According to recognized aero technical tests, the bumblebee cannot fly because of the shape and weight of his body in relation to the total wing area. The bumblebee doesn't know this, so he goes ahead and flies anyway.
I wanted something different; I wanted something that challenged me and that pushed me further. Then this idea of climbing Mount Everest came to my mind. It stuck in my head for days. Someone told me I couldn't do it, and that really annoyed me.
I've been defying the odds my entire life.
You know, not to sound corny or nuthin', but I felt like a fighter comin' up, man. I felt like, you know, I'm being attacked for this reason or that reason, and I gotta fight my way through this.
I have a lot of memories of moments when we defied the odds, when we stopped a timber sale or a nuclear bomb test, and that to me is the true reward.
won't you celebrate with me what i have shaped into a kind of life? i had no model. born in babylon both nonwhite and woman what did i see to be except myself? i made it up here on this bridge between starshine and clay, my one hand holding tight my other hand; come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed.
But no, had I been successful in my 20s I would have been just fine. But it is nice to defy the odds.
We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.
I want to go to my grave a free man. Surviving against giants-that's victory.
I went from just a regular nappy-headed kid in poverty to Amar'e Stoudemire, New York Knicks captain superstar. But there's a lot in between that allowed me to get from point A to point B.
Dreams do come true, even for someone who couldn't speak English and never had a music lesson or much of an education.
We're not defined by our circumstances, and we can always find a way to rise above it.
I was never supposed to play in college, let alone the NBA, so I always feel like I have something to prove. No one ever expected me to be here, so that feeling of being an underdog is ingrained in me. It's a natural part of my consciousness.
I have proven people wrong so many times. I was told when I was younger there is no chance I will make the top 100, top 50, top 30. Every time I have proven them wrong. It's kind of nice.
America is an unlikely place - a country built on defiance of the odds; on a belief in the impossible. And I remind you of this because as you set out to live your own stories of success and achievement, it's now your turn to help keep it this way.