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).
Patrick Stewart is my space-dad.
He once complimented my stroll and it is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.
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!
TotalBiscuit taught me a lot about having standards and standing by them. Also about consumer rights and voting with your wallet.
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.
Mr. Rogers. Besides all the usual Mr. Rogers stuff even after his death he had the most important lesson for me. Reading an article about him I learned that he kept detailed files on all his friends and acquaintances. He would use them to keep track of birthdays, kids names, etc… all the details that make you a good friend for remembering. To me it really humanizes Fred Rogers and shows that he wasn’t just some inhumanly perfect person. Being a good person was work for Fred Rogers just like it is work for the rest of us. What made him special was his choice to put so much effort into being good. I think that’s the greatest lesson he has for adults.
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.
Robin Williams
Steve Irwin. The passion he had doing what he loved and sharing it with the world is incredibly inspiring still to this day
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
My immediate response was also Adam Savage. I say this while laying in bed, background watching mythbusters as I do every night. I’m studying to become an engineer and it’s literally because of this show and how interested it got me in science and just understanding how things work as a kid.
It’s been a dream of mine for years to meet the man and thank him, but he seems to keep himself quite busy these days. I just watched a 12 minute video of him simply talking about a pencil and I hope he never changes.
Adam Yauch. You taught us all how to grow up and be better than we were yesterday
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Dave Brockie (of GWAR). Taught me not to take things so seriously.
I’m not sure how we’re defining celebrity these days, but my vote would be for Canadian Astronaut (and engineer) Chris Hadfield.
He’s had to accomplish many amazing things to be in the position to become a Canadian Astronaut, and then kept doing more amazing things. He’s a humble and approachable style has allow people around the world to connect to spaceflight and the benefits it has to all of humanity.
