Mine right now off the top of my head is Adam Savage, former co-host of Mythbusters years ago. I sometimes watch his Tested videos whenever he answers questions and he answers them very thoughtfully. A lot of his thoughts, takes and answers based on his experiences and point of view on life and career has helped me be more grounded in my perspective as a worker.
I’m not as much of a freelance worker as he is and I don’t do nearly a lot of cool things that he does that others also do too. But his knowledge and wisdom is seriously something to take into consideration and they’re things I like to try and borrow some aspects from to apply into my life so that I don’t feel as aloft in things as I used to.
I just watched a recent video of his where he answered the question someone asked on the subject of When You Don’t Want a Better-Paying Position. And he went on to basically say, in summary as I perceived it, that sometimes in life the bigger and better positions isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
Like sure, having more money and being financially secure is never a wrong position in wanting to have. But you also need to find a platform where you’re happy with what you do and maintain a work/life balance while doing it. And just hearing all of what I heard in that video alone was inspiring to me so this man is definitely someone I see as a positive.
LeVar Burton probably influenced both my love of reading (Reading Rainbow) and decision to become an engineer (Star Trek).
I really like Adam Savage as well. The tour he did of Grant Imahara’s shop was very touching.
It seems like kind of an obvious answer, but Mister Rogers. I grew up watching him on PBS, and he was always so kind and gentle, and he always has good lessons and reminders to be had. I still watch his show whenever I’m feeling down and don’t want to get out of bed. For me, they’re motivating to get up and do something.
That was the rewarding click for the day. I hadn’t seen that yet and enjoyed every second. Thank you for sharing!
Bob Ross, I’ve always been an introverted person and didn’t make friends quickly as a kid. Bob helped me become comfortable with that and just put my energy into things I do like instead of trying to be something I’m not.
Bob Ross, absolutely.
And, funny enough a “colleague” of him, R.Lee Emmy - First he made sure that any ideas of going to the army went out of my head and then I saw a very very good speech of him at a time when I was in a dark place.
Robin Williams
Lady Gaga.
Never met her but seems like one of the kindest people you could hope to meet. She doesn’t seem concerned what you look like, just who are you as a person.
I may be a little more comfortable with the weather than I might otherwise be if it weren’t for Greta Thunberg making it a bit harder for corporations to fuck everything up. Does that count?
Otherwise, Carl Sagan.
Stephen Fry
Steve Irwin. The passion he had doing what he loved and sharing it with the world is incredibly inspiring still to this day
Anthony Bourdain has always inspired me to seek out the unknown and to keep an open mind about the perspectives of others. Our lives are incredibly short and we often spend too much time trying to pick apart the minutia of those who are close to us. It’s important to have a balance and to go out and be in uncomfortable situations with unfamiliar people.
Steven Soderbergh
Dave Brockie (of GWAR). Taught me not to take things so seriously.
Adam Yauch. You taught us all how to grow up and be better than we were yesterday
Earthling Ed
I’d say the artists of my music playlist .
David Bowie and Prince both bent and blurred gender lines while still being attractive, unique, and amazingly talented. Bowie died really close to his birthday, and both dates are close to my birthday.
When he died, I decided to check off some of my bucket list items, like performing in drag. Whenever I’ve felt self conscious, thinking about these icons really helped me be comfortable with myself and my journey.
I really miss both of them as a fan. :/ I wish I had seen them live.
