Scottish Woman Stuns YouTube World
She's a 47 year old woman, with a learning disability. Susan Boyle has never been married, doesn't have a job, and lives with her cat in a tiny cottage of rural Scotland. But that was last week. This week, she's been watched by 20.2 million people online, Twittered by Demi Moore and Ashton Kucher, praised by Patti LuPone, admired by the bloggerati, snapped up by the paparazzi, swarmed by camera... posted on Apr 19 2009, 8,076 reads

Three Cups of Tea: A Mountaineer's Story
This story begins in 1993 when American Greg Mortenson set out to climb K2, the second-highest mountain in the world, on the northern border of Pakistan. But he didn't make it all the way. "I was completely exhausted and emaciated. I was kind of slumping off the mountain. I had to walk 58 miles to get to the nearest village." The villagers took him in and nursed him back to health. "They had very ... posted on Apr 11 2009, 4,769 reads

1 Piece of Advice
Patricia Moser-Stern and Barbara Moser knew there were plenty of successful women with advice to share when they decided to pen their book, 1 Piece of Advice. But the Markham cousins say the process of gathering almost 50 examples of remarkable women gave them even more inspiration. "There were these women across the globe that have achieved so many things ... stories so amazing, but we didn't eve... posted on Apr 09 2009, 5,673 reads

Aimee Mullins' Twelve Pairs of Legs
A record-breaker at the Paralympic Games in 1996, Aimee Mullins has built a career as a model, actor and activist for women, sports and the next generation of prosthetics. In this video from TED, Mullins talks about her prosthetic legs -- she's got a dozen amazing pairs -- and the superpowers they grant her: speed, beauty, an extra 6 inches of height ... Quite simply, she redefines what the body c... posted on Apr 04 2009, 5,618 reads

A Full-Time Job Paying-It-Forward
When Trevor Patzer was growing up in Ketchum, Idaho, he received an unusual offer from family friend Ric Ohrstrom: get admitted to New Hampshire's prestigious St. Paul's School, and Mr. Ohrstrom would foot the entire bill for his schooling there. Mr. Patzer was accepted and graduated three years later. He says the experience of someone offering to pay for his high-school education had a profound ... posted on Apr 03 2009, 3,969 reads

Rowing For Hope
After almost 3,000 miles of rowing, bouts of seasickness, equipment failure and salt sores, Paul Ridley is back on land. On day 88, Ridley, 25, completed his solo rowing trip across the Atlantic Ocean, becoming the youngest American ever to do so. For nearly three months, Ridley has been rowing up to twelve hours a day on the 2,950-mile journey to raise cancer awareness and hopefully raise money f... posted on Apr 01 2009, 2,968 reads

Playing the Smart Move
On a recent afternoon, Orrin Hudson, a former Alabama state trooper, is teaching chess to 14 students in an after-school program. He uses the ancient game to instill a fundamental life lesson: They will win or lose because of choices they make -- in real life and on the chess board. Hudson, 41, figures he has taught chess to 15,000 kids in Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Nevada and Washington state.... posted on Mar 31 2009, 2,774 reads

An Everday Subway Hero
Subway heroes, as they are inevitably tagged even before the grease from the tracks is rubbed off, come along every now and then -- indeed, as the story of Chad Lindsey suggests, perhaps more often than we know. Minutes after rescuing a man who had fallen onto the subway tracks at the Penn Station stop on Monday, Mr. Lindsey managed to melt back into the anonymity of the city, escaping the notice ... posted on Mar 28 2009, 2,723 reads

From Wall Street to Basketball Coach
Jamal Adams starred on the basketball court at Loyola High in the late '80s. He was captain, league MVP, and much more. After college, he headed for Wall Street. Waking in the pre-dawn each day for the market's opening bell, chasing money like a mouse chasing ever distant slices of cheddar, he grew unfulfilled and unhappy. So unhappy that he took a second job as an assistant coach at Loyola High... posted on Mar 25 2009, 2,248 reads

A Young Inventor with Heart
Max Wallack, who's 12, has been dreaming up ideas for new inventions since he was 6 years old. Many of them were inspired by his grandmother and great-grandmother, two important role models in his life. In one corner of the room, Max demonstrates what he calls the Great-Granny Booster Step, a wooden step with a handle, which his great-grandmother used to get into the family's minivan. He also expl... posted on Mar 18 2009, 4,620 reads