR hid his, Christopher Reeve wants to be rid of his, but until he does, he is one of us.