Topic: Inspiration and Motivation

Lee Chong Wei

Lee Chong Wei is a Malaysian badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the fifth Malaysian player after Foo Kok Keong, Rashid Sidek, Roslin Hashim and Wong Choong Hann to achieve such a ranking (since official rankings were first kept in the 1980s), and is the only Malaysian shuttler who has held the number one ranking for more than a year. On 2 May 2023, Lee was inducted to BWF Badminton Hall of Fame. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest badminton players of all time.

Lee is a triple silver medalist at the Olympic Games, and the sixth Malaysian to win an Olympic medal. He won his first silver medal in 2008, also the first time a Malaysian had reached the finals in the men's singles event. This achievement earned him the title Datuk, and led to then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak describing him as a national hero. He repeated the achievement twice more in 2012 and 2016, thus making him the most successful Malaysian Olympian in history.

On 13 June 2019, Lee announced his retirement after struggling to return to full fitness following a nose cancer diagnosis. He was appointed as Malaysia's chef de mission for the 2020 Summer Olympics, but skipped the event due to his health concerns. He retained his role, albeit serving it virtually.

Naomi Osaka

Tennis icon, founder and serial entrepreneur, and philanthropist Naomi Osaka has transformed the world of sports with her outspoken advocacy for racial justice and player wellbeing. Ranked among the best in the world, the four-time Grand Slam Singles Champion made history as the first Japanese tennis player to win a Grand Slam and the first Asian player to hold a No. 1 ranking. The proud daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother, Naomi has used her platform to bring attention to racial inequality and police brutality, and sparked a global conversation about mental health awareness.

Naomi is the Founder of KINLÒ, a functional skincare solution for melanated skin and underserved communities, the co-founder of sports representation company Evolve and media company Hana Kuma, and has equity in more than a dozen brand partners, including Hyperice, Sweetgreen, and the crypto exchange FTX, in addition to being an early investor and advisory board member for Tom Brady’s NFT platform Autograph. Renowned for her advocacy for mental health, Naomi has partnered with Modern Health, a mental health resources company, as the company’s chief community health advocate. Her decision to take a break from tennis sparked an international conversation about the wellbeing of athletes, and of women of color in the workplace, and she became the leader of a movement for greater mental health care and awareness that continues to make an impact today.

Naomi has written powerful pieces for The New York Times, TIME, Esquire, and been profiled in countless publications, including Vogue, which heralded her as “the people’s champion.” She has been named to the TIME 100 three years in a row – in his profile for her, Russell Wilson wrote: “But sometimes, someone’s sphere of influence is so great, they can change a culture, change a society, change a whole world. Naomi Osaka has the power to do that.” She has been named a Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year, received the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award as well as the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award, and was chosen as the AP Female Athlete of the Year, among numerous honors.

Luc Besson

Luc Besson is a French filmmaker, screenwriter and producer.

Starting out in 1977 as an assistant director in France and the USA, he gradually emerged as one of very few French directors and producers of international stature.

In 1983, Luc Besson directed his first feature, The Last Battle, which won him a prize at the Avoriaz Festival. Two years later, he made Subway, starring Isabelle Adjani and Christophe Lambert, which garnered three César Awards and established the director's signature visual style.

After the success of Subway, he followed up with The Big Blue. Although poorly received at the 1988 Cannes Festival, the film went on to score 10 million admissions in France and became a fully-fledged social phenomenon. Despite unfavorable reviews, audiences also flocked to see his next two movies, La Femme Nikita (1990) and The Professional (Leon) (1994), which confirmed the director's popularity in France and added an international dimension.

Between these two features, Luc Besson directed a pioneering documentary, Atlantis (1991), which, twenty years ahead of its time, raised awareness of nature's beauty and the vital issue of environmental protection.

In 1995, Luc Besson began work on an ambitious sci-fi project, The Fifth Element, which became one of the biggest hits of any French film in the USA and won him the 1998 César Award for Best Director.

In 1999, he directed his version of the story of The messenger: Joan of Arc, which earned him another César nomination for Best Director.

In 2000, Luc Besson was asked to chair the jury of the 53rd Cannes Festival, becoming the youngest ever Cannes jury president.

The next five years were essentially devoted to his activities as a producer. In ten years, EuropaCorp has become one of European cinema's foremost studios.

After a five-year gap, Luc Besson made his directorial comeback in 2005 with Angel-A, and followed it in 2006 with his first animated movie Arthur and the Invisibles, adapted from his own novel of the same name. In 2009, Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard was released and the trilogy will be completed by Arthur and the War of the Two Worlds, due for release in France on October 13, 2010.

In 2010, Luc Besson made a movie adaptation of Tardi's comic book series The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, starring Louise Bourgoin in the title role.

Throughout his career as a director, he has made music videos, notably for Serge Gainsbourg and Mylène Farmer, and commercials for leading international brand names. Besides the feature films he has directed, Luc Besson has written and produced over twenty movies, including the Taxi franchise and, more recently, Taken, the biggest grossing French film ever in the USA.

Bob Geldof

Bob Geldof is an Irish singer-songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. His music awards include Ivor Novellos, Brits and Grammies.

Geldof is widely recognised for his activism, especially anti-poverty efforts concerning Africa. In 1984 he and Midge Ure founded the charity supergroup Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. They went on to organise the charity super-concert Live Aid the following year and the Live 8 concerts in 2005. Geldof currently serves as an adviser to the ONE Campaign, founded by fellow Irishman Bono. A single father, Geldof has also been outspoken for the fathers' rights movement.

Geldof was appointed an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II, and is a recipient of the Man of Peace title which recognises individuals who have made "an outstanding contribution to international social justice and peace", among numerous other awards and nominations. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.